Whatever comes tomorrow for the Redskins, Hog Heaven is certain of one thing. It will be another short cut to placate the mob (us fans) with a famous name.
Perhaps will be Wade Phillips to replace Jim Haslett as the defensive coordinator because the touts are adamant that Rex Ryan would rather be on TV than an assistant in Redskins Park. Or maybe they will sell defensive secondary coach Raheem Morris as the in-house solution.
Maybe A. J. Smith will be brought in full time to be the “real GM” that fans clamor for. Smith fired Marty Schottenheimer after a 14-2 season with the Chargers and hired Norv Turner. Ugh.
Marty staunchly supported Drew Brees who did have an injury of real consequence. The Manning family refused to allow Eli to play for the Chargers with Smith. That triggered the swap for Philip Rivers, Smith’s guy. Eli has two Super Bowl rings. Rivers and Turner do not.
AJ Smith is no more the answer to the Redskins problems than @AjayAtayee. Hire a No. 2 from a top org. Stop making this harder than it is.
— Grant Paulsen (@granthpaulsen) December 28, 2014
The Chargers fired Smith for turmoil in the team’s relationship with star players. He sounds like just the guy to lead the culture change everybody says the Redskins need. [Sarcasm]
Jay Gruden is a conventional thinker and that’s a bad mix with RGIII
Perhaps the Redskins were blowing smoke about Jay Gruden remaining with the team. That was exactly right announcement to make at the time. Now the season is over. At 4-11, Gruden has the worst start as Redskins coach since Norv Turner went 3-13 in 1994. Turner replaced Richie Petibon after his four-win season in 1993.
Three and four wins is thin ice for a first-year coach with a flighty owner.
Gruden is competent. He is also a rookie who acts too much within his comfort zone as offensive coordinator/QB coach. The job is bigger than that.
Relieve him of personal responsibility to “fix” Robert Griffin III. Hire a position coach to do that. Have Jay improve his executive grasp of the whole job — offense, defense and special teams. Refine his approach to practices and game management. Take full advantage of his “what would I do different” thoughts. There should be lots of them. All of it earned on Daniel Snyder’s nickel. Why should some other team benefit?
One thing Gruden must change is his way of thinking. He is a conventional thinker. He has to coach RGIII to his strengths as a dual threat quarterback. That is why the Redskins drafted him. That is why fans preferred him to Andrew Luck. Mike Shanahan exploited that talent, with RG & family kicking and pouting about it in 2013.
Conventional thinking is how you coach Kirk Cousins and Colt McCoy.
Shanny might have evolved pocket passing into Griffin’s game this year. Gruden scorched the earth on RG’s game. He insisted that his quarterbacks play as pocket passers with a restricted diet of read option. He made RGIII ordinary.
If he keeps his job – Hog Heaven suspects there is a 33 percent chance he will not – Gruden must develop more nimble thinking than he has shown thus far.
Don’t be like Steve Spurrier who had no use for RB Stephen Davis whom Dan Snyder traded for Trung Canidate, “the next Marshall Faulk.” Please, for the love of all that is burgundy and gold, be more flexible than Steve Spurrier was.
There are many good, hard-working people who work at Redskins Park. The mismanagement and losing pains them, too. Just saying.
— Jason Reid (@JReidESPN) December 29, 2014
Bold moves involving high value names won’t make a difference to the long-term pattern of misdiagnoses and short cuts made from the top that leads to chronic division fourth-place finishes. The Redskins will not improve until Daniel Snyder becomes a genuine executive leader. Tell us about that before saying anything else.
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