Jay Gruden, who spent last season as the offensive coordinator for the Cincinatti Bengals, will take over the head coaching position for the Washington Redskins.

Jay Gruden Gets Washington Redskins Job

By taking the job, Gruden has become the eighth Redskins coach during the 15 years that Dan Snyder has served as the franchise’s owner. Their last coach, Mike Shanahan, picked up 40 losses over his four years at the helm, finishing the 2011 season with a 3-13 record. Gruden acknowledged that he’ll have his hands full with the team that finished dead last in the NFC East.

“There’s a lot of work to do,” Gruden said. “When you’re 3-13, there’s not one particular player or reason. There’s a lot of reasons and a lot of things that need to be fixed, no question.”

“I will do my best to make sure that I put a competitive football team on the field every day. Really, it’s not about me, though. It’s about the Washington Redskins,” Gruden added. “This is about the fans. This is about the workers at FedEx Field. This is about the players. This is about the coaches. This is about the commitment to being a consistently great franchise, and wanting to provide everybody with the proud sense that we’re going to come to work every day and do the best we can to put a great football team on the field, every day.”

Gruden On RGIII

With the Redskins, Gruden inherits quarterback Robert Griffin III, who had a tough second season following his Rookie of the Year debut. The former Baylor standout, though criticized for his attitude when things don’t go his way, is an aspect of the team that Gruden is duly excited about.

“I see a ton of talent,” he said, referring to Griffin. “I see a guy that can run. I see a guy that can maneuver in the pocket. I see accuracy. I see long-ball accuracy. I see toughness. I see a guy that wants to win. I see a strong leader. I see every trait that a quarterback has to have to be successful. I see Robert having all of those. Why wouldn’t you want to coach a guy like that?”

Gruden, brother of current ESPN analyst and former Oakland Raiders and Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach Jon Gruden, stood out from the dozen other coaches called in to interview for the job. “We were looking for a new leader: someone to inspire our football team,” said Redskins GM Bruce Allen. “It was more than just X’s and O’s. It was about finding the right person to build the team chemistry that we needed."

Under Gruden’s tenure as offensive coordinator, the Bengals reached the NFL playoffs in each of the last three years. Furthermore, he helped develop QB Andy Dalton into one of the league’s best, finishing last season with 33 touchdown passes.

– Chelsea Regan

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