Rumors: Bengals have interest in Jay Gruden if he's available

Jay Gruden was the Cincinnati Bengals offensive coordinator before he became the Washington Redskins head coach. Now, the Bengals may want him back.

When Jay Gruden was with the Cincinnati Bengals, he was considered one of the up-and-coming coaches in the NFL. In three years from 2011-2013, Gruden was able to improve the Bengals offense until they were a top 10 unit in terms of both yardage and points. Gruden made steady progress with Andy Dalton as well and turned him from a rookie starter into a decent quarterback who was capable of leading his team to the playoffs. That’s what made him an intriguing option for the Redskins at the time of his deal.

Fast forward four years in Washington, and things haven’t gone great for Gruden. He sports a 27-34-1 record and has only led his team to the playoffs once. He has only had one offense that ranked top 10 in yardage (No. 3 overall in 2016) and his best scoring offense ranked at No. 10 in 2015. For the most part, his offense has been average and without Sean McVay as the offensive coordinator this year, they have been slightly below that.

Now, it’s worth pointing out that injuries have derailed the 2017 season but the fact is that Gruden is looking like he is, at best, an average to below average NFL head coach. He isn’t a great motivator. He is a good offensive mind, but not great. For these reasons, there is speculation that Gruden might be on the hot seat. However, given the extension he signed during the offseason, the Redskins seem apt to keep him for one more season. But if they change course on that matter in the final two weeks of 2017, Gruden will have a suitor.

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Gruden’s former employer, the Bengals, would consider him for the head coaching vacancy that will open up after Marvin Lewis leaves the team this offseason. The Bengals obviously liked the work that he did with Dalton early in his career and would welcome a familiar face back to the organization. Ideally, the team would probably look to hire Gruden or current Browns head coach Hue Jackson if either became available. Because of this, the Redskins will have to consider moving on from Gruden.

While the Redskins may want to keep Gruden, they could be swayed to let him go. Perhaps they could get the Bengals to offer them draft capital in exchange for Gruden, a move that probably sounds familiar. That’s what the Tampa Bay Buccaneers did to acquire Jon Gruden from the Oakland Raiders. At the time, that was a very big deal. If the Bengals are desperate to acquire Jay Gruden, perhaps they would offer a Day 2 pick for his services. Of course, that would stipulate that the Redskins are ready to part with him which doesn’t appear to be the case right now.

Still, in the event that Gruden returns to Cincinnati, the Redskins could target a different coach to run their team. They could go after a young offensive mind like Josh McDaniels, the next brilliant defensive coordinator in Steve Wilks, or they could even go for a “trading places” type of deal and bring Marvin Lewis in to run their team. They would have a lot of possibilities, but the team would have to figure out whether or not their options are better than Gruden himself.

Next: 5 Coordinators to consider for head coaching jobs

At the end of the day, these are just rumors. But they are worth monitoring as the offseason draws nearer. If Gruden truly is the man the Bengals want, the Redskins could consider giving him up.

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Rumors: Bengals have interest in Jay Gruden if he’s available

By Jacob Camenker | Dec 25, 2017

Jay Gruden was the Cincinnati Bengals offensive coordinator before he became the Washington Redskins head coach. Now, the Bengals may want him back.

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