No. 19: Jay Gruden, Washington Redskins
In three seasons under Gruden the Redskins have made the playoffs once, with a 21-26-1 record. That may be enough to put him on the hot seat, especially with Dan Snyder in the owner’s box, but Gruden signed a two-year contract extension through 2020 back in March.
Gruden is not on the front line of how badly the Redskins have botched the situation with Kirk Cousins, and his coaching has helped unlock Cousins’ full potential to put the organization in a position to have to commit to him with a market value long-term contract. But I’m rendering the coach guilty purely by association, as the entire organization looks bad publicly regarding Cousins.
A contract extension really doesn’t assure Gruden’s job security long-term, it just makes a further money commitment to him if he is fired before his new deal expires. Snyder surely won’t easily stand for another non-playoff season, and a petulant kicking of Gruden on his way out the door (ala former general manager Scot McCloughan) can’t be ruled out.
Gruden also deserves credit for working with a difficult owner, toeing the company line and knowing his lane. But he’s not an elite level head coach, and if his last name were different the broad perception of him would be different too.