Jay

Gruden

Gruden was with the team for this week’s joint practices in Cincinnati, but he will “largely work remotely.” Keep living the dream, Jay. Gruden, of course, gave Rams coach Sean McVay his start, hiring him as WRs coach of the UFL’s Florida Tuskers in 2009. McVay then followed Gruden to Washington before becoming Rams head coach. For all his issues in Washington, Gruden is a decent offensive mind who should have something to contribute in between coffee breaks and doing his laundry in the middle of the day on a weekday.

New coach Dennis Allen isn’t retaining OC Pete Carmichael in New Orleans, instead shifting him to a different role on staff. Gruden interviewed for the Panthers’ OC gig this offseason but lost out to Ben McAdoo. In New Orleans, Gruden joins Scottie Montgomery and Robert Prince as known OC candidates. Gruden last coached as the Jaguars’ play-caller in 2020 under Doug Marrone, and Marrone has already been hired by Allen with the Saints.

Gruden’s second interview took place in person with coach Matt Rhule. Although he was the first to be brought back for a follow-up conversation, the organization has not ruled out bringing in some other candidates for more second interviews. Gruden was most recently Jacksonville’s OC in 2020 and was out of the league the following year.

Carolina controversially fired Joe Brady midway through a tumultuous season, reportedly because Panthers coach Matt Rhule wanted the team to establish the run more. Gruden – who is best-known for his six-year tenure as Washington’s head coach but most recently operated as the Jaguars’ offensive coordinator in 2020 – appears to be a serious candidate for the vacancy. The Panthers have solid weapons, but their lack of a quarterback caps their offensive ceiling.

The deal isn’t done quite yet, but it’s expected to be finalized shortly after the two parties met today. Gruden was given very little in terms of supporting talent in Washington, yet he was able to have a couple of positive offensive years with Kirk Cousins as his quarterback. Jacksonville presents very similar problems to Washington in regards to offensive talent, but he at least will be spending all of his time on one side of the ball. Gruden’s top priorities this offseason will be assessing the quarterback battle, Leonard Fournette’s contract, and how to maximize the young receiving group. It’s going to take a lot of work to turn this roster into an average NFL offense.

The Jaguars have already conducted sit-downs with former Giants coach Ben McAdoo and ex-Cowboys OC Scott Linehan, who is also being considered for the Panthers’ opening at QBs coach. According to Garafolo’s NFL Network colleague Ian Rapoport, Gruden is “itching to do something” and would “like to have an office to go to” after being out of work the past three months. Gruden’s head-coaching tenure in Washington produced only one playoff appearance, though Jon Gruden’s younger sibling is still viewed by many as a strong offensive mind. Jacksonville is looking to replace fired OC John DeFilippo, who has already caught on as Chicago’s QBs coach.

Gruden could probably see the writing on the wall following Sunday’s blowout loss to New England, Washington’s fifth straight defeat. “Through the first five games of the 2019 season, the team has clearly not performed up to expectations and we all share in that responsibility,” the team said in a statement released early Monday morning. Gruden’s decision to start Colt McCoy over rookie quarterback Dwayne Haskins (who reports suggest he never wanted in the first place) in Week 5 was likely the final nail in his Redskins coffin. He finishes his Washington tenure with a 35-49-1 record over five-plus seasons. Gruden only brought the Redskins to one playoff appearance, a Wild Card loss to the Packers in 2015. Ironically, his post will be filled by interim coach Bill Callahan, who succeeded Gruden’s brother Jon as Oakland’s head coach after he defected to Tampa Bay in 2002.

Rapoport confirms Gruden is very much on the “hot seat,” though it doesn’t sound like a coaching change is imminent. He’ll presumably live to see another week, regardless of how Sunday’s game in the Meadowlands shakes out. Vulnerable coaches have been known to fire assistants to preserve their own job security but that doesn’t appear to be in the cards for Gruden, who plans to “ride it out” with his current staff. The way things are headed, the sixth-year head coach may not survive the season.

The Redskins made Gruden sweat it out for a few days, but as expected, he’ll be back for a sixth season in D.C. Injuries were the Redskins’ undoing this year as Washington played out the stretch run without many of its top contributors including Alex Smith and Jordan Reed. Gruden got the benefit of the doubt this time, though another lackluster year in 2019 could spell the end of his Washington tenure.

Gruden survived Black Monday but he seemed uncertain of his job status at the team’s season-ending press conference, continually using phrases like, “if I’m still here” or “once I get the word.” “I’m just waiting by the phone,” he admitted. “If I’m fortunate enough to be here, I feel good about the nucleus of the players that we have.” The Redskins have reached the playoffs just once in Gruden’s five-year tenure and finished 7-9 this past season after starting the year 6-3. We’re guessing the Redskins will give Gruden one more chance to turn things around in 2019, though another subpar year would likely cost him his job.