Jay Gruden hired as head coach of the Redskins

I might have enjoyed the lyrics at some other time. Right now, I just wish that we could all enjoy Redskins football again. Personally, I refuse to let losing get me down.

I was lucky because I was a Redskins fan when George Allen and Joe Gibbs (Version I) coached here. Back then, we knew we could beat anybody and we believed that we were never out of a game. It was a great time!

I want every Redskins fan to enjoy the Redskins the way we did back then. In a way, I must believe that Jay Gruden could be the same type of fortunate hire that Joe Gibbs turned out to be. I believe that one man, the right Head Coach, can make the difference between winning and losing. If Jay Gruden is the right man, I believe we can be good again for a decade or more.

My kids are 6 and 10. They kind of like the Skins b/c of me and but we are in the heart of Ravens land and there is a lot of pressure on them to buy in both from friends and b/c, as kids, they want to root for winners.

I desperately need a "salad days" type run to firmly cement them into Redskins Nation for life.

I HATE revisionist history! Haslett sucks and you all know it!

How many more times are you willing to endure Haslett letting Dallas off the hook on a key FOURTH down play by calling some stupid defense that causes us to lose the game? He's done that more than once, you know.

Trust your own eyes and remember the misery that he has put us through.

Amen Brother! All this "he didnt do such a bad job" talk is a joke. He was terrible. Haslett should have been gone before Shanny.

Amen Brother! All this "he didnt do such a bad job" talk is a joke. He was terrible. Haslett should have been gone before Shanny.

I wanted Haslett gone at the bye. I said I would be sick if he stayed.

Now, with visions of sugarplums dancing in my head, I am thinking - Shanny ruined many a DC's career in Denver. The stories that Cooley and others have shared about Haslett getting overturned and micromanaged by Shanny make a lot of sense to me. And then there is the relationship he has with JG and the experience that he could bring to the table.

So, right now, I am at the abyss, I have accepted that he may stay as an assistant head coach - Defense, where he might have some input both to the DC and to JG, but is not actively calling the D, or planning the scheme. If DS is paying him anyway, you might as well get some value from him.

But if they fire him tomorrow, I will still have a big smile :)

Amen Brother! All this "he didnt do such a bad job" talk is a joke. He was terrible. Haslett should have been gone before Shanny.

agree

Hasleet should have been in the same boat as Shanahan.

They both did nothing to prove that they should keep their positions.

Huge reason to be optimistic because of process of elimination.
Heres why -

There are basically 4 kinds of ways to get a coach.

A.The college favorite.
B.The wild card.
C.The retread.
D.The up and coming coordinator.

A - Spurrier
B - Zorn
C - Shanahan
D - Gruden

We eliminated all the ones that don't work.
We cant lose!
:joecool:

Let's take a historical view of the last hire

Bruce Allen Hire
Biggest Change, everyone thrilled..we finally have a GM! Although the teams he fielded were somewhat average, and he was known as an average GM
Many considered Best Move

Shanny Hire
Solid hire all around, 2X superbowl champ, specialized in offense. His defenses were generally average at best. Knock was he was never a winner without Elway.
Many considered 2nd Best Move

Shanny Jr.
Produced fantastic results with the Texans. Thought to be groomable as our next head coach. Some had concerns about Dad/Son thing, but not most
Considered a good move
Many considered 3rd Best Move...some argued better move than his Dad

Haslett
Always produced below average defenses over a couple decades. Stunk as a head coach. Many scratched heads wondering why him...many pointed out Shanny hires weak D coordinators. Most were so happy about a GM and a real coach to overlook what many saw as a missed opportunity. But, it was explained to us that Shanny wanted a 3-4, and Haslett would convert us, so we bought in.

NOW:
Shanny(s) cut:
Produced top offenses, wasn't really the problem on the field as the offense was fine (other than player failures and oline talent/RG3 struggles) Major problem is infighting occured...and they needed to axe someone. I wasn't a fan of Shanny...but I didn't see him as the problem as much as Snyder/RG3 immaturity. lack of comments by Allen when needed, etc. Shanny Jr was fine, but should have adjusted more this year.

Haslett
The biggest problem with the team, outside of our 1st yr special teams coach
He should have been fired long ago. No improvement. team sucked, deflated any offense success....almost horrible.

Overall:
The team would have been better off keeping Shanny and team and getting a Wade Phillips d coordinator and new special teams coach....instead....they did the exact opposite.

The main reason Shanny was fired was his record, and the infighting dilema.
Had Shanny demanded a new defensive coordinator and handled his players better, he might still be here. Shanny is not a bad coach, Haslett is.

Let's take a historical view of the last hire

Bruce Allen Hire
Biggest Change, everyone thrilled..we finally have a GM! Although the teams he fielded were somewhat average, and he was known as an average GM
Many considered Best Move

Shanny Hire
Solid hire all around, 2X superbowl champ, specialized in offense. His defenses were generally average at best. Knock was he was never a winner without Elway.
Many considered 2nd Best Move

Shanny Jr.
Produced fantastic results with the Texans. Thought to be groomable as our next head coach. Some had concerns about Dad/Son thing, but not most
Considered a good move
Many considered 3rd Best Move...some argued better move than his Dad

Haslett
Always produced below average defenses over a couple decades. Stunk as a head coach. Many scratched heads wondering why him...many pointed out Shanny hires weak D coordinators. Most were so happy about a GM and a real coach to overlook what many saw as a missed opportunity. But, it was explained to us that Shanny wanted a 3-4, and Haslett would convert us, so we bought in.

NOW:
Shanny(s) cut:
Produced top offenses, wasn't really the problem on the field as the offense was fine (other than player failures and oline talent/RG3 struggles) Major problem is infighting occured...and they needed to axe someone. I wasn't a fan of Shanny...but I didn't see him as the problem as much as Snyder/RG3 immaturity. lack of comments by Allen when needed, etc. Shanny Jr was fine, but should have adjusted more this year.

Haslett
The biggest problem with the team, outside of our 1st yr special teams coach
He should have been fired long ago. No improvement. team sucked, deflated any offense success....almost horrible.

Overall:
The team would have been better off keeping Shanny and team and getting a Wade Phillips d coordinator and new special teams coach....instead....they did the exact opposite.

The main reason Shanny was fired was his record, and the infighting dilema.
Had Shanny demanded a new defensive coordinator and handled his players better, he might still be here. Shanny is not a bad coach, Haslett is.

Yea he did not win games. He is a head coach, that is his main job. He failed miserably at his job. Record says it all.

Also the offense sucked last year as well. The entire team was garbage.

Everyone who's going to find something wrong about this franchise, whether if it is warranted or not, will color themselves as realists. It's not the first time we're hearing this kind of stuff - from the words of Bon Jovi, "It's all the same, only the names will change...".

People's opinions are easily swayed by the likes of the Washington Post, and they'll always assume the worst because they think anything Mike Wise, Jason Reid, or Sally Jenkins writes is pure gospel. Anybody who tries to challenge them with a brighter outlook is going to be pegged as fans who won't take of the rose-colored glasses.

Right now, there's absolutely no reason to bitch and complain about this hire, or the fact that Jim Haslett is still on the coaching staff. Jay Gruden is yet to even get started yet. Why is it too much to ask to wait and see what he does in assembling a complete staff?

And in terms of the hire itself, the franchise was looking for a candidate that best fits the team. I think Jay has the potential to be the right guy for the job. Time will tell and I'm not going sit here and cheer that this is a great hire nor am I going to sit here and sulk that he's the wrong guy. None of us really truly know until this guy gets in there and starts putting things together. But, I will say this - this is NOT another Jim Zorn hire. Gruden has experience as a head coach - albeit not yet in the NFL. He's been a leader of men. And after watching the presser yesterday, I don't get any type of timid "Zorn Like" qualities where it would make me think the guy would lose a locker room. He's a young coach who looks like he has that "fire in the belly" and wanting to achieve great things as a head coach.

In the end, we'll see. Let's just be glad that this team has found a head coach who's not 100 years old and not power hungry. I think we have a good guy, I'm excited to see what he does.

I would agree with this post except Haslett. Dude has been a bum!! Remember the first Philadelphia game? Or Green Bay? Chicago? Denver? What about Ponder and Cassel looking like Dan Marino? Simply pathetic defense. Piss poor, horse shit tackling... all year. There has to be someone out there better than Haslett. Rob Ryan made a difference for New Orleans so find a guy that can do what he did. Haslett needs a pink slip. Today!

Welcome to the circus, Jay.

The media is going to make him go bald before the end of the year.

ESPN asking Jay the same question 3 times in a row, although he answered it already... (http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/yahoo-sports-minute/jay-gruden-priceless-reaction-rg3-092233486.html?vp=1)



I love his answers though.

When will you see RGIII?
I don't know, I've been talking to you guy for 3-4 hours.

When will you see RGIII?
I just got here, I need to find coaches.

When will you see RGIII?
<eyes pop out from the level of media idiocy>

No wonder his eyes popped out of his head...who could be ready for this level of stupidity? He's handling himself well though.



It was bad enough ESPN put him through such a waste of time, then Yahoo turns it into a movie production, zooming in and out on his eyeballs.