5 teams who should hire Josh McDaniels in 2017
By Adam Jacobs
1 – Washington Redskins
The Washington Redskins always seem to be surrounded by controversy, whether it’s the implied racist name or trading away the future for a brittle track star (RG3). Redskins owner Daniel Snyder is known for making waves like signing huge free agents with declining skill sets and laughing in the face of people protesting his team’s name.
Not surprisingly, he hired a coach with a famous last name, except it wasn’t the coach we all thought it would be. He hired Jay Gruden, legendary coach Jon Gruden’s brother. Jay, the former offensive coordinator of the Cincinnati Bengals, was brought in to Washington to fix RG3 (Robert Griffin III). The supposed quarterback whisperer failed in fixing RG3 and instead placed him on the bench to waste away in obscurity. Washington gave up three first round picks to acquire RG3 and he spent much of his time there injured or not active. The Redskins let RG3 go to the Cleveland Browns without any compensation.
Washington hired Gruden to fix RG3 and he failed — so why is he still the coach? Snyder has had seven head coaches in his 17 years of team ownership, so why not add another one? Gruden has taken the Redskins to the playoffs, but knowing Snyder’s history, his job isn’t safe.
Washington has a bunch of talent on the offensive side of the ball and McDaniels could help this group reach its potential. McDaniels is obviously great at getting the best out of quarterbacks; maybe Snyder should have hired him to help save RG3 in hindsight.
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Changing the coach doesn’t always work to improve your team, but it doesn’t hurt to mess with the status quo a little. McDaniels will be one of the hottest coaching candidates this offseason for a reason — he’s a true offensive genius.