Redskins fire Jay Gruden; Bill Callahan named interim head coach

The Washington Redskins fired head coach Jay Gruden on Monday, the team announced. Assistant head coach/offensive line coach Bill Callahan will become the team’s interim head coach for the remainder of the 2019 season.

Washington, 0-5 on the season, hired Gruden in 2014. He had previously served as the Cincinnati Bengals’ offensive coordinator from 2011 to 2013. He also worked with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as an offensive assistant from 2002 to 2008, as well as coaching stints in the Arena Football League and United Football League. In the AFL, he was a four-time champion as a quarterback, and two-time champion as a head coach. He was on the Buccaneers staff, with his brother Jon as the head coach, when the team won Super Bowl XXXVII.

He was 35-49-1 with Washington in six seasons. Gruden’s Redskins won the NFC East in 2015, his only playoff appearance, losing in the Wildcard round that year.

Callahan has previously been a head coach with the Oakland Raiders, where he interestingly replaced Jon Gruden who was moving to the Buccaneers, and at Nebraska. He was hired by the Redskins in 2015 as their offensive line coach, adding the assistant head coach title in 2017. Has has also worked with the Dallas Cowboys, New York Jets, and Philadelphia Eagles in the NFL, primarily as an offensive line coach. He was the offensive coordinator for the Raiders from 1998 to 2001 under Jon Gruden, and with the Cowboys from 2002 to 2014. He was 15-17 in his time as the Raiders head coach, being fired after the 2003 season, but did claim the AFC Conference title and a spot in Super Bowl XXXVII, where Oakland lost to the Grudens’ Buccaneers.

The Redskins are expected to give more control of the offense to offensive coordinator Kevin O’Connell, who will now become the play-caller, a role Gruden had filled. O’Connell recently told some of the Redskins players, with Gruden in the room, that he had never coached on a team with so few running attempts and that they needed to get back to rushing the ball, according to Josina Anderson.

There could be other changes to the coaching staff, however, with speculation that the team could look to move on from defensive coordinator Greg Manusky. Washington could also look to move to quarterback Dwayne Haskins with the change, though reports have indicated Haskins is not ready to start in the NFL.

The Redskins travel to South Florida this week to face the Miami Dolphins, who are coming off their bye week. The game features two of the league’s winless teams and could be a big factor in the ultimate 2020 NFL Draft order.

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