Tag: Jay Gruden

Terry McLaurin is one of the NFL draft’s top steals over the last decade

McLaurin went from a third-round pick to one of the NFL’s best wide receivers.

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It didn’t take long for former Washington head coach Jay Gruden to know what he had in Terry McLaurin. Washington selected McLaurin with the No. 76 overall pick in the 2019 NFL draft.

When training camp began, Gruden immediately saw McLaurin wouldn’t just be a contributor in his first NFL season. After he was selected, NFL draft analysts said McLaurin would be an outstanding special-teamer immediately. However, in the preseason, Gruden kept McLaurin under wraps, unleashing him in Week 1 as Washington’s No. 1 wide receiver.

In his NFL debut, McLaurin caught five passes for 125 yards, including a 69-yard touchdown catch from Case Keenum. McLaurin would’ve gone for 200 yards, or more, had Keenum not missed him for another wide-open potential score later in the game as McLaurin raced past the Philly secondary.

McLaurin would finish his rookie season with 58 receptions for 919 yards and seven touchdowns. Had it not been for Washington’s quarterback issues, McLaurin would’ve gone over 1,000 yards as a rookie.

Since 2019, McLaurin has had three consecutive 1,000-yard seasons, catching passes from 10 different quarterbacks. Last summer, he signed a three-year extension, making him one of the NFL’s highest-paid wide receivers.

ESPN recently named the top 50 draft steals over the last decade. McLaurin was ranked No. 29, with ESPN offering the following:

Scary Terry has been terrorizing NFC East cornerbacks since falling to the Commanders at No. 76 overall based on concerns about a lack of production and whether the Ohio State scheme created his openings. Yet McLaurin has eclipsed over 900 yards in each of his four seasons while becoming a top-tier deep threat for Washington.

That was Matt Miller’s assessment, by the way. Miller has an interesting track record in his analysis of current Washington players. We could argue that McLaurin should’ve been higher than No. 29. As always, though, we remind you that rankings are subjective.

A.J. Brown was the No. 51 overall pick in the 2019 NFL draft. McLaurin and Brown have put up comparable numbers, except that Brown has scored more touchdowns. The lack of touchdowns from McLaurin is a byproduct of questionable quarterback play. Additionally, Brown has played on better teams. ESPN ranked Brown as the No. 19 draft steal.

Regardless, both are phenomenal players.

The Commanders have enjoyed success from the third round and later in recent years, with McLaurin being the crown jewel.

Jay Gruden explains what Trent Williams meant to Washington during their time together

Gruden on Trent Williams: “I loved Trent.”

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Former Washington head coach Jay Gruden joined Chris Russell of The Team 980 Monday to discuss Dan Snyder selling the Commanders and other topics. As always, Gruden was a fun and informative listen.

While many Washington fans groan about hearing a former coach come on local radio and discuss the franchise, there is perhaps no one better to bring on to talk about some of those years. Gruden never places blame on anyone — and he could and should. He acknowledges often he didn’t win enough and always speaks glowingly about the Commanders.

He’s also hilarious, even at his own expense at times.

While we’ll have more on Gruden’s wide-ranging chat with Russell, one of the more interesting topics was his discussion regarding former Washington left tackle Trent Williams. Remember, Williams played his first nine NFL seasons with the then-Redskins, before missing the 2019 season due to a battle with former team president Bruce Allen.

Allen was fired after the 2019 season, and Washington hired Ron Rivera. Rivera eventually traded Williams to the 49ers, and he’s experienced further success, including a new record contract.

In looking back at that dreadful 2019 season — Gruden was fired after the fifth game in his sixth season with Washington — the former coach has nothing but positive memories of Williams.

“I loved Trent,” Gruden said. “Trent meant a whole lot not only as a player but in the locker room; he was a great leader. Any issues that occurred down there in the locker room, I knew Trent would take care of it. I know a lot of people had a lot respect for him. That hurt us a lot.”

Williams will be entering his 14th NFL season in 2023 — and fourth in San Francisco. Washington’s offensive line hasn’t been the same without Williams.

Jay Gruden had some suggestions for who should call plays for the Commanders

Jay Gruden was a hit on the radio Tuesday, offering some good insight into play-calling, Dan Snyder and more. He was hilarious. Oh, and he is impressed with Sam Howell.

Former Washington head coach Jay Gruden is a frequent guest on the local airwaves throughout the NFL regular season, offering his insight into the NFL and the Commanders.

Gruden, who coached Washington from 2014-19, was known for his ability as an offensive play-caller. So in an appearance on “Grant and Danny,” on 106.7 The Fan Tuesday, Gruden defended former Washington offensive coordinator Scott Turner, who the team fired.

“Not a fan of it personally,” Gruden said, “I don’t think Scott Turner had a lot to do with the offensive struggles, I think it was more personnel-related, especially at key positions, but that’s just me.”

Gruden went on to explain how the interior offensive line wasn’t very good, and the quarterbacks were either not accurate or lacked the arm strength to make the downfield passing game work.

The best part of the interview was when Grant Paulsen asked Gruden what he thought about Washington general manager Martin Mayhew’s comments about wanting to have a 2-to-1 run/pass ratio.

“Maybe Martin Mayhew and Ron Rivera should call plays,” Gruden said. “I mean, seriously, it’s embarrassing; you can’t just hand the ball off, two-to-one, and say you’re going to do that. The score dictates it, your line play dictates it, your tight ends; if you don’t have blocking tight ends, it’s hard. What are you gonna run, inside zone, you gonna run outside zone, you gonna run toss plays? It’s very difficult to maintain a two-to-one advantage if you’re trailing, or if you’re 2nd-and-12, or 2nd-and-11, multiples times throughout the course of a game.”

Gruden was then asked if he ever dealt with someone telling him he wasn’t running the football enough. His answer was fascinating and not surprising.

“Yeah, I had it every day,” Gruden said. “Every Monday, when I went into the office. We didn’t run the ball enough; I had a thing on my desk saying, ‘hey, the Dallas Cowboys are running the ball 2-to-1; they’re leading the league in rushing. That’s why they’re leading the division. I said, ‘well, they’re winning every game because they’re in the lead, they’re not behind, and they have a powerful offensive line and a great back.’

Who left the note on his desk? Was it owner Dan Snyder?

“Who do you think” Gruden responded. Grant Paulsen responded: “Goose [Bruce] Allen?” “Yeah, probably,” Gruden answered. “I don’t know; who knows? It was on my desk; I don’t know who put it there. I glanced at it and threw it right in the garbage when I was done.”

Gruden said it was color-coded and said there was no vanilla ice cream outside his office.

Gruden then explained his philosophy as a play-caller. He noted how it is every offensive coordinator’s dream to run the ball twice as much as you pass it because it makes the offensive line and defense happy, but it’s not possible. When he called plays, he used things like bubble screens, the quick game and RPOs to keep the defense off-balanced.

In another funny moment, Danny asked Gruden if he wanted Washington’s offensive coordinator position.

“I would love to coach again,” Gruden said after a pause. “Who’s the owner?”

“Something tells me Dan’s not going to be hiring you, Jay, Grant said.

“Something tells me I wouldn’t go back if he was,” Gruden responded. Gruden, Grant and Danny were all laughing.

Finally, Gruden gave a scouting report on rookie Sam Howell.

“I was impressed with him,” Gruden said of Howell. “That’s why you gotta give Scott some credit. I thought Sam Howell played very well. He used his legs, he showed some accuracy on the deep ball and did some really good things. Moving forward, I don’t know how much you can put into that one game, although it was a big game. It was against the Dallas Cowboys, who played everybody, and he played well.”

Gruden is clearly a fan of Howell and has seen growth from when he watched him at North Carolina.

Washington fans love to criticize Gruden, but he’s an excellent analyst, quick-witted and never takes himself too seriously, which makes him a fun interview every time.

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Jay Gruden would stick with Taylor Heinicke at QB but understands a move to Carson Wentz

Gruden thought Heinicke played well against the 49ers but understood the decision to go to Wentz once the Commanders were behind multiple scores.

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Jay Gruden spent almost six seasons as the head coach of the Washington NFL franchise. During that time, he dealt with a lot of quarterback questions, from Robert Griffin III to Colt McCoy to Kirk Cousins.

Now, Gruden analyzes games from afar and is a weekly guest on “Russell & Medhurst” on The Team 980 and joined the show Monday to talk about Washington’s Week 16 loss to the San Francisco 49ers.

In the loss to the 49ers, head coach Ron Rivera benched quarterback Taylor Heinicke in favor of former starter Carson Wentz. After the game, Rivera didn’t say if the move was permanent but that a decision would come quickly ahead of the preparation for the Week 17 game against the Cleveland Browns.

Gruden thought Heinicke played well against the 49ers, especially in the first half.

“I think Taylor played one of his better games in the first half, contrary to popular belief,” Gruden said. “He played well, he had some good third-down conversions, he had a nice touchdown pass, he moved around in the pocket. And then he had the two unfortunate plays to start the fourth quarter, the sack-fumble wasn’t on him, and the interception, I don’t think was on him either after watching the tape.”

Heinicke did have some impressive conversions on third down. Considering the Commanders struggled to run against San Francisco, Heinicke’s conversions looked even more impressive. Washington seemingly lived in third-and-long vs. the 49ers.

Gruden’s comment on the interception was interesting. If you watched the game copy, it looked like a terrible decision. However, when you watch it back, as Gruden did, there is reason to believe Heinicke was expecting something different from his receiver. After the game, Heinicke took full responsibility for the interception.

As for the move to Wentz, Gruden understood the move from a coaching perspective.

“It’s unfortunate for Heinicke, but as a coach, and you’re down three scores, and you need to get chunk yardage back, I think it was probably the right decision to go to Carson at that time,” he said. Gruden explained his decision by noting Wentz’s arm strength can give you more chunk throws. 

Who would Gruden roll with for the final two games?

“Heinicke is the guy that kinda got them in this position to make this playoff run, so I personally, would stick with Heinicke, but that’s just me,” Gruden said. “But I wouldn’t be surprised if they went with Wentz.”

Rivera will name his starter soon, and it would be a surprise if he goes with Heinicke against the Browns.

Kirk Cousins’ top 10 performances with Washington

Kirk Cousins returns to FedEx Field this weekend. We look back at the top 10 performances from his six seasons in Washington.

Kirk Cousins is a divisive figure in Washington. A fourth-round pick in the 2012 NFL draft, Cousins immediately began his career in the shadow of the No. 2 overall pick from the same draft, Robert Griffin III.

While Griffin had an electric rookie year, it was all downhill for him after injuring his knee in a home playoff game in Jan. 2013. His career in Washington — or the NFL — would never be the same.

Enter Cousins.

After bouncing in and out of the lineup throughout his first three seasons, head coach Jay Gruden named Cousins the permanent starter ahead of the 2015 season, and his career took off.

Cousins returns to FedEx Field this weekend for the first time since leaving as a free agent after the 2017 season, signing with the Minnesota Vikings.

We aren’t going to get into why Cousins left. Instead, we look back at Cousins’ top 10 performances in the burgundy and gold.

Jay Gruden: Taylor Heinicke bounced back

Jay Gruden, as always, provides terrific insight into quarterback play and was impressed by Taylor Heinicke’s effort on Sunday.

“I think Taylor played like Taylor; he had his ups and downs.”

That was Jay Gruden, former Washington head coach who appeared as a guest on the “Kevin Sheehan Show” podcast Wednesday.

Here are some excerpts from Gruden.

“He (Heinicke) started out woefully slow with really bad throws. He had a fumble picked up that would have been for a touchdown if not for a horrible holding call. But he bounced back, typical Heinicke. He keeps grinding, playing hard, made some plays when it counted, some throws when it really mattered, and got the victory. So, got to applaud him.”

“I think you are going to have to live with some of his errant throws from time to time. You are going to get a tough, gritty quarterback who is going to try to find a way to move the chains with his legs, scramble around, make some throws. Tough, mentally tough, physically tough kid.”

“But you are going to have to rely on your defense to play well. I don’t think you are ever going to score 35 points, throw for 350 yards. But, they can win; they can win ugly. He can make enough plays to move the chains and help the team win.”

“Well, I think the issues with Carson is they were 3-22 their last 25 third downs. When you are 3-22, it means you are punting and off the field, your not maintaining any drives, not able to run the ball.”

“If you are converting third downs, you are able to get more plays in, keep your defense fresh. Heinicke gives you a bit more freedom to convert third downs because he can run. If you are not a great pocket passer, you better be able to move. Taylor gives you the ability to run.”

Sheehan inquired to what offensive coordinator Scott Turner would prefer to do when Carson Wentz was the starter.

“You have to adapt to the quarterback you have. You can’t call for deep shots if your quarterback can’t get the ball down the field. His arm isn’t THAT bad. He did throw a good go-ball to Terry McLaurin for a touchdown,. It’s not like he has a pop-gun arm.”

“With Carson, they weren’t able to move the ball 80 yards in 15 plays. With Heinicke, they have that opportunity because he adds the ability to run and convert third down.”

“He is going to get more one-on-one coverage because teams will want to load the box and force him to throw the ball down the field. So he will get more of those opportunities, where Carson saw more two-deep to get him to check it down. Heinicke? They are going to make him throw it over the top. He will have to complete three or four of those a game for this offense to be successful moving forward.”

“You are always in the market for a quarterback when you are making quarterback changes mid-season due to injury or lack of success. It’s hard to find them. To find one in the draft is going to be difficult. Where they are going to pick it’s going to be difficult. You got to have one of the first two (quarterback picks) typically, if great quarterbacks are available. Free Agents? I don’t know who is going to be free. You are always looking for a quarterback. They are hard to find.”

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Former Washington coach Jay Gruden is back in the NFL

Jay Gruden is back in the NFL with Sean McVay.

Former Washington head coach Jay Gruden is finally back in the NFL.

The Los Angeles Rams recently hired Gruden as a consultant, meaning Gruden is reunited with his former offensive coordinator in Washington, Rams head coach Sean McVay.

Gruden had interviews with the Carolina Panthers and New Orleans Saints in the offseason to be their offensive coordinator. Last offseason, he tried out for a TV role but remained in the Northern Virginia area as a frequent guest on some local radio shows, offering his takes on his former team and the entire NFL.

Gruden was at the Rams and Bengals’ joint practice this week, donning Rams gear. However, he will work remotely.

“You guys know how close Jay has been to me,” McVay said per Sarah Barshop of ESPN. “He’s been such an instrumental part of my coaching career. Huge mentor. So he’s going to help us out in a consulting role. He’s a guy that I heavily rely on and have always, whether he is rocking the Rams blue or not.”

Gruden and McVay go way back. Before McVay’s time on Gruden’s Washington staff as his offensive coordinator, the pair worked together as offensive assistants under Jon Gruden in 2008 with the Buccaneers, and Jay Gruden hired McVay in 2009 when he was head coach of the UFL’s Florida Tuskers.

Good for Gruden, who spent over five seasons as Washington’s head coach before being fired in 2019 after an 0-5 start. Gruden did several good things during his time in Washington, including leading the franchise to back-to-back winning seasons, something Joe Gibbs didn’t do in his second tenure as Washington’s head coach or Mike Shanahan.

In fact, no other head coach has had back-to-back winning seasons under Daniel Snyder’s ownership. He did all of this working under Snyder and former team president Bruce Allen. In his six offseasons with Washington, Gruden never handpicked his own quarterback.

He should have a job in the NFL, and it’s only fitting he’s reunited with McVay, even if it’s only a consulting role for now.

Sean McVay hired Jay Gruden as a consultant for the Rams

Sean McVay said Thursday that he hired Jay Gruden as a consultant for the Rams

Sean McVay isn’t done building out his staff, even with the season rapidly approaching. After practice on Thursday, McVay told reporters that he hired former Washington coach Jay Gruden as a consultant for the Rams.

Gruden was out in Cincinnati for the two days of joint practices, but McVay said he’ll be working remotely. McVay and Gruden have a long-standing relationship that dates back to their time together in Tampa Bay.

McVay and Gruden were both on Jon Gruden’s staff with the Buccaneers in 2008, each working as offensive assistants. From 2014-2016, McVay worked on Jay Gruden’s staff when Gruden was the head coach. McVay was the tight ends coach from 2011-2013, but Gruden kept him on in 2014 as his offensive coordinator.

Gruden was last with the Jaguars as their offensive coordinator in 2020, but he was let go along with Doug Marrone after the season ended.

Alex Smith discusses Washington football dysfunction

Alex Smith opens up regarding some of the dysfunction in Washington.

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Only 24 hours after Washington Commanders head coach Ron Rivera said he was “tired of it,” one of his former quarterbacks, Alex Smith wasn’t shy to declare some off-the-field distractions around Ashburn.

Smith appearing as a phone guest on the Rich Eisen Show Wednesday, opened up when Eisen inquired what advice might Smith have for new quarterback Carson Wentz heading to the Commanders?

Smith (laughter) “Oh man, that’s tough. I think you have to try to eliminate the noise there. You know, there is a lot of noise. There are a lot of distractions. That entire organization, everything surrounding it, and obviously deservedly. It’s been flawed for the last 20 years. There is a lot of stuff going on there, a lot of distractions. It makes it difficult to focus in on football.

But I think that is where Carson is at this stage in his career. This is kinda his make or break. He is getting one more chance to kinda be the guy. This is a team (Commanders) which has been almost desperate to get a franchise quarterback these last few years.

So, can he be that? He has got to lock in and not get distracted. Like I said, this is an opportunity; he’s got to go and make the most of it. I think it is going to be telling. Can he do that?

The Cowboys kinda ran away with that division. The Eagles are going to continue to be better and we will see what happens up in New York. But yes, can he make the most of this last opportunity to be the guy here with all of that going on?

…They have had a ton of turmoil there. I know they are trying to settle it down. It still remains to be seen if that is going to happen.”

Eisen asked if what was going on in the front office impacted Smith’s ability to play football. Smith replied, “How could it not? How could it not? All the stuff there in the organization from ownership down, head coaching and GM. There has historically been a lot of drama there.

It is a big market; obviously the capital. That organization is a really storied franchise. Yes, there is a lot of turmoil and a lot of distractions. To say the stuff going on in the building doesn’t infiltrate the locker room or out on the field would be crazy. That happens everywhere. I think that is what great organizations eliminate and the bad ones have a hard time with it.

All that noise creeps into the building. Yes, it does affect the product out on the field. The great organizations and coaches have a knack of keeping that out of the building, to quiet the noise, to decrease distractions and focus on football. But that is easier said than done.”

Here is a shorter video for Washington Commanders fans.

 

Former Washington coach Jay Gruden interviews for another offensive coordinator position

Jay Gruden interviewed with the New Orleans Saints this week. It’s his second interview this offseason.

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Jay Gruden spent almost six full seasons as Washington’s head coach beginning in 2014 until he was fired five games into the 2019 season. Gruden was the rare coach under owner Daniel Snyder to sign a second contract, signifying some success.

After being fired in D.C., Gruden spent the 2020 season as the offensive coordinator for the Jacksonville Jaguars. Unfortunately for Gruden, he joined a coaching staff that was already on the hot seat, thus he lasted just one year in Jacksonville despite achieving some success with little talent.

Gruden sat out the 2021 season after auditioning for some television gigs. While Gruden didn’t work in TV this past season, he did have a weekly spot on Washington’s Team 980 where he talked about his former team and the entire NFL.

Could Gruden be back in the NFL in 2022? According to Matt Zenitz of on3, Gruden interviewed with the New Orleans Saints for their vacant offensive coordinator position under new head coach Dennis Allen Tuesday. It’s Gruden’s second interview this offseason after speaking to the Carolina Panthers about their offensive coordinator position last month. Somehow, Carolina selected Ben McAdoo over Gruden.

Sadly for Gruden, he came up short again, as the Saints chose to keep former offensive coordinator Pete Carmichael. Carmichael, who was hired by the Saints in 2006 when former head coach Sean Payton first arrived in New Orleans, has been the Saints’ OC since 2009. However, it was Payton’s offense. Now, Carmichael will call plays and have the opportunity to install his own style of offense.

With most coaching vacancies filled this cycle, it looks like the former Washington coach may have to wait until 2023. It’s a shame as Gruden is an outstanding offensive mind and deserves an opportunity to lead an NFL offense again.

Meanwhile, he’s pretty good at the analysis thing.