Washington Redskins have finally lost their patience with their head coach Jay Gruden. After 33-7 loss to New England Patriots on Sunday got them to 0-5 record, Redskins decided they needed a coaching change and fired Gruden on Monday morning.
Gruden leaves Washington after six seasons in which he posted 35-49-1 record and made the playoffs just once. Assistant head coach and offensive line coach Bill Callahan took over the head coaching duties on an interim basis.
“Through the first five games of the 2019 season, the team has clearly not performed up to expectations, and we all share in that responsibility,” – the team said in a statement posted on their official website. “Moving forward we are committed to doing all that we can collectively as an organization to turn things around and give our Redskins fans and alumni a team they can be proud of in 2019 and beyond.”
Redskins didn’t make the postseason in the last three years under Gruden, but they had an encouraging 6-3 start in 2018 before their quarterback Alex Smith suffered a potentially career-ending injury. The team was expected to bounce back this year, but things didn’t turn out that way as Washington failed to find consistency in 2019.
In the attempt to save his season, Jay Gruden decided to bench starter Case Keenum mid-game in week 4 and start rookie Dwayne Haskins. This backfired, as Haskins looked unready for the NFL, and delivered a disappointing performance. Gruden then started Colt McCoy against Pats, but he proved to be ineffective as well.
According to ESPN, Redskins will start their coaching search soon, with Tampa Bay Buccaneers defensive coordinator Todd Bowles and Kansas City Chiefs offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy being among the names in consideration.
