Jay Gruden's Future in Washington Should Have Never Been in Question

It's not uncommon for NFL head coaches to be fired after just a single year on the job. The stakes are higher than ever nowadays and patience isn't a virtue a lot of front office decision-makers possess. That explains why first-year coaches have been handed pink slips in each of the last three seasons. 

But according to Dianna Marie Russini of NBC4 in Washington, that won't be the case with rookie Redskins head coach Jay Gruden. 

And if indeed Gruden keeps his job entering the 2015 offseason, the Redskins will have made the right call on a major decision for the first time since hiring Gruden in the first place last January.

With quarterback turmoil already festering, Gruden was brought it in to bail water on a sinking ship. He inherited a 3-13 team with major holes on both sides of the ball, a controversy at the most important position in the sport and a PR problem regarding its racist name. 

Gruden is considered to be a quarterback guru, so the fact that he hasn't been able to get more out of his three pivots this season is certainly disappointing. But the point is the chips have been stacked against him from day one, and the front office knew when it gave him a guaranteed five-year contract that he deserved rope that lasted more than 12 months.

Remember, Robert Griffin III and Kirk Cousins weren't his guys, and I'm not sure there's a coach in the Milky Way galaxy who could have made either of those quarterbacks look good in 2014. Both have deep-seated issues that can't be fixed overnight, and let's also keep in mind that Griffin spent virtually the entire first half of the season sidelined by an ankle injury. 

It would be unfair to blame Gruden—an offensive-oriented coach—for a defense that has given up more points than all but four other teams. That unit has been forced to work for the majority of the year without its two most accomplished players; outside linebacker Brian Orakpo and cornerback DeAngelo Hall. And defensive quarterback London Fletcher retired in the offseason. 

Player	Position	Time missed
Robert Griffin III	QB	6 games
Brian Orakpo	OLB	9 games
DeAngelo Hall	CB	13 games
Barry Cofield	DT	8 games
Jordan Reed	TE	5 games
DeSean Jackson	WR	1 game
Trent Williams	LT	1 game, parts of others

A lot of excuses, I know. But looking at everything that has factored in, is anyone surprised the Redskins are 3-11? 

The reality is that if he were to be fired in two weeks, Gruden would be nothing more than a scapegoat. He hasn't had a great season individually, either. We've seen some weird strategies and plenty of questionable decisions, and the way he handled the controversy surrounding Griffin was often far from smooth. 

But the Redskins had to realize that there'd be rough patches when they hired a first-time head coach to run a team that was bound to have problems. Growing pains were inevitable, but Gruden didn't commit any fireable offenses in his first season. 

The Redskins still have to determine whether Gruden and Griffin can work together. If they want to roll the dice and keep both despite what appears to be a strained relationship, that's their prerogative. But canning an injury- and mistake-prone lightning rod of a quarterback after three years makes a lot more sense than firing the head coach who's been given less than a year to clean up a train wreck. 

Maybe owner Dan Snyder has learned from past overreactions, or maybe general manager Bruce Allen realizes that giving up on Gruden this early is only likely to expand the circus. All that matters is it's too early to give up on Jay Gruden, and if indeed the Redskins have come to that conclusion, it's an indication there might be some hope for this franchise after all. 

Brad Gagnon has covered the NFC East for Bleacher Report since 2012.