5 teams that might hire Jay Gruden this offseason

The Washington Redskins have fired their head coach Jay Gruden after an 0-5 start. Here are five teams he could end up working for next season.

After starting the 2019 NFL season out at a dreadful 0-5, the Washington Redskins became the first team this year to fire its head coach. They parted ways with Jay Gruden early Monday morning, after five years and change on the job.

We all know how dysfunctional the Redskins are as an organization, so it’s kind of amazing that he lasted as long as he did. The Redskins organization wanted to go with rookie quarterback Dwayne Haskins, who Washington drafted out of Ohio State in this past spring’s NFL Draft. Gruden wanted to go with veterans like Case Keenum and Colt McCoy. What could go possibly wrong?

And with that, Gruden finds himself out of a job. Fortunately for him, he will be able to land any number of jobs this offseason, if he feels so inclined. He could take a gap year, reevaluate and get that Redskins stink off him. That could serve him in the long run, if we’re being totally honest here.

However, if he does want to get back into the coaching game in 2020, here are five teams that could most certainly be interested in his services either as an offensive coordinator, a head coach or really in any offensive coaching capacity.

This one feels like a bit of a stretch, but hear me out. The San Francisco 49ers have gotten off to a great start in head coach Kyle Shanahan’s third year on the job. San Francisco stands a great chance at qualifying for the NFC playoffs for the first time since 2013 this year, so why would Shanahan want another smart offensive mind in the building? Wouldn’t that make him look weak?

The truth is, all smart offensive minds want other smart offensive minds in the building. While it might be super awkward given that Gruden replaced Shanahan’s father Mike Shanahan as Washington’s head coach in 2014, all three men stem from roughly the same coaching tree.

Gruden coached Los Angeles Rams head coach Sean McVay in the nation’s capital, who is part of the same tree as the Shanahans. Even if it is an advisory role on the offensive side of the ball, Gruden could help Shanahan help further develop quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo. Gruden has had success with Andy Dalton with the Cincinnati Bengals and Kirk Cousins in Washington.

Overall, this is at best a tertiary option for Gruden to land in 2020. If Gruden were to go to the 49ers, it would only be for a year or so. It’s Shanahan’s team, but joining an organization on the rise could do wonders to improve Gruden’s stock after a disastrous situation in Washington did not work out. A Gruden reinvention in Santa Clara wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world.