Tag: Jay Gruden

Commanders land a tight end in 2019 redraft

Terry McLaurin, Montez Sweat go in the first round of 2019 NFL redraft, but not to Washington.

The Washington Commanders entered the 2019 NFL draft with the No. 15 overall pick. Jay Gruden was heading into a critical sixth season as head coach and badly needed to win.

Of course, Washington had no shot with Bruce Allen as general manager and Dan Snyder as owner. Still, Gruden needed a solid draft to give him any chance of lasting another entire season.

As the draft neared, rumors swirled that Snyder wanted Ohio State quarterback Dwayne Haskins. Why? Because his son went to high school with him in Maryland. Still, no one believed Snyder would eventually overrule the scouts, primarily Kyle Smith, and pick Haskins.

He did. But to appease the football people, he allowed the team to move back into the first round and draft Mississippi State defensive end Montez Sweat.

In the third round, Washington stole Ohio State wide receiver Terry McLaurin.

That season was a disaster, though. Gruden was fired after an 0-5 start, and Allen was finally fired after the season. Unfortunately, things didn’t work out for Haskins, and he was released late in the 2020 season, while Sweat became a consistent performer on a solid (at times) defense.

Kristopher Knox of Bleacher Report recently looked back at that draft and did a redraft. It looks much different for Washington. Sweat lands at No. 5 with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and McLaurin goes No. 12 to the Green Bay Packers.

Washington’s pick is former Iowa tight end T.J. Hockenson. The Detroit Lions initially selected Hockenson No. 8 overall and later traded him to the Minnesota Vikings, where he thrived.

In a redraft, Washington instead selects Iowa tight end T.J. Hockenson, who was originally drafted eighth overall by the Lions.

The Commanders had a need for a quality tight end in 2019, as Jeremy Sprinkle went on to lead the position group with a mere 241 receiving yards and a touchdown that season. Washington did eventually find a capable tight end by signing Logan Thomas in 2020. However, Thomas was more good than great and had his fair share of injury issues in Washington.

The Commanders signed Zach Ertz this offseason, and Thomas has since made his way to San Francisco.

Hockenson has been a great tight end when healthy and has made the Pro Bowl in both Detroit and Minnesota. While he’s currently working his way back from ACL and MCL tears, the 26-year-old should still have a bright future ahead of him.

Adding Hockenson here would help stabilize a key position for the Commanders and allow them to come away from the draft with a playmaker despite missing out on Terry McLaurin.

Washington fans would be pleased with Hockenson, but they will never accept any circumstance in which McLaurin is not with the franchise. Fans haven’t had a lot to root for over the past five seasons, but McLaurin has been a consistently positive presence on and off the field.

It’s all hypothetical, but it’s a fun exercise nonetheless.

Colt McCoy, Jay Gruden evaluate North Carolina QB Drake Maye

The former Washington coach and quarterback with an excellent breakdown of Drake Maye.

Colt McCoy and Jay Gruden are names Washington fans know well. Gruden served as Washington’s head coach from 2014-19, while McCoy was with the team throughout Gruden’s entire tenure.

It was during McCoy’s time in Washington that Kirk Cousins emerged as the team’s starting quarterback. However, McCoy always remained Gruden’s favorite passer and the pair have remained close since.

Over the past year, McCoy has been working with Underdog Fantasy, doing excellent work breaking down quarterback play. For draft season, McCoy had his old coach join him.

Recently, the duo evaluated North Carolina quarterback Drake Maye — a prospective No. 2 overall pick by the Washington Commanders.

Gruden has been consistent in his evaluation of Maye. He thinks Maye’s long-term ceiling could be the highest in the class, even more so than Caleb Williams. But Gruden also points out that most coaches need to win and cannot afford to wait for a quarterback to reach his potential.

In multiple media appearances, Gruden has always ranked Williams as the No. 1 quarterback, followed by LSU quarterback Jayden Daniels. He said if he were Washington, he would probably go with Daniels because he can help you win now.

However, McCoy and Gruden were clear regarding how much they liked Maye as a prospect. On one play, Maye, a right-handed passer, rolls to his left, turns his hips, changes his arm angle, and fires a touchdown pass. Gruden was impressed after initially believing he would tell his quarterback to take the flat route for five yards.

Gruden and McCoy raved about Maye’s physical talents and his arm strengths. A concern is his ball placement. Gruden believes right now that Maye is behind Williams and Daniels with his ball placement, but that can obviously improve.

Both have spoken to coaches who have worked with Maye over the years about his character, work ethic, and coachability. McCoy’s college coach, Mack Brown, was Maye’s college coach, while Gruden spoke to longtime NFL assistant Clyde Christensen, who worked with Maye last season.

Gruden believes Maye can be the face of the franchise-type quarterback, saying he will do everything needed to succeed. Gruden calls Maye a “slam dunk” for his intangibles.

However, as both noted, plenty of quarterbacks who put in the work have failed in the NFL.

The 2024 NFL draft kicks off on Thursday and Washington is on the clock second after the Bears likely select Williams.

Will it be Maye or Daniels for Washington?

When will Adam Peters and Dan Quinn speak at the 2024 NFL combine?

When will Adam Peters and Dan Quinn speak at the NFL combine?

Adam Peters took over as the new general manager of the Washington Commanders last month. Peters went straight to work looking for Washington’s new head coach and hired Dan Quinn.

Since then, Quinn has completed his coaching staff while the entire organization remains busy doing current player evaluations ahead of free agency.

But before the Commanders get to free agency, there is the NFL combine. The combine begins Monday in Indianapolis and is the unofficial kickoff to the offseason. While all 32 NFL teams are represented at the combine to evaluate draft prospects, it’s also where we begin to hear a lot of free-agent chatter.

The Commanders have already had a busy offseason, and it’s just getting started. Washington has the most salary cap space heading into free agency and holds the No. 2 overall pick in the 2024 NFL draft. Additionally, the Commanders hold six picks in the top 103 selections.

Every year, the combine, the GM, and the head coach have a media session with reporters. Not every team participates, but most do. When Bruce Allen was in Washington, he declined, leaving Jay Gruden to speak on Washington’s behalf.

However, the Commanders’ new regime will speak next week.

On Tuesday at 11:30 a.m. ET, Peters will speak to the media. On Wednesday, Quinn gets his turn to talk at 1:00 p.m. ET.

While Peters and Quinn likely won’t reveal much, it’s refreshing for fans and media alike to hear the franchise’s top football decision-makers speaking — and about football.

Jay Gruden pulls Seahawks mascot hawk into feud with RGIII

Jay Gruden pulls Seahawks mascot hawk into feud with RGIII

One of the more odd social media stories in NFL circles this past week has been a feud between quarterback Robert Griffin III and his former head coach, Jay Gruden.

Gruden was coach of the then-Washington Redskins from 2014-2019, but had two years with the 2012 Offensive Rookie of the Year as his quarterback. However, it seems Gruden’s memory of their shared time together may not be all that great. During the Philadelphia Eagles’ 32-9 playoff loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Gruden took to Twitter so share his thoughts about protecting quarterbacks.

Well, RGIII seemed to notice, and had this to say…

Gruden tried to respond, but RGIII had an answer for his reply as well:

Weirdly, after a much harsher now-deleted Tweet, Gruden once again tried to “own” his former quarterback by bringing up a race RGIII previously had against Seattle’s own Seahawk, Taima, before a game. Predictably, RGIII had a flawless response and gave a unique history lesson.

With a career NFL head coaching record of 35-49-1, taking L’s is nothing new for Jay Gruden. But as he learned this past week, there’s always an opportunity to take a few more.

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The latest Robert Griffin III and Jay Gruden beef includes deleted posts and pigeon insults

This is escalating again.

Robert Griffin III and his former Washington head coach, Jay Gruden, already had a social media tete-a-tete in which the ex-QB responded to a Gruden post on X (formerly Twitter), sparking some serious, very public beef.

“If I ever put a QB through what Philly is putting Jalen [Hurts] through, I apologize,” Gruden wrote earlier in the week. Griffin replied with a, “Say WHATTTT???” And it went on from there.

Griffin then went back at Gruden on Thursday night, which led to more back-and-forth, including on post that Gruden apparently deleted. Here’s a look what was said, and how this thing keeps escalating:

Yikes!

Jay Gruden: Kirk Cousins was a better player than Robert Griffin III

Is this even a question anymore?

It’s amazing that Robert Griffin III hasn’t taken a snap for the Washington NFL franchise since Dec. 28, 2014, yet here we are on Jan. 18, 2024, still discussing his four years with the franchise.

But that’s what Griffin wants.

So, why are we here this time around?

During the wild-card game between the Buccaneers and Eagles on Monday night, former Washington head coach Jay Gruden made the following observation while watching Philadelphia quarterback Jalen Hurts.

This is where Griffin enters the chat.

They went back and forth one more time each, but you get the point. It’s still not Griffin’s fault. First, it was Mike and Kyle Shanahan’s fault. Then it was Gruden and Sean McVay’s fault. Later, it was Dan Snyder’s fault. Remember, Snyder was Griffin’s biggest enabler during his four seasons in Washington.

Gruden appeared to be having more fun with the interaction, and as he often does, took a lighthearted approach to the back-and-forth with his former quarterback.

In an appearance on “Grant and Danny” on 106.7 The Fan on Wednesday, Gruden joked about his popularity in Washington while discussing his interaction with Griffin.

Gruden also discussed his time with Griffin and Kirk Cousins, most notably why Griffin’s stint with Washington ended.

“When you’re coaching football, you have to play the best player in your building at every position, not just quarterback, and it wasn’t just me who made that decision; it was everybody in the building,” Gruden said, via Lou DiPietro of Audacy.

“Everybody was on board that Kirk and Colt (McCoy) were better fits for what we were trying to do, and maybe (Griffin) lost a step with the zone reads; those can dry out from time to time, and after the zone reads, what are you gonna do? You’re gonna have to throw the ball in third-and-5 or third-and-8, throw the ball to come back and win when you’re down by two touchdowns. That just wasn’t what he was good at, at that time; other guys were better than him, and that was the only reason we made the change.”

What Gruden said here is true. Do you think McVay — one of the NFL’s best coaches — wanted to play Griffin over Cousins? This man was trying to land a head coaching job. He wanted the best player under center, whether it was Griffin, Cousins, Colt McCoy, Babe Laufenberg or Heath Shuler.

Gruden then made these final comments. Some will call them controversial. Some will call Gruden names, but he’s just being honest, which can be too much for some to hear.

“I think everybody could see that, and you can look at it now. … I mean, Kirk was, and is, just a better passer, a better player, and he’s proven that,” Gruden said. “He’s made a lot of money playing quarterback, and I think we made the right decision … but I don’t know, I could be wrong.”

He’s not wrong. And no matter how many want to rehash Griffin’s four seasons and look for scapegoats, well, just follow the money. Kirk’s made a lot of money — and he’s about to cash in again.

Griffin gave Washington fans one of the best years of this generation. The 2012 season was special for many reasons. No one should ever forget Griffin’s role in that season. At the same time, no one should forget the role the Shanahans, Alfred Morris and others played in the franchise’s success that season.

A portion of Washington’s fan base hates every former coach except Joe Gibbs. But if you look at Snyder’s nearly 25-year tenure as owner, Gibbs (version two) and Gruden enjoyed the most success despite almost impossible working conditions at times.

Since his coaching career ended, Gruden has proved to be an excellent analyst. As far as the Griffin or Brian Mitchell stuff, Gruden didn’t start either situation.

And about Cousins, he’s faced his fair share of criticism over the years, but he was playing like a top-10 NFL quarterback this season before an injury ruined his and Minnesota’s season.

Robert Griffin III was incredulous that Jay Gruden seemingly forgot he failed him with the Commanders

A Jay Gruden tweet about Jalen Hurts and the Eagles immediately drew RGIII’s attention.

The Philadelphia Eagles struggled mightily against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the NFC wild-card round on Monday night.

Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts didn’t look like himself in the game, which sparked former NFL coach Jay Gruden to share on social media that he was sorry if he ever put a quarterback through what Hurts was going through on the field.

“Pick up a blitz!” Gruden tweeted about the Eagles in Hurts’ defense, which earned an instant response from one of Gruden’s old players.

Robert Griffin III, the former Washington Commanders quarterback who now works for ESPN, instantly responded to his old coach with a very funny retort: “Say WHATTTT???”

Gruden and Griffin continued to exchange words after the initial tweet, with the former Commanders quarterback throwing some sharp barbs his old coach’s way.

The pair never clicked while the two were together in Washington as coach-and-player, which Griffin eventually saying that he just wasn’t Gruden guy after the latter eventually switched to Kirk Cousins way back when.

However, it appears that Griffin hasn’t forgotten how things went with Gruden in the 2010s, as Gruden’s open-ended apology appears to have found a very willing taker.

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Can the Commanders next head coach break the losing cycle?

Can Washington’s next head coach produce a winner?

The Washington Commanders are moving on, looking for a new head coach soon, perhaps in the next couple of weeks.

Ron Rivera’s firing reminded all Washington fans that Rivera, in his four seasons (2020-23), did not achieve a single winning season. By not having a winning season for Washington, Rivera joined Jim Zorn, Steve Spurrier, and Marty Schottenheimer as coaches under Dan Snyder, who did not post a winning record.

Zorn (2008-09) was 12-20,  as was Spurrier (2002-03) 12-20, with Schottenheimer finishing 8-8 in his lone season in Washington (2001).

Achieving winning seasons has been difficult in Washington since Dan Snyder took over the ownership. But it has been done.

Norv Turner in Snyder’s first season (1999) led Washington to a 10-6 record and the NFC East title. But Turner did not survive the next season, being fired during an 8-8 season. It’s often forgotten that Turner had two other winning seasons prior to Snyder’s arrival. His team won in 1996 (9-7) and 1997 (8-7-1).

The next winning season in Washington was 2005 when Joe Jackson Gibbs felt so bad for the franchise’s struggles he risked his own reputation and came back to coach the Redskins for four seasons. Gibbs also added a winning season in his last NFL coaching year (2007) when Washington was 9-7 and a Wild Card team. His 2005 team was the last Washington team to win a playoff game.

Mike Shanahan’s team got hot down the stretch, winning their last seven games and finishing 10-6 in 2012. It was Shanahan’s (2010-13) only winning season in Washington, as Robert Griffin refused to run the same offense and proceeded to never develop as a pocket passer in the NFL. By 2015, Washington was attempting to trade Griffin and had no takers.

Jay Gruden (2014-19) actually had two winning seasons, while Kirk Cousins was the quarterback in Burgundy and Gold. Washington was 9-7 in 2015 and 8-7-1 in 2016. Washington has not had a winning season since Gruden was the head coach and Cousins the starting quarterback.

Finally, let the record display that Joe Gibbs (1981-92) was 124-60 under Jack Kent Cooke. Then in the playoffs Gibbs coached in 5 NFC championship games, 4 Super Bowls and won three of those Super Bowls.

Here’s to hoping the next Washington coach has a winning record.

Commanders request permission to interview Rams defensive coordinator Raheem Morris

Morris spent three seasons in Washington working under Mike Shanahan and Jay Gruden.

You can add the name of Los Angeles Rams defensive coordinator Raheem Morris to the list of potential candidates to become the next head coach of the Washington Commanders.

According to Adam Schefter of ESPN, the Commanders have requested permission to speak with Morris for their vacant head coaching position.

Morris, 47, has an impressive resume. He began his NFL coaching career in 2002 with Tampa Bay as a quality control assistant. He spent four seasons with the Buccaneers before accepting the defensive coordinator position at Kansas State in 2006.

He returned to the Bucs in 2007 as defensive backs coach under Jon Gruden. When Gruden was fired at the end of the 2009 season, Morris was promoted to head coach in 2009. In three seasons as head coach, Morris had a record of 17-31. In 2020, he was named interim head coach of the Falcons, where he had a record of 4-7.

After his stint as head coach of Tampa Bay, Morris served as Washington’s secondary coach for three seasons from 2012-14. For two years, he was on the staff of Mike Shanahan, along with Kyle Shanahan, Matt LaFleur and Sean McVay. Jay Gruden retained Morris in 2014.

In 2015, Morris moved on to Atlanta, serving in multiple roles until his interim head coaching stint in 2020.

He was named the Rams defensive coordinator in 2021.

Rivera discusses how difficult it is to find a franchise quarterback

Rivera talks how hard it was to find a franchise QB, and even mentioned Alex Smith and Jay Gruden.

Ron Rivera is likely entering his final days as head coach of the Washington Commanders. Rivera accepted his fate months ago and heads into this weekend’s game against the Dallas Cowboys, realizing it’s probably his last game as coach.

On Wednesday, the coach was in a reflective mood when reporters were discussing his time in Washington. One of the questions for Rivera focused on the franchise’s inability to find a franchise quarterback. This isn’t only a Rivera problem; it’s one that has plagued the organization for years.

Rivera acknowledged how difficult it has been, but, correctly said it’s not only difficult for Washington, but it’s tough for every team.

“In all honesty, that’s probably been the biggest crux of it all, is trying to find that guy,” Rivera said. “I mean, that’s the hardest thing for anybody. It doesn’t matter whether you’re here or that you’re at one of the other places that are looking for that guy. I mean, you’re fortunate if you get a head coaching job where there’s a guy, you better relish that, and you better succeed.”

He’s 100% correct. Some will look at this as Rivera blaming others for his lack of success. He has made plenty of mistakes at the quarterback position alone. There’s no debating that, but he is correct in saying that head coaches are not going to consistently win if they don’t have a franchise quarterback.

Rivera then spoke of the regime before him that featured quarterback Alex Smith and former head coach Jay Gruden.

“I’ve said this before, if you know a guy like Alex Smith if he never gets hurt, I never come here because I think Jay and what they were doing would’ve continued,” Rivera said.

Before he came to Washington, Rivera was the head coach in Carolina, where he was Cam Newton’s head coach for nine seasons. So, he understood what it meant to have a franchise passer.

“I mean, you get a guy like that, man, you run with it. I promise you that. It would’ve been cool to have a guy like that, it really would’ve, because I think there’s a lot of talent in that room. I think there are some good playmakers. In the last four weeks, we’ve only given up three sacks. So, there’s some potential there. But to have a guy that’s been there, that’s been developed, that’s pretty cool. I promise you that if you go there, you’re a head coach and you got to have success. You should.”

You can appreciate Rivera’s honesty here. What he is saying is true, although Washington wasn’t lighting up the scoreboard with Smith under center in 2018 before his unfortunate injury. No one would debate the impact Smith had in the locker room and who he was as a leader, though.

Gruden, before Rivera, was also a victim of not having a franchise quarterback. Unfortunately for Gruden, he did have one in Kirk Cousins, but Cousins was never going to re-sign with Washington as long as Bruce Allen and Dan Snyder were in charge. While Cousins isn’t considered an elite quarterback, he is a borderline top-10 passer and was playing at an MVP level for the Vikings this season before his injury.

Rivera never tried to develop a young quarterback in his first three seasons with Washington. After seeing a then-rookie, Sam Howell, play well vs. Dallas in Week 18 last season, Rivera put everything on Howell as the future heading into 2023. At times, Rivera looked wise for making that bold move as Howell looked like a future franchise QB at times, but his play has trended downward throughout the second half of the season.

It’s also true that Rivera didn’t exactly set Howell up for success. The offensive line was a mess heading into the season and while it has improved lately, it’s too little too late.

Now, as Rivera departs, his greatest gift to Washington will be the potential No. 2 overall pick that the next regime will likely use to choose the Commanders’ quarterback of the future.

Interestingly enough, Rivera came to Washington in 2020 and had the No. 2 overall pick. He chose defensive end Chase Young, who he traded in October.

Meanwhile, Miami selected Tua Tagovailoa, and the Chargers selected Justin Herbert a few picks later. At the time, it seemed like a good move, considering Young was considered a generational prospect who could impact games as an elite pass rusher. That never happened after a promising rookie season.

While Tagovailoa has blossomed under Mike McDaniel with the Dolphins, if Rivera could go back, Herbert would’ve been the slam-dunk choice.

Unfortunately, no one in life has the ability to make decisions with the benefit of hindsight. Don’t expect Washington’s next regime to pass on a quarterback with a top-three pick, though.