Where does Gruden rank?

[Jumbo]

I thought someone (maybe zoony) might have started a thread like:

 

"Where do you rank those select "expert" message board warriors who repeatedly shat their "expertise" all over every thread with their endless spinning of the media reports, endless excuse-making for "their guy",  and mantras of Kirk being a "decided fail" and "Jay being a moron/doofus",  but who now are absent from ES as we are actually the NFCE champs and going into the playoffs?"

 

 

   

[Califan007 The Constipated]

I have no clue.

 

I'm sticking by this.

[celticsalmon]

He is an HC with a 12-19 record!

[arftech]

He is an HC with a 12-19 record!

I was one of his most harshest critics but imo he's trending up...record aside. 

 

HTTR!

[chipwhich]

He is an HC with a 12-19 record!

 

Joe Gibbs last two years here he was 14-18, after spending like a drunken sailor on free agents and having a couple of years to build his own roster.

 

Gruden took over a dumpster fire with so much drama players were all leaking dirty laundry to the press and to "insiders".

[veteranskinsfan]

_{Last year I felt it was critical to give our head coach more support in 2015 to see if he could learn from his mistakes and grow.}

_{Also hiring some better assistant coaches helped this year too.  Chip Kelly got fired a few days ago.  Sports talk radio Eagle fans were knocking their Head Coach mid way through their season. Half of the Eagles' fan base thought last year he was a "genius".  This year half of the fan base claimed they never liked him and always wanted him fired.  The Eagle's owner said Chip lacked "emotional intelligence" and his next Head Coach would have the capacity to get along with people better.  Gruden seems to relate to his players and have emotional intelligence.  Also, in early 2015, he proved he was not afraid to make tough and unpopular decisions if those decisions would benefit the team overall.  It appears Gruden and the General Manager are a good fit along with Bruce Allen who serves as the necessary buffer with our owner.  Next year we have a tough schedule so let's enjoy the rest of this football season because this team has delivered for this fan base for sure.  Enjoy the light as one of our moderator's wrote (earlier in this thread), while we can.  Do not knock our Coach now.  Give him time to grow just like Jack Kent Cooke did for Joe Gibb's after the team started out 0-5.}

[Wildbunny]

Mind you, if one important player is hurt this sunday against Dallas, Gruden will be back to the most terrible coach in the NFL.

Even if that happens because well, you've got to dress 46 guys on sunday...

[johnboy99]

Mind you, if one important player is hurt this sunday against Dallas, Gruden will be back to the most terrible coach in the NFL.

Even if that happens because well, you've got to dress 46 guys on sunday...

Let's sit Cousins and see what RGIII's got - what could possibly go wrong?

[Wildbunny]

Let's sit Cousins and see what RGIII's got - what could possibly go wrong?

 

He tears another ACL and we owe him 16M?

Just sayin'...

[johnboy99]

He tears another ACL and we owe him 16M?

Just sayin'...

 

LOL I was just being sarcastic - but I realise that some people would make it a serious suggestion

[Koolblue13]

I voted top half. I think next year will be the best chance to really see what his influence is.

 

We've got a top 1/4 coaching staff though. I think McVay and Callahan are doing a great job.

[johnboy99]

 

 

We've got a top 1/4 coaching staff though. I think McVay and Callahan are doing a great job.

 

You know what has really impressed me the most?

 

Joe Barry - with the injuries the D's endured (particularly the secondary) I was expecting a bloodbath every sunday, but he's put together a half decent scheme with what he had left.

[Koolblue13]

You know what has really impressed me the most?

 

Joe Barry - with the injuries the D's endured (particularly the secondary) I was expecting a bloodbath every sunday, but he's put together a half decent scheme with what he had left.

It's been an audition year for sure. With all the players in and out, moving around, changing positions. 

 

Barry has done well, but Fewell, Olivadotti, Akey have also been one hell of a team.

 

I'm ****ing loving this franchise right now. We have everything in line, even Daniel ****ing Snyder.

 

Hail.

[Wildbunny]

LOL I was just being sarcastic - but I realise that some people would make it a serious suggestion

 

I know, but felt I needed to precise it in case some forgot it and were seriously considering it. Though I wouldn't mind seeing RG3 on the field on last time if there wasn't this 16M above his head. Not sure that those 16M is something Gruden care about in fact.

[ThomasRoane]

We literally witnessed an organization setting a goal, with an understood philosophy, and sticking to it throughout all the obstacles. They essentially told us they were going to do this all offseason. This is so massive for the organization... I'm not sure people recognize it as much as they should.    

 

That last statement really sums it all up nicely.  I tried to point out that he didn't even get to pick his own staff last year!  Also, he didn't know who could and who couldn't play.  You can't find that out from a team that had won only 3 games the prior year.  Scot McCloughan has been a great buffer for Jay.  I'd bet that when Scot came to the conclusion that Robert couldn't succeed as an NFL Pocket passer (at least not without a lot of work) that Dan finally realized (accepted) what everyone had been saying. 

 

Like you, I had confidence in Jay from last year.  If you watched his passing game time and time again you'd see frustrated receivers who were wide open but didn't get the ball. That's been proven this year as we have seen what a match up problem our receivers and Reed present to opposing defenses.  That's not just the players either.  He really does a good job with McVay in mixing up their plan of attack.

 

I understand why they wanted to stick to the running game.  I think until that Tampa game that there was a 50/50 chance that Gruden+Kirk would be fired or be productive.  So, they wanted to minimize how much Kirk had to handle and were reluctant to put it all on him until he began to show he had grown sharp enough to do so. 

 

Who knows?  Had Kirk been throwing it all over the place before they may have ended up losing a couple more games and being a team in disarray instead of a team trying to figure out how much they will have to pay their QB of the future. 

 

I really like how Jay relates to the players.  He needed to come down on Robert to save him from getting whupped in the locker room after Robert put the blame on his team mates.  However, I agree that he shouldn't have went into what Robert needed to fix.  Jay got burned on that one but he also seems to have learned his lesson.  From the beginning he talked about the importance of competition.  With McCloughan siding with him on the QB position then that freed Jay up to be himself.  He runs his team as a meritocracy.  Which is the ONLY way to have a successful season in football.  Anytime players can get on the field without earning that right then you will have problems.

 

I feel really good about the organization as a whole for the first time in a long, long time.

[ThomasRoane]

Good article on Gruden.  People were way too hard on him last year over his relationship with one player.  The rest of the team really likes how he handles them with "emotional intelligence." 

 

Here's a link about Gruden:  http://www.yardbarker.com/nfl/articles/he_aint_fake_jay_gruden_put_redskins_on_path_to_playoffs/s1_13180_20155084?mb_edition=5356&linksrc=mb_favorites_head

 

Here's a good contrast on Chip Kelly:  http://www.newser.com/article/3686692dae554ca1bc3c88b065a32ad7/eagles-ceo-jeffrey-lurie-says-coach-following-chip-kelly-needs-people-skills-emotional-smarts.html

[mcsluggo]

I put him somewhere between the top half and the bottom half, but not quite in the middle. 

 

Now--see if you can find him!

 

 

i see him!

 

 

[Skinsinparadise]

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000000619470/article/notebook-top-qb-draft-prospects-kirk-cousins-value-and-more

 

COACH OF THE YEAR:

1) Andy Reid, Kansas City Chiefs: The team's best offensive player (Jamaal Charles) was lost for the year, and the best defensive player (Justin Houston) missed a month. And somehow, 1-5 became 11-5. "He evolves his plan around the team," an NFC personnel exec said. "It's not his scheme, but how he gets the most out of what he has."
2) Ron Rivera, Carolina Panthers: This isn't merely because of the team's 15-1 record, although that doesn't hurt. It's also Rivera's ability to navigate situations like the Greg Hardy fiasco last season, and how he's kept a steady hand on the wheel this season as Carolina has proven it can win the shootout just as proficiently as it can outpoint its opponent in a slugfest. Very few head coaches have the pulse of today's young athlete like Rivera does.
3) Mike Zimmer, Minnesota Vikings: Another coach who guided his team through the tall grass of a bad situation in 2014, and saw the team pull intangible benefits from that in 2015. Everything we heard for years about the assistant coach Zimmer -- as a person, as a teacher and as a leader -- has proven true about the head coach Zimmer. As our AFC exec put it, "If anyone has really 'led' their team to success, and showed them how to win, it's Mike Zimmer."
4) Jay Gruden, Washington Redskins: The quarterback decision is the big one here. Gruden has been determined to have the program in Washington that's a meritocracy, and he's felt all along that Cousins is his best signal caller. But he also incorporated new coaches like Joe Barry and Bill Callahan to his staff, and helped a new GM carry out a vision for a tougher, more physical team. "The guy has gone from the Arena League to OC to head coach in the NFL of a team that was going in multiple directions," our NFC personnel exec said. "And he found a way to make guys wanna play for him."
5) Bill O'Brien, Houston Texans.

[ThomasRoane]

People shouldn't miss how Jay is learning.  When the Redskins played the Pats earlier this year they were very tight lipped and everyone talked about how they couldn't make mistakes.  They came out and played very tight.  (Hence all the dropped passes)  They played afraid to make a mistake. 

 

Now, listen to Jay in pressers and how the players have picked up on it.  He leads off with a joke on Baker.  The players have this loose, confident attitude about them.  You can't play with a fear of failure.  It doesn't work.  Jay has them in a very good state of mind.  Doesn't mean they'll win.  But I think you'll see the team come out throwing haymakers. 

[skins island connection]

 I admit, I had him in the lower half, but not really low, I think I had him around 18-20.

But, doesn't bother me to say I was wrong. He still does have quite a way to go, it is difficult to judge him on his brief tenure here thus far, but one thing he has done is work WITH the players, adapting to THEIR strengths.

The beginning of the season he had me pulling my hair out little by little by forcing the running game, but has gotten away from that and is going with what works, and its paying off in a good way for the entire team. But I still think it will be a challenge to get a good idea of his abilities until after next season; we will see then how he does with the success of this year and how he builds on it or not next year.

[ThomasRoane]

Another really good article about the growth in Gruden.

 

 

An evolved leader

 

In a profession that breeds pompous leadership, Gruden stands as the rare NFL head coach who makes the job seem like a goofy good time. If he’s not letting wide receiver DeSean Jackson twist his nipple during practice, then he’s whining in jest about a sports radio host calling him fat. Or he’s doing an impression of Jack Nicholson’s Col. Nathan R. Jessup character in “A Few Good Men” and shouting during a team meeting after a tense week, “You’re damn right I ordered the code red!”

 

I really like the changes he made to his staff.  He doesn't get enough credit for that.  It's not all McCloughan.

 

After the 2014 season, Gruden went to team President Bruce Allen and Snyder with changes in mind. He wanted to hire a quarterbacks coach, which he didn’t have in his first season, and he turned to Matt Cavanaugh. He replaced defensive coordinator Jim Haslett with the high-energy Joe Barry. He poached offensive line coach Bill Callahan from the Dallas Cowboys. He changed the strength and conditioning staff and brought in more assistants who were good teachers with infectious energy.

He now ran the team like a CEO, seeing the big picture and not just acting like an offensive coordinator with an inflated title. His players noticed.

 

https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/redskins/to-evolve-as-redskins-coach-jay-gruden-learned-to-sit-down-shut-up/2016/01/08/0bac3352-b54e-11e5-9388-466021d971de_story.html

[Wildbunny]

I really like the changes he made to his staff.  He doesn't get enough credit for that.  It's not all McCloughan.

 

I'm advocating this since the beginning of the offseason. Scott is getting almost all the credit (not so much lately, but it's been widely seen as this during the season) while he made it clear that the HC hire his coaching staff.

 

We've been so used to being dysfunctional that we still can't admit when we're doing things right.

 

Great article also.

[Jumbo]

http://nypost.com/2016/01/09/jay-gruden-on-kirk-cousins-rise-his-brother-and-biggest-game-of-his-life/

 

Jay Gruden on Kirk Cousin’s rise, his brother and biggest game of his life

 

 

 

<edit>

 

Q: What intangibles have you seen in Kirk Cousins, and does he remind you of former Louisville quarterback Jay Gruden?

 

A: Heck no. He’s way nicer than I was, man. He’s a class act. I wasn’t. I just think he’s got a natural leadership about him. I think No. 1, he’s a very humble person. He wants to be great. He’s very critical of himself. He’s a perfectionist, which is very important at the quarterback position.

 

Q: You were once quoted as saying, “I’m the most competitive guy in America.”

 

A: I feel that way, I mean, if anybody says they’re more competitive than me, I’ll argue, and fight ’em, and do what I gotta do to prove it. I don’t know, I’ve just always been very competitive in whatever I’ve done. A lot of people say that, but … I was born that way. It’s in my DNA, grew up the son of a football coach. I know when my dad’s coach lost, I remember just always being that way in every sport that I played. My brother [Jon], we used to play a little game when we were little. … He would taunt me, and lock his door and sing songs taunting me behind locked doors while I was banging on the door trying to get in and beat him up. I learned to hate to lose at a very young age.

 

Q: Tell me what you’ve learned from the following people: your father.

 

A: Competition, loyalty. Obviously being a good father. And a good person, really.

 

Q: Your college coach, Howard Schnellenberger.

 

A: He made us the best he could possibly make us, and I think he maxed out the talent that he had [at Louisville]. We weren’t very good, but he got the most out of us, that’s for sure.

 

Q: Marvin Lewis, whose staff you were on with the Bengals.

 

A: Professional. He’s a very professional individual, man. He treats everybody with respect. Very organized, and excellent football coach.

 

<edit>

 

Q: Jon Gruden.

 

A: Everything Xs and Os-wise. That’s where I got my start as far as the NFL’s concerned … preparation … situational football … motivational tactics … game management. Anything football-related, you could point to Jon.

 

Q: How do you motivate?

 

A: Jon and I are different. Jon’s a very in-your-face type of guy. I’m more of a laid back-type of guy, but I have the ability to get in your face from time to time. It depends on the situation, really. I don’t have a script on how to motivate. I don’t have a book that Tuesday, I’m gonna motivate this way; Thursday I’m gonna motivate this way; for the Packer game I’m gonna do this. … I kind of wait and see the mood of the team, what buttons I feel like I need to push, and that could be different. Sometimes I don’t feel like I need to do a big motivational speech, and I don’t. I try to adjust my motivational skills when needed, not over-motivate like some people do, because it goes in one ear, out the other.

 

Q: Where would you say you’ve made the biggest growth from Year 1 to now as a head coach?

 

A: I think delegation, probably. I’ve let the coaches do their jobs and trusted them to do ’em. Not that I didn’t last year, but even more so over the top this year. … And obviously handling the media, I think I’ve grown. Some people may not think that, but I’ve grown a little bit.

 

Q: What drives you?

 

A: Wins. That’s it. Super Bowls. Getting better every day, challenging these guys to get better every day, putting your best foot forward every day.

 

Q: What was that moment like when you won Super Bowl XXXVII with your brother’s Buccaneers?

 

A: I was more excited for him than what I did. I didn’t really have any impact in that game whatsoever. I might have called one play or recommended a play here or there.

 

Q: Would you ever show your Super Bowl ring to your team?

 

A: No, hell no. Not that I didn’t deserve it, but I want one of my own. Don’t get me wrong, I’m very, very happy that I got that sucker. … It’s locked up somewhere.

 

Q: Who are coaches in other sports and in football you admire?

 

A: Gregg Popovich, freakin’ love that guy. Mike Krzyzewski. I grew up a huge, huge Bobby Knight fan, I mean huge. Guys like Tom Coughlin, who seemed to do things the right way, with respect and dignity. Obviously Bill Belichick for winning consistently — it’s hard to do in this business. Obviously you gotta have a lot of respect for what Nick Saban’s done, the organization that he has, his attention to detail and all that stuff.

 

Q: What is it about Popovich?

 

A: Every time I’ve seen with his team, I like the way he handles his team, it looks like they get along extremely well. You can tell that he can go out to dinner with them the night before a game and still get on ’em and then coach the crap out of ’em and get the most out of ’em. He’s hard on ’em, you could tell, but he’s also a guy that gets along with his players very well.

 

Q: Krzyzewski?

 

A: Professional. He’s consistent in his approach. And a consistent winner.

 

Q: Do you have any regrets never having played in the NFL?

 

A: I think I’ve gotten over that by now. I had a lot of regrets. My mom always told me there’s a reason for everything. I was fortunate to be in the leagues that I was in, ’cause I grew a lot in the Arena League, had a lot of fun, met a lot of great people, had some great competitive games. … But I did have some regret not getting an opportunity. I can handle getting an opportunity, a legit opportunity and getting cut. I would rather have had that than not getting that legit opportunity. That’s the one thing I really regret.

 

Q: Who was your favorite quarterback growing up?

 

A: Joe Montana. My dad [Jim] was a coach at Notre Dame when I was probably in ninth grade or so, and he was the quarterback there and that’s really who I studied. Then in high school, when we moved to Tampa, Fla. I worked out with [receiver] Freddie Solomon for seven offseasons in a row all through high school, then through my first couple of years of college. Freddie was an ex-college quarterback and he studied Joe Montana, so I really emulated everything that I knew from Joe or from Freddie Solomon.

 

Q: Joe Namath called your home to help Schnellenberger recruit you?

 

A: My mom about had a heart attack. I was going to Louisville. Joe Namath was the icebreaker. When Howard Schnellenberger came to our house, it was a wrap.

 

Q: Do you remember what your mom Kathy told you about Namath’s sales pitch?

 

A: She just had a crush on him, I think (chuckle).

 

Q: What is the mood of your team?

 

A: I think they’re in a good place. I think winning the last four games has really helped. Put out a lot of demons here — you can’t do this with the quarterback, you can’t block, you can’t rush the passer, you can’t do this, you can’t win on the road — we’ve done all that. I think the biggest thing that we had to instill in this group, the young guys and the veteran guys alike, is confidence. In order to get that, you gotta win some games. Now we just have to play the biggest games of our lives and play well.

 

Q: How do you get the message across not to do anything more than you have done in the biggest game of your life?

 

A: I’ll figure that out Saturday night. You don’t want ’em to put too much pressure on — It’s the biggest game of your life! Or be too calm, and just do what you do. … That’s gonna be a fine line. The intensity level’s gonna rise. But also, you want them to play within themselves, and do what they’ve been doing, and playing the way they got us here. They’re gonna have to step up their game, obviously, I’ll figure something out.

 

Q: Describe owner Daniel Snyder.

 

A: Very passionate about the Washington Redskins. All he does is want to win. You hear horror stories sometimes about how hands-on he is, but that’s not the case at all. He just wants to help out any way he can. He is probably the biggest Redskin fan there is in the world. He’s been great.

 

Q: Your GM, Scot McGloughan.

 

A: He’s a football guy, football all the way. I don’t think he knows anything else about the world other than football players, and that’s what you want as a GM. He’s very involved in the process, and very passionate about the game. All he cares about also, like myself, is wins, so we see eye-to-eye in that regard. We’re not here to be anybody’s best friends or anything like that, we’re trying to put the best team we can on the football field and win games here.

 

Q: How would you assess your brother on television?

 

A: Oh, he’s the best! In fact, I offered him: If you want to switch spots, we could do that. I’d love to go in the booth and do what he does, that looks like a lot of fun. You get a little bit more sleep that way. … I still learn listening to him talk football. He does a great job of keeping it simple for the basic viewer, but analyzing the game.

 

Q: Why is this job so much fun for you?

 

A: It’s not always fun. But I try to make it fun. I’m very fortunate to be in a position I am. The one thing, I didn’t want the stress to overwhelm my life. I still have a great wife and great kids, obviously very fortunate to be able to support them and have a job, No. 1. I’m very grateful for that. And I just want to be myself. I told myself, if I ever got an opportunity to be a head coach in the National Football League, I wanted to: A) be myself; do it my way. And if it didn’t work out, I’d feel much better about myself than if I tried to come here and change and be some kind of authoritative figure and be somebody I’m not. So I told myself I’m not gonna change who I am.

 

Q: How do you deal with the stress?

 

A: I don’t really have a lot of stress. I don’t let anything stress me out. I just try to fix things. As a head coach, it’s not so much about Xs and Os anymore. The coordinator maps out Xs and Os and finds out the best scheme to beat the opponent. I still do a little bit of that, but it’s about motivation, and it’s about getting the best out of your players, and sometimes it’s about putting out fires, and fixing things. Bill Parcells told me, “Jay, there’ll be five things every day that you’re not gonna expect to have happen, and you’re gonna have to deal with those five things every day.” And he’s exactly right. Somebody had a baby yesterday, he’ll miss practice. This guy hurt himself, this guy missed a meeting, this guy did this. … There’s something different every day that you have to deal with as a head coach that are necessary to the function of your football team.

 

[Stadium-Armory]

It's hard for any of us to know enough to answer this question. What we *can* do is look at some of his decisions and outcomes to gain insight in to how good he is. A few things I look at are: 1) the decision to bench Robert has paid off. This was a big gamble, and it tells me he isn't afraid to make hard decisions, 2) the coaching staff he has assembled looks like an all-star cast. He is good at building an organization, and 3) His team came from nowhere and made the playoffs. He can motivate players even when success might seem far off.

 

We need a larger sample size but if he keeps up at this pace you can't say he's anything but a top tier coach.

[Jumbo]

Sometimes I'm so far out in front of so many on so much that I get very lonely. 

 

Not so much lately, though.