Urban Meyer offers words on Redskins QB Dwayne Haskins

The Redskins chose to stick with Dwayne Haskins at the quarterback position in 2020, and while that’s a chance some felt he didn’t deserve, Haskins’ college coach is preaching patience and support.

The 2019 season ultimately ended on a high note for Washington Redskins quarterback Dwayne Haskins, as the Ohio State product found his groove after taking the full-time starting job, and wound up leading the team to a couple of wins down the stretch. That being said, Haskins’ rookie campaign as a whole was very uneven, and it was enough for some to ponder whether or not the Redskins would use the No. 2 pick on a quarterback.

That was ultimately never a possibility, as Ron Rivera and his staff were enamored with Chase Young. But the conversation happened among onlookers nonetheless, and even now, there’s a withstanding belief that Haskins, as much as he showed in select moments, might end up not being the answer.

Of course, the only way to find out is to give Haskins a chance, and Urban Meyer, Haskins’ college coach with the Buckeyes, was sympathetic toward Haskins in a recent interview for NFL.com’s Move the Sticks podcast, arguing that Haskins, along with every quarterback, needs a solid support system to succeed.

“So it’s the quarterback’s fault?” Meyer was documented as saying, in regards to Washington’s struggles in 2019. “Nevermind the fact that their coach got fired, the place is a mess, there’s this going on, there’s this going on, this going on. A lot of stuff I heard from behind the scenes — cause, once again I have several players there — yet it’s Dwayne’s fault.”

“I hate to be so simplistic on this, but you better surround him with some really good players,” Meyer continued. “The NFL is amazing to me, [in] that the minute a team, they draft a quarterback, they put him on a very bad team or there are a lot of culture issues. Which I, I don’t want to start throwing stones, but I do know. I talk to my guys. I talk to a lot of these players. So it’s the quarterback’s fault now that their coach got fired after what, [Week 5]. They were in complete disarray and it’s the quarterback’s fault now. I wish college was that easy. For some reason it’s not the quarterback’s fault, it’s the coach’s fault. To me it’s about culture and leadership. You want Dwayne to be a great player? Surround him with some really great players. Surround him with a really elite culture.”

Much of what Meyer says resonates with the present-day Redskins, who have long since undergone a complete organizational overhaul. Jay Gruden, the coach from the infamous 2019 season, is gone, as is Bruce Allen, the team president whose prevailing disconnect led to much of the dysfunction in question.

The situation that Haskins entered as a rookie was not a situation conducive to development, and early on, that was made clear. Haskins started to catch on once he received the confidence of the coaches and the reps to learn first-hand, but his rookie season could have very well ended the same way it began, had changes not been made. As Meyer said, that’s something that has to change.

Things are looking up in Washington now; Rivera has openly expressed his support for Haskins and will give the young signal caller a chance. Meanwhile, they’ve also added talent and depth on the offensive side of the ball, and while there’s still a long way to go, progress has been made.

Perhaps lost in this, however, is that while Haskins’ success is largely dependent on the cast around him, Haskins himself does need to have some agency, in regards to his future. Some quarterbacks have the support, and yet fail to capitalize. Haskins is receiving more support now, but he still has to take advantage of his opportunity, and win long-term security for himself.

The team and the quarterback have a mutual obligation to each other, and as both Haskins and Meyer have shown, it can’t only go one way. But this year, the new-look Redskins and Haskins have a chance to strengthen that relationship, and early on, it seems as though they’re where they need to be.