5 teams that might hire Jay Gruden this offseason

The Cincinnati Bengals could be an interesting fit for Gruden for a few reasons. One is that he was the Bengals’ offensive coordinator from 2011 to 2013 before he took the Redskins job. Another is that he starred collegiately in nearby Louisville in the late 1980s. A third could be that first-year head coach Zac Taylor may not work out.

The Bengals kept former head coach Marvin Lewis around for years past his coaching prime. Cincinnati owner Mike Brown is notoriously cheap and probably won’t eat a cent of Taylor’s coaching contract. However, Gruden had great success with Andy Dalton and A.J. Green in Cincinnati during his three years on Lewis’ staff going on a decade ago.

That’s not to say that the Bengals should run it all back with Gruden now acting as Dalton and Green’s head coach. However, the Bengals will be in a position to draft a franchise quarterback this spring. Taylor also stems from the same coaching tree as Gruden, so they might have similar preferences on quarterbacks entering the 2020 NFL Draft.

The only problem with Gruden going back to Cincinnati is that it means the Bengals have little faith in Taylor as a head coach. Gruden did lead the Redskins to a division title with Kirk Cousins as the starting quarterback. Taylor hasn’t won a game as an NFL head coach. Gruden is overqualified to be the Bengals offensive coordinator, but could replace Taylor is he’s one-and-done.