With the opportunity to participate in the playoffs for the first time in three seasons and a future that looks bright, there are several variables that led the Washington Redskins to their successful 2015 campaign.
Fans are constantly asking: Who is responsible for the outcome of this division-winning 9-7 season?
A weak division is what some will rally behind outside of the beltway but there were actually several scenarios that led to this outcome.
Quarterback Kirk Cousins and his record-breaking season will be focal point for fans looking for a hero.
How about General Manager Scot McCloughan and his knack for finding professional, dependable players for a team that was besieged with early season injuries? His first ever draft class has produced at warp speed as well.
Defensive coordinator Joe Barry has his unit flying around and leading the National Football League in forced fumbles with 36.
A name that is not getting mentioned enough is Head Coach Jay Gruden.
The job that Gruden did holding the team together throughout adversity is actually remarkable. In years past the Burgundy and Gold would have unraveled like a cheap suit when things got thick. Too many times players were more interested in their bank accounts than their stat line on the field.
Gruden actually did what was needed by making this team his team. To be sure, his benching of Robert Griffin III still resonates with bitterness for some. But the head coach did what he felt was right for himself and the team.
By benching Griffin — who was a fan-favorite to some and an underachiever to others — Gruden also put out a fire that had been blazing out in Ashburn for years. That “fire” was the perception that Redskins owner Dan Snyder never stopped interfering… sending down orders like as a czar.
For years Snyder has been persona non grata with the media. Even when Gruden made the change at quarterback from Griffin to Cousins, fans (and some media) argued that Snyder would be back at it again, giving out orders to put Griffin back in as the starter.
When Griffin was not released, flames were ignited again with groups saying that Snyder loved Griffin and would not let go of his franchise cash cow.
To see Cousins perform the way he has, helping lead Washington to the playoffs must be exonerating for Gruden and the organization as a whole.
McCloughan, team President Bruce Allen and Snyder have all allowed Gruden to do his job without any placing handcuffs on him. If he failed than it was because he was a poor coach and decision maker.
Having succeeded so far however, credit needs to be given where it is due.
Gruden had the heart to do something that was very unfavorable to a legion of team supporters. It should be stated that the decision to bench Griffin also resonated in racial terms as many African-Americans around the beltway felt jilted in the way Griffin was handled. To ignore this would be brushing a topic that has been widely discussed under the table.
This region is the most affluent in the United States as of 2015 and it also boasts the largest household incomes of African-Americans in the country. To say that the move was not being looked at closely is an understatement.
Gruden, in doing what he felt was best for the Redskins, must have known that if it backfired he would be walking the plank on his employment here in DC. He stuck with his intuition and the rest is history.
Could Griffin have run the same offense? Probably. But Gruden saw something in Cousins that made him want to do things his way.
If there are any skeptics still out there, last week at his daily press conference, just days after defeating Philadelphia for the division crown, Gruden sounded like a man in a good situation.
“Well, it’s been like that for a long time since I’ve been in it,” Gruden said about various NFL coaches that were likely to be fired after this season. “Obviously I worked for my brother and he got fired – won three division championships and a Super Bowl. It’s a tough business. We know when we signed up to be a head coach or an assistant coach in this league that job security – if you’re looking for job security, this is not the business to be in. You just have to work and do things the way you want to do them. If you get an opportunity like I have here, try to do it your way and do the best you can. Hopefully the wins will follow and you get to stay. It is what it is, man. It’s a very tough business. It’s not a fair business all the time but it’s awesome when things go well, obviously not so good when they don’t.”
It’s obvious that the head coach knows where he stands within the organization with that bold proclamation.
As Washington’s playoff game against the Green Bay Packers approaches, the future looks bright for the Redskins as a team and an organization regardless of whether they win or lose. And for once, stability at the head coach position has the focus solely on the field.