When Washington Redskins Head Coach Jay Gruden was hired with the task of bringing the franchise back to respectability on the field and off, he was facing a seemingly insurmountable task.
Coming off the Mike Shanahan fiasco, Gruden inherited a team and an organization that wanted to take a younger approach to things. The franchise was ready to move on from the traditional and stoic Shanahan, a head coach who was paranoid about media leaks that could give the opposing team a competitive advantage.
Then there was the whole “Robert Griffin, III-versus-Shanahan-versus-Snyder” phenomenon.
Gruden came into a blazing inferno with an intelligent fan base that, at times, exacerbated the drama around Redskins Park. But two years into his first NFL head coaching job Gruden has done an about face with regard to what he was hired to do on several fronts… all of which are starting to produce results.
Primarily, he was brought in to lift up the play of quarterbacks Robert Griffin, III and Kirk Cousins.
For whatever reason however, to date the “Griffin experiment” — i.e. the attempt to turn the former Heisman Trophy winner into a dominant pocket passer — failed.
As a result of this, when Gruden moved on to former backup QB Cousins as the starter for the 2015 season, the move was met with mix results from fans. In doing so, it appeared as if Gruden was tying his livelihood to Cousins. And the popular idea is that if Cousins played well, Gruden would have the last laugh. But if he struggled they both would be jettisoned out of D.C.
Well, after the first two games of the season the move looks to be paying dividends for the Burgundy and Gold. Even with all of the talk about how well the Redskins running game has done and how well the offensive line is playing; and with the success of Joe Barry’s defense as they go after opposing offenses, there is an overlooked subject worth discussing… and it is that of Gruden’s change of philosophy on the playbook.
The team is running the ball at an epic clip and has done so against two of the NFL’s more physical defenses. This change in dynamic has helped the team gain some momentum out of the gates to start the season.
Perhaps Gruden has adapted to more than just the changes in his quarterback. In running the ball first — and sometimes second — the Redskins have become a physical, no-frills unit. This seems to go hand-in-hand with their head coach’s demeanor to the media but may vary with regard to what the players see.
Last year during a rough first year in his tenure, players would still say that they really liked Gruden. Some would say that he was tough on them in practice and meetings but that he was balanced nevertheless. He joked with guys at the same time.
Perhaps this was the younger approach that team President Bruce Allen and owner Dan Snyder had in mind when they hired Gruden from the Cincinnati Bengals?
As a second-year head coach, Gruden has had to address some things from his rookie year that perhaps he would do over again if given the same situation.
There was the public undressing of Griffin during a press conference that made national news. In hindsight it should have not been done under any circumstance and yet it was. Was that a learning moment? Gruden, this year, seems to bite his tongue at times during press conferences, obviously understanding that his every word will be analyzed and scrutinized. In this, his second year, he apparently has figured out that starting a press conference with a quick-witted phrase will let the media know that he is on to them.
Heading into this Thursday’s nationally televised game against the New York Giants, Gruden and his young team could really do wonders for the national perception of their franchise with a win.
Maybe at the end of this season Gruden will have the last laugh. He’ll be known as the coach who adapted his system to its strengths and not necessarily its best talents. That would be a welcome sign to Redskins Nation… as long as the end results are W’s.