Washington Redskins: Riggo’s Rag Podcast – The Jay Gruden debate

We can debate about how Jay Gruden has performed with the Washington Redskins all day. But there’s one thing no one can question: 2018 is his year to step up.

In the past nineteen years, the Washington Redskins have had eight different head coaches. One of those coaches is the team’s current coach. And he’s been the team’s coach for four years, now entering his fifth. After the resignation of Washington Capitals coach Barry Trotz, Jay Gruden is D.C.’s longest tenured coach. But how much longer should he remain?

The answer to this question depends largely on the outcome of the 2018 regular season. But at the same time, we shouldn’t cast a blind eye to what Jay Gruden has done. He brought stability to the Washington Redskins franchise. In 2015 and 2016, he kept a largely talent deficient roster in the playoff hunt, and in 2017, amidst a ruthless wave of injuries, he kept the team competitive. He also faced a serious barrier to offensive scheming in Kirk Cousins‘ limitations, and he still led the league’s twelfth-best passing offense, after losing two 1,000-yard receivers.

Regardless of Gruden’s results in the face of adversity, the city is hungry, and patience from his superiors will only last so long. The conversation always goes back to the record. After all, the NFL is a time-driven league. And regardless of the context, if wins aren’t coming in, changes will happen, even if the coach isn’t the problem.

Gruden certainly isn’t perfect; far from it, in fact. He needs to work on some aspects of his play calling. But no coach in the NFL is perfect, and Jay Gruden’s inconsistencies are magnified far too often, while his play calling successes don’t get enough credit. For a team like Washington, is starting over truly better than committing to a coach who has shown resolve?

Time will tell whether Jay Gruden can prove himself in 2018. There’s always a degree of subjectivity when dwelling on things like this. And that’s just one aspect of what we discuss in this podcast on Jay Gruden. In this edition, Jacob Camenker, Nathan Britton and I are joined by Ben Vasconcellos, who has previously written about the uncertainty of Jay Gruden’s job status in 2018. You won’t want to miss out on this valuable listen. We’re not so diplomatic this time.

Next: Washington Redskins 2018 offensive stat predictions

Feel free to give your thoughts in the comments section below, and be on the look out for our next podcast! We’ve got guests lined up, and in the coming weeks, we’ll delve into things like the Washington Redskins’ roster, possible predictions for 2018, and more!