By Joey Lavoie ‘14

On January 9, 2014 the Washington Redskins hired Cincinnati Bengals offensive coordinator Jay Gruden, brother of former NFL head coach Jon Gruden, as the team’s eighth head coach since Daniel Snyder bought the team in 1999. Gruden headed a Bengals’ offense that included pro-bowlers Andy Dalton and AJ Green, among others, while running a traditional west coast offense. He coached three Bengals playoff teams in his three years at the helm of the offense, including last year’s AFC North champions.

Given his family pedigree and professional resumé, there is every reason to believe Gruden can be a head coach in the NFL. But under the circumstances currently in Washington, success will not come so easy. He is going to have to deal with an extremely frustrated fan base, and an owner who still hasn’t learned to stay out of football personnel decisions.

The first obstacle for the Redskins is that the team has a franchise quarterback in Robert Griffin III but absolutely nothing around him on the offense, excluding running back Alfred Morris and veteran wide receiver Pierre Garcon. In 2012, the Redskins offensive line was durable but after a season full of injuries and inconsistencies, the line likely needs rebuilding.

One of the biggest keys for success in Washington is going to be how Gruden and Griffin foster a personal and professional relationship as they create an offensive system that fits Griffin’s unique set of skills. There won’t be much success if Gruden arrives in Washington and tries to force his system onto this Redskins team which was built to have a mobile quarterback, as shown in the 2012 season, where the Redskins were able to make the playoffs as division champions. That season, pre-RGIII knee injury, was based off a running quarterback and play action. After Griffin’s injury, the Shanahans became very reluctant to try any sort of quarterback-designed runs throughout the season. This led to RGIII becoming scared to test his knee in any sort of scramble situation early in the season. Gruden must come into Washington with the mindset that he is going to have to run RGIII early and often enough to keep opposing defenses off-balance.

The next thing Gruden and his staff must do is add quality and depth to the roster. The Redskins once again do not have a first round pick but with an early pick in the second round, the team must draft another playmaker at the wide receiver position to loosen up opposing defenses. After that, the key will be defense, defense and more defense. There needs to be more than Ryan Kerrigan and Brian Orakpo if the Redskins’ defense is going to slow down teams.

In the long run, the lingering question is whether the Redskins can have success while Dan Snyder continues to maintain ownership of this team. He just does not know how to run a football team even after 15 years of ownership. After years of success in Cincinnati as a coordinator, Gruden chose a very interesting team for his first try as a NFL head coach. It will not be easy to lead a 3-13 team back to the playoffs. Gruden has to captain the ship before it sinks to the very bottom of the NFL.