Jay Gruden hired as head coach of the Redskins

If Jim Haslett is retained as DC, what are we being asked to believe? That the historically bad defense he led somehow wasn't his fault?

If it wasn't his fault, I'd like to know why they think it wasn't his fault.

Was he prevented by Shanahan from doing what he wanted to do?

Or did he have bad position coaches?

Or did he have bad players?

Or was it a combination of the above with some injuries thrown in to the mix?

Now, the Redskins have announced that two of Haslett's position coaches have been retained, Including Raheem Morris who was the coach of the worst unit on that historically bad defense. And, to my knowledge, the Redskins haven't interviewed any candidates for the DC position, so I suppose Haslett will be retained unless Dan Snyder absolutely forbids it.

If Haslett is retained, it would be nice if the Redskins brain trust would tell us why they think the Redskins defense will be better in 2014 under the same leadership that produced an unmitigated disaster of a defense in 2013. That should be interesting.

The unresolved status of Jim Haslett is why I couldn't bring myself to whole-heartedly endorse the hiring of Jay Gruden. Getting the "old gang" back together might mean something to Bruce Allen and Jay Gruden but, as a fan, it means nothing to me. I just want the Redskins to win and I have good reason to be skeptical about Haslett being capable of helping us win.

I agree. My guess is that we will revisit this issue again this time next year, after Haslett has failed again and there are no more excuses for the "old gang."

Just hire Wade Phillips dammit.

Some things we know about Haslett: he wasn't allowed to hire his own defensive staff prior to now, he was sometimes overruled by Shanahan on play calling, we haven't had a lot to work with recently especially in the secondary, he's probably not the greatest DC in the world but he's far from the worst.

Can the D improve under Haslett going forward by having better assistants around, better chemistry amongst the staff, and most of all by upgrading the talent? I think so.

I'm sure an improved offense will help the defense as well.

I'm sure an improved offense will help the defense as well.

Definitely, and special teams too.

Is it official we are staying 3-4?

No, but If they weren't going to run a base 3-4 I don't think they would have hired one coach for OLB's and another coach for ILB's.

Some things we know about Haslett: he wasn't allowed to hire his own defensive staff prior to now, he was sometimes overruled by Shanahan on play calling, we haven't had a lot to work with recently especially in the secondary, he's probably not the greatest DC in the world but he's far from the worst.

Can the D improve under Haslett going forward by having better assistants around, better chemistry amongst the staff, and most of all by upgrading the talent? I think so.

Well, they've already got you buying it.

But don't forget that they weren't just bad on defense last year - they were historically, negative record-setting, horrible to watch bad.

OK, let's say they keep Haslett, which I believe they will. If we start out next season with the same kind of defensive ineptitude as we suffered through in 2013, I just hope that Dan Snyder will demand that Haslett be replaced by Game 5.

I wonder if Jay would consider Terry Shea to be the QB coach for RG3. He help Robert coming out of college. Might be a good fit.

Well, they've already got you buying it.

But don't forget that they weren't just bad on defense last year - they were historically, negative record-setting, horrible to watch bad.

OK, let's say they keep Haslett, which I believe they will. If we start out next season with the same kind of defensive ineptitude as we suffered through in 2013, I just hope that Dan Snyder will demand that Haslett be replaced by Game 5.

I'm not buying anything, just saying there are some legit reasons that go beyond simply blaming Haslett for everything.

What sort of records did they set exactly?

The notion that Haslett was bad isn't accurate or fair. The Redskins let up an insane amount of yards and points in the first three games of the year, which of course you can't let Haslett completely off the hook for. But the Eagles put up all that yardage partly because the Skins couldn't get out of their own way on offense, turning it over tons of times. And they started Rambo at safety, who clearly wasn't remotely ready. Bad decision by Haslett, but to be fair if they didn't have the cap penalty he would have had better talent to work with there.

Just like you can't let Haslett completely off the hook, you have to acknowledge the improvement over the last 13 games. After the first 3 we were last in the league in yards allowed. We finished 18th, despite having zero talent in the secondary.

So Haslett isn't worthless. Give him some $ invested in defensive talent and he can field a decent defense.

Some things we know about Haslett: he wasn't allowed to hire his own defensive staff prior to now, he was sometimes overruled by Shanahan on play calling, we haven't had a lot to work with recently especially in the secondary, he's probably not the greatest DC in the world but he's far from the worst.

Can the D improve under Haslett going forward by having better assistants around, better chemistry amongst the staff, and most of all by upgrading the talent? I think so.

SO what was Haslett's excuse his prior experience before coming to the Skins. I mean, Mike overriding him on a few plays isn't going to cause the defense to be bad as it was. What we do know is Haslett doesn't like to run the 3-4 so why have him run a system he doesn't want to run? What we also know is Haslett has been a mediocre DC his entire career. Is that Mike's fault too?

This hiring people b/c they are friends is bullshit and pretty much why we stunk the past 4 years.

That said I'd get Wade Phillips instead, he's better.