Washington Redskins head coach Jay Gruden made a move at quarterback by putting rookie Dwayne Haskins in there. Will this change save the head coach’s job?
After four Washington Redskins’ drives against the New York Giants resulted in an interception followed by three punts, head coach Jay Gruden made the move many were expecting that would eventually come by pulling starting quarterback Case Keenum in favor of rookie first-round signal-caller Dwayne Haskins.
Washington entered play on Sunday versus its division rival at 0-3. The Redskins were one of two teams in the NFC that did not have a win through the first three weeks, along with the Arizona Cardinals. With the season already getting late early, moving on from journeyman Keenum in favor of Haskins is the right decision, but will it be enough to save Gruden’s job in the nation’s capital?
Haskins was taken by the Redskins No. 15 out of Ohio State in the 2019 NFL Draft. He started one year in Columbus, but went 13-1 as the Buckeyes’ signal-caller, completing 70 percent of his passes for 4,831 yards, 50 touchdowns and eight interceptions. Haskins finished third in Heisman Trophy voting and was named 2019 Rose Bowl MVP.
Even though he only started one year in college, it was a dominant enough of a season for Haskins to be the first Big Ten quarterback to be taken in the first round since Kerry Collins went in the top five to the expansion Carolina Panthers in 1995 out of Penn State.
So talent and precision passing were never going to be major issues for Haskins. His issue was always going to be a lack of playing experience, not to mention being inserted into the starting lineup for one of the most dysfunctional franchises in the NFL.
But did Gruden make the right decision to play Haskins this early into 2019? Quite frankly, did he really have a choice? What does this say for Gruden in what might very well be his last year leading the Washington professional franchise?
At the start of the year, it certainly felt like Gruden wanted no part of playing Haskins in 2019. Haskins was third on the Redskins’ quarterbacking depth chart behind Keenum and longtime backup Colt McCoy. Keep in mind that last year’s Week 1 starter Alex Smith may never play football again after suffering a gruesome leg injury.
So if Gruden wasn’t all that crazy about Haskins coming out of Ohio State, why did Washington draft him? It certainly feels like a pick of Redskins owner Daniel Snyder, who has long followed Haskins from his high school career in Potomac, Maryland.
Gruden had said previously that he wouldn’t play Haskins as a rookie until the season was lost. He cited that this was Keenum’s first year in the Washington offense, so he’d need some time to get acclimated with his receiving corps and the like. But that has all changed here in Week 4.
Having success with Haskins is really the only option to give Gruden an extended coaching window in Washington beyond 2019. If he’s not interested in playing Haskins going forward, then expect the Washington brass to find someone who will in 2020.
Should Haskins struggle to grow in his expanded role, then Washington will find a replacement for Gruden, even if he is now on board with playing the rookie quarterback. Either way, Gruden can’t go back to Keenum, or McCoy for that matter, if he wants to keep coaching in the nation’s capital beyond this season.
Frankly, who is to say that Gruden will want to coach the Redskins beyond this year? He hasn’t had the best working relationship with the Washington front office. Maybe a new head coaching opportunity or being somebody else’s coordinator is the better fit for him in 2020?
Regardless, being able to develop Haskins the rest of the way is the only option for Gruden to come out of this lost year in Washington okay. Either he and Haskins grow together in the final three-quarters of this season to jumpstart a new era in Washington in 2020 or he demonstrates that he can develop a young quarterback for a new potential employer for him next year.