Despite job security, Jay Gruden needs to be worried about 2017 finale

There’s no doubt that the Week 17 loss to the New York Giants was one of the worst performances of the year for the Washington Redskins. Still, Jay Gruden is going to return after the game.

It’s always important not to overreact to things immediately after they happen. That’s why Overreaction Monday is a big thing across the NFL. Each week, there are new hot takes, and some can be downright ridiculous because of recency bias associated with what most recently happened on the field. For that reason, saying that Jay Gruden should have been fired for the team’s performance on Sunday is a bit premature. At the same time, the game was emblematic of everything that’s wrong with the Gruden coached team.

Gruden’s squad came out with a chance to improve to .500 and they were playing a divisional rival. The Giants. This season, the Giants have been a discombobulated mess. Players revolted against the coaching staff. The head coach was fired. The general manager was fired. Over the course of the year, the team had 12 different receivers on the active roster. The top six offensive weapons were out for the Giants on Sunday. And still, the Redskins managed to lose.

On the second play from scrimmage, the Redskins showed that they were completely flat. They allowed a 75-yard touchdown run to Orleans Darkwa and on the play, there were several missed tackles. Notably, Martrell Spaight whiffed in the hole to get the run started. This lack of discipline and frankly, lack of effort, continued in all aspects of the game.

Kirk Cousins was not immune to this lackadaisical nature either. Cousins threw three interceptions, all of which were careless. Granted, he was under pressure for most of the contest, but he still stared down receivers and did little to help his men get open.

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The worst part of all this? The Redskins didn’t appear to care. Yes, this was a meaningless game, but a good motivator would have given it meaning. Preach that improving to .500 would be a huge achievement. Speak of playing hard for your teammates. And then, DO that on the field. That didn’t happen, and it’s an indictment on Gruden’s ability as a motivator.

This year, the Redskins have had three games where they came out flat. Against the Giants in Week 17, against the Cowboys on the final day of November, and the last six minutes of their would be win over the Saints. In all those instances, the Redskins just didn’t appear to want to win or care about it. This has been a problem throughout Gruden’s tenure, and the Week 15 and Week 17 losses in 2016, to the Panthers and Giants respectively, would fit this mold as well. Important games that the team came up well short in thanks to their poor effort on the field.

Right now, it’s being reported that Gruden is safe for the 2018 season. It was confirmed by ESPN’s Dianna Russini, as she reported that the ownership had vocally informed him that he would be staying on. And this is the fair move. Gruden had 20 players on IR and still managed seven wins. But still, his seat is going to be warm throughout the offseason.

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Gruden can’t get complacent. He can’t think that the effort the team put forth on Sunday was acceptable. He has to get better at motivating his players if he wants to stay on past 2018. If he can’t, he will be a .500 coach at best, and that will prompt the team to move on for him for a better motivator after the 2018 season.

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