Why Jay Gruden’s Mistakes In Washington Will Not Follow Him To Jacksonville

While at the helm in Washington, former head coach Jay Gruden led the team to a 35-49-1 record in six years as the head coach, including one NFC East title and playoff appearance in 2015. The numbers are far from pretty and his exit from the Redskins was public and slightly embarrassing as he was fired in Week 5 of the 2019 season after an 0-5 start.

Despite the statistics, the Jacksonville Jaguars announced this past Wednesday that they hired Gruden as the team’s new offensive coordinator. Gruden replaces John DeFilippo who was only with the team since January 2019 when both parties mutually agreed to part ways earlier this month.

At first glance, the hire does not make sense. Years of coaching changes in Washington illustrate the difficult nature of the environment under recently-fired president Bruce Allen and team owner, Dan Snyder. But Gruden had six seasons to help turn the organization around and he left Loudoun County no better than he found it. 

Understanding the Jaguars’ hire of Gruden requires traveling back in time to 2011-13 when Gruden served as the offensive coordinator of the Cincinnati Bengals. During his time there, Gruden helped lead the team to three winning seasons and three playoff appearances. The offense ranked in the middle third of the league in yards per carry per game, rushing, passing and scoring in 2011 and 2012, and ranked in the top 10 in yards per game, passing and scoring in 2013.

Gruden will succeed in Jacksonville because he will not be the head coach like he was in Washington. Gruden could not be the disciplinarian the Redskins needed and now, he does not have to be. He has a reputation for being a player’s coach and, in Jacksonville, Gruden can lean into that natural inclination because that is why they hired him. Developing a franchise quarterback and adjusting to change are arguably two of the most important tasks an NFL coaches faces and Gruden has intimate experience with both.

 "We were trying to find someone who's best for this staff, who's best for what you want to run, then you're looking for what person's best for your players - who's going to relate to the players, who's going to be able to communicate with them," said Jaguars head coach Doug Marrone. "At the end of the day, we just felt that Jay was the best fit for us."

Gruden will be the third offensive coordinator Marrone has hired in his four seasons with the Jaguars. But Gruden is no stranger to the revolving doors of coaches. In Gruden’s six seasons with the Redskins, he worked with three different offensive coordinators and three different defensive coordinators. 

Gruden’s most immediate concern has to be with the quarterback. The situation in Jacksonville should feel familiar to him though after his last (abbreviated) season with the Redskins. 

 The Jaguars signed quarterback Nick Foles last March to a four-year, $88 million contract that included a franchise-record $50.125 million guaranteed. Foles suffered a broken collarbone only 11 snaps into the 2019 season opener though, presenting an opportunity for sixth-round pick Gardner Minshew.

Minshew showed signs of promise in his freshman campaign, leading the Jaguars to a 4-5 record before Foles returned. When Foles did come back though, Marrone benched him for Minshew after two and a half games when the team lost twice by a total of 42 points combined.

When rookie quarterback Dwayne Haskins Jr. got his first start in Washington, he also replaced a struggling Case Keenum. Gruden threw Haskins into a game that the Redskins were already losing by two touchdowns. The team went on to lose 24-3 to the New York Giants and Haskins did not play again until four weeks later when Bill Callahan had taken over as interim head coach.

Gruden proved he is capable of developing quarterbacks though when he was the offensive coordinator of the Bengals. Quarterback Andy Dalton arrived in Cincinnati the same year as Gruden - 2011 - and has been there ever since. Dalton had one of his best seasons in 2013 under Gruden with a career-high 33 touchdowns and 4,293 yards.

During Gruden’s time in Washington, the franchise quarterback was supposed to be Kirk Cousins. Cousins arrived in Washington in 2012 but he did not become the designated starter until 2015, while Gruden was the head coach. Cousins had larger shoes to fill in the absence of former Heisman Trophy winner Robert Griffin III, but he finished his tenure in Washington with a respectable 24-23-1 record - not great, but could be worse.

 In Jacksonville, Gruden has fewer expectations. Of course, he is expected to win. But neither Foles or Minshew has the added weight of needing to fill a void, and so neither does Gruden. The Jaguars finished 2019 with a 6-10 record and last in the AFC South. The Redskins wrapped up last season with only three wins and a last-place finish. The difference?

The difference is that Jacksonville is not a broken organization like Washington. The Jaguars became a team in 1995, just 24 years ago. The Redskins, however, date back to 1932. The Redskins’ last Super Bowl win came in 1991 while the Jaguars have never played for the Lombardi Trophy. Jacksonville is still a developing organization. Washington, however, lost its patience for losing long ago, demanding immediate results out of a now fault-ridden system.

Gruden no longer leads that system. He has the gift of patience and the devotion of fans, instead of their disillusionment, on his side.

He’s not a head coach and he’ll be better for it in Jacksonville, just like so many other Redskins coaches (Kyle Shanahan, Sean McVay, Matt LaFleur) who have found success elsewhere.