So, the Washington Redskins fired coach Jay Gruden Monday after a 33-7 loss to the New England Patriots. Gruden is now the 7th head coach of the Redskins since 1999 when owner Dan Snyder took ownership of the team, and now the team is looking for its 8th.
I’m 21 years old, so Snyder took ownership of the team when I was one year old. I know nothing about the Redskins culture under former owner Jack Kent Cooke. This current Redskins team and success is all I know, I have never experienced a championship or any true success as a fan in my life. So to sum up how I feel, here’s Scott Van Pelt last night on SportsCenter:
One Big Thing
The Redskins pic.twitter.com/tFXt0Q1UYT— Stanford Steve (@StanfordSteve82) October 8, 2019
There’s this whole narrative than the problems with the team are solely on the shoulders Dan Snyder and, until he is not the owner, this team will not win and be successful. That he is the worst owner in football, and he should sell the team.
Let’s be clear here on something, he is not going to sell the team, he makes way too much money being the owner to sell them, so lets cut that out. Is he a part of the issue with the team? Yes. He is the owner and has the power to do whatever is needed to get this right, but yet he is reluctant to do so. The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, and expecting a different result.
Keeping President Bruce Allen around makes zero sense to me. I mean, if he were more involved within the business aspect and less of the football day-to-day operations, I see why, but when he is coming out during his press conference say that the Redskins culture is “damn good”, that is just purely ignorant and completely unaware of the situation at hand, or absolutely insane. Also, the team’s stance to still not trade Trent Williams is just stupid to me. You can get a lot for him to build for the future which, at age 31, maybe Trent is not around for much longer. Maybe even if he does come back, the arrogance that the management has is just toxic.
Bruce Allen in summary:
1) Jay Gruden is why the Redskins were 0-5.
2) Bill Callahan will be an upgrade.
3) If Alex Smith wasn't hurt this all could have been avoided.
4) They don't want to trade Trent Williams
5) The culture is damn good— Grant Paulsen (@granthpaulsen) October 7, 2019
There is a quote that I think perfectly describes the Redskins front office:
“YOU’VE MADE YOUR BED, NOW LIE IN IT.”
Dan Snyder and Bruce Allen have created this culture and now they need to address the problem and fix it or else things, believe it or not, will get worse. Simply drafting or signing all these great players and bringing them into the building does not fix all of the problems with the organization. You need to have everyone on the same page from top to bottom, have a set plan and have the same goal.
Former Redskins LB @LavarArrington breaks down the real problem with the team
"The root of the issue is ownership… You had to address him as Mr. Snyder, even as an adult, and if you weren’t of a certain level or stature you were told not to look at the owner." pic.twitter.com/wdhcXKnvsK
— Speak For Yourself (@SFY) October 7, 2019
Coach Gruden should have been fired after last season. Yes, injuries have been essentially ruined the Redskins for the last two years, but at some point, you’ve just got to move on. DJ Swearinger said this about Jay Gruden after being released last season:
“That coach y’all have will never win big cause it ain it him to coach discipline”.
A lot of people who are around the Redskins practices called it “Club Jay” for his lack of really working hard and his laid back persona. He was fired a little too late, instead of a little too early.
It was noted that Gruden and his coaching staff did not want Dwayne Haskins in this year’s draft, he preferred either Daniel Jones or to go the defensive route, which they ended up doing anyway. Then there was owner Dan Snyder, who wanted Dwayne Haskins. I was leaning more towards the side of picking Haskins and building a franchise QB now. So why keep Gruden, who did not want Haskins to begin with around? That is my biggest issue here with Snyder. If Gruden was fighting for his job, and he did not want Dwayne to begin with, why is he still around? Coaches who are fired midseason are never from teams who have won anything recently (Cleveland Browns, Cleveland Cavaliers, Phoenix Suns, Minnesota Timberwolves).
Dan and Bruce need to get together, and have a search for a head coach whose goal is to get Dwayne Haskins up to speed and become the franchise QB, and they need to take notes from other successful organizations and create a better culture, because many former players say it’s not the players that are the issue, it’s the coaching mindset and the front office that sets the tone of the organization.