Lots of conflict and turmoil in Washington right now; and we’re not just talking about the acrimony between the legislative and executive branches of government. Will Jay Gruden return to coach the team next year? It appears that Robert Griffin III is on his way out, (as we’ve chronicled). So what about Gruden? The NFL punditocracy speaks.
Rich Gannon, CBS: “I think the owner and the general manager are on board with Jay Gruden. Jay Gruden was brought in to help get RGIII back to playing the type of football they were hoping he could play and that he played as a rookie. But you look at the success that Jay Gruden had with Andy Dalton those first three years, he just hasn’t been able to get it out of RGIII. I think the owner is going to listen to the head coach in this situation.”
Jimmy Johnson, FOX: “Robert Griffin is done in Washington. The question is, is Jay Gruden done and is he going down with this quarterback? Robert Griffin tried to be a leader with his words. But in the NFL, players don’t care about words; they want to see the action on the field. Are you going to help them win ball games? You look at Jay Gruden he has never bought in to Robert Griffin as his quarterback. How many coaches have you ever seen in a press conference call out their quarterback and point out his mistakes in a press conference? As far as Robert Griffin’s teammates, they don’t respect his work ethic and they don’t respect what he is doing on the field, because it’s not helping them win. It’s a shame because Robert Griffin is a talented guy, but I don’t think you can repair this relationship.”
Trent Green, CBS: “Mike Shanahan has a great track record of working with quarterbacks and winning football games. Now all of the sudden he is the fall guy because Robert Griffin III wasn’t able to adjust to Mike Shanahan. Now they bring in Jay Gruden. Jay Gruden came in to help him become a better quarterback. That hasn’t worked. And now (RGIII) gets on the podium and starts blaming other people other than himself. You can’t do that. You start losing the locker room. So when you look at the changes that have been made at head coach, and you look at how (RGIII has been) pointing the finger and looking at other guys to blame – that’s why Daniel Snyder, from an organizational standpoint, is going to need to make a change.”
Paul M. Banks owns, operates and writes The Sports Bank.net ,which is partners with Fox Sports. Read his feature stories in the Chicago Tribune RedEye edition. Listen to him on KOZN 1620 The Zone. Follow him on Twitter (@paulmbanks). His work has been featured in hundreds of media outlets including The Washington Post and ESPN 2