Redskins Quarter Season Review – Five hard truths
By jonfox
2. Gruden isn’t cut out to be a head coach
Aug 20, 2015; Landover, MD, USA; Washington Redskins head coach Jay Gruden on the sidelines against the Detroit Lions during the second half at FedEx Field. The Washington Redskins won 21 – 17, Mandatory Credit: Brad Mills-USA TODAY Sports
Whether it’s the inconsistent play calling, the second half collapses, the off the field games about who’s going to play Qb in the preseason or his bizarre post giants press conference where he threw anyone under the bus to defend Kirk Cousins‘ INTs: Jay Gruden just isn’t head coaching material.
His offense is very interesting. The scheme, when run properly can be rather effective but his play calling has been very inconsistent. Whether it’s McVay or Gruden that’s the problem here is academic: it’s Gruden’s team and Gruden is responsible for it.
That’s the best anyone can say about him really. His offense looks best when he has time to prepare, and when the Redskins work with their scripted plays, they see far more production.
The problem is that Gruden is horrible at his plan B. This would explain the second half collapses and why the Giants were able to thoroughly dominate the Redskins since Gruden didn’t have enough time to prepare.
The head coach’s job is also to be a leader and in this, Gruden has failed. It is understandable that his job in DC is riding on Kirk Cousins‘ success at QB but that doesn’t justify or explain his rambling incoherent presser after the Giants‘ game where he tried to defend cousins’ play.
It’s one thing to bring up Aaron Rodgers when asked about Cousins‘ INT, even though Gruden got it wrong that Rodgers “has thrown INTs this season also.” But to start throwing Garçon and other players under the bus for Cousins‘ failures is a sure way to lose the locker room quickly.
Next: The pleasant surprises of the season