Redskins fire head trainer Larry Hess, had been with the team for 17 years
The Washington Redskins are continuing to shake up their staff in the wake of a disappointing season. Head trainer Larry Hess is reportedly out.
The Washington Redskins made a move that many fans wanted on Monday when Bruce Allen was fired after 10 years at the helm of the team. And then, they followed it up by removing another long-time employee.
According to NBC Sports Washington’s JP Finlay, the Redskins are parting ways with head trainer Larry Hess. Hess had been with the Redskins for 17 years before his dismissal.
Redskins have fired head trainer Larry Hess, source tells me. He had been with the team 17 years.
— JP Finlay (@JPFinlayNBCS) December 30, 2019
Hess’ firing isn’t a major surprise. The Redskins have had a lot of injury issues over the course of the past five seasons, and they have lost many games to injury in specifically the last three.
The team has had multiple players progress slower than expected from simple injuries. One that stands out is Colt McCoy’s broken leg, which took 10 months to heal instead for just 1-2 months. Those instances coupled with the sheer amount of injuries suffered on Hess’ watch was enough for the team to move on from him.
And as ESPN’s John Keim noted along with Redskins cornerback Quinton Dunbar, there have been “more than a few complaints over the years.”
Had heard more than a few complaints over the years https://t.co/0E1UIYrCcg
— John Keim (@john_keim) December 30, 2019
And Dunbar would know. He has dealt with a couple of injuries over the course of the past two seasons including a nerve issue in his leg that kept him out for over half of the 2018 campaign. And this year, he dealt with a balky hamstring that never seemed to progress.
By moving on from this training staff, the Redskins can start anew and try to get to the root of their injury problem. Admittedly some of it is just bad luck, but improvement regarding injury prevention and recovery timelines certainly will be a big-time focus of the next staff.
Next. How Ron Rivera would fit in with the Redskins. dark
Moving forward, it will be interesting to see how the ‘Skins try to fill this position and how much of an impact it may have on the team. But given the complaints that came from players, it was probably the right time for the team to move in a different direction.