Gruden: My bro’s in middle of Washington ‘mess’
FROM HIS SEAT high up in the “Monday Night Football” broadcast booth, Jon Gruden can tell a bad situation when he sees one. And he sees a very bad one in Washington, where the rookie coach is his brother, Jay
n fact, Jon Gruden called the situation in Washington “a mess” in an interview on ESPN Radio on Thursday and said “unfortunately my brother is in the middle of it.” He cited several factors that have helped ruin Jay Gruden’s first season as an NFL coach, though he made it clear that their ugly quarterback situation is the biggest one.
“Well, there’s a lot of dynamics,” Jon Gruden said on ESPN Radio’s “Mike and Mike” morning show. “The first dynamic is: Let’s find a quarterback that can play and help us win in this league. And that’s what their number one objective is. You can’t really worry about feelings. I mean, this is not for that type of business. We’ve got to find 11 people that can block, catch, execute and make it happen in a winning fashion on game day.
“(Washington is) not there yet, and they need to find A) who their. quarterback is, and B) a nucleus of Iplayers they can win with. And all that combined has made a mess in Washington. And you’re right, unfortunately my brother is in the middle of it, and I wish him luck.”
The ugly side of the mess came to light last week when a report in The Washington Post said that owner Dan Snyder and GM Bruce Allen were committed to Robert Griffin III as their quarterback of the future, while Jay Gruden was not. The report said that the difference of opinion could lead to Gruden being let go after just one season as head coach.
On Wednesday, in an interview with the New York media, Jay Gruden said that when he chooses his quarterback between RGIII, Kirk Cousins and Colt McCoy — who will likely be the starter on Sunday against the Giants — he can’t worry about the financial investment his team has in Griffin, or the fact that he cost the franchise three firstround picks in a trade.
“Yeah, you can’t do that,” Jay Gruden said. “I think you have to find the best player to help you win moving forward. Throw them all in there and try to get them an equal chance to succeed, and try to play the best one that is going to help you. That is all it is. That is what it comes down to.”
Of course, problems arise if management and ownership can’t do that and insist that the quarterback they’ve invested in get the job. And that’s really bad for the coach, if that quarterback doesn’t turn out to be the best one.
“Well, you probably look for a new job at some point if the quarterback doesn’t perform in your offense, or for your team,” Jon Gruden said. “I mean, that’s the reality of it. If you don’t get the quarterback playing well, you’re going to have a hard time surviving in pro football.
“I remember Mike Holmgren said it when we made the trade for Brett Favre (when Jon Gruden was an assistant with the Packers). He said, ‘Look, I don’t care what everybody thinks in here. We’re going to make this kid successful, and if we make him successful, we’ll be successful. If he’s not successful, we’re not going to be successful.’
“The bottom line is, whether it’s Griffin, or Billy Kilmer, or whoever, they better find a quarterback in Washington because they have one in Dallas, and they have one in Philadelphia and Eli Manning is pretty good in New York. That’s what they’ve got to do.”