Gruden was called in for a 5:00am ET meeting this morning, where he was then told he was firedGETTY IMAGES
The Redskins fired coach Jay Gruden this morning after an 0-5 start to the season, but there is a "much bigger issue" than Gruden, as the team's current state is a result of the "absolute failure of Dan Snyder as an owner," according to ESPN's Trey Wingo. There has been "precious little success" for the Redskins, and if fans "want to have an honest conversation about it, that's where all this begins." Wingo: "We can point the finger at Jay Gruden, but at the end of the day, this is lather, rinse, repeat for a bunch of coaches that have gone through Washington under Dan Snyder's rather meddling ownership" ("Golic & Wingo," ESPN Radio, 10/7). PFT's Mike Florio said of the Redskins' now-vacant coach position, "We know how it works for Dan Snyder. There's somebody out there already that he's in love with that he's going to try to bring in for 2020." But at a "minimum this is a job that you only take if you have no other head coaching options." Florio also wondered "how much longer" Bruce Allen would remain as team president. He somehow "avoids all scrutiny and he has positioned himself where he's close enough to the football operation to get credit when things go well." But when it is "time for accountability and scrutiny, that's when Bruce Allen is able to say, 'Hey, I'm not the coach, I'm not the general manager,' although he's in charge of that team and it feels like Daniel Snyder wants to keep him around until they solve the stadium situation" ("PFT," NBCSN, 10/7).
POINTING FINGERS: FS1's Cris Carter said there will be a "facelift" for the Redskins after Gruden's firing, but the team will have the "same old results because they've got the same owner there." FS1's Nick Wright said, "Same owner and same GM. The GM's got a lot of job security in Washington" ("First Things First," FS1, 10/7). ESPN's Max Kellerman said, "The issue with Washington is the owner." He added the "more you get rid of guys and bring in new guys in the more we see there's one constant." Kellerman: "His record of failure -- Dan Snyder -- is there for everyone to see" ("First Take," ESPN, 10/7).
MIRROR MIRROR: In DC, Adam Kilgore writes the Redskins are "awful on the field and directionless off it." No tinkering or tweaking will "inch them closer to respectability." They are "starting a massive rebuild." The Redskins "have no direction," and they have a team president in Bruce Allen who "understands how to placate an owner at the expense of progress" (WASHINGTON POST, 10/7). DC-based WJFK-FM host Chad Dukes: "The building stinks, people don't like the owner, the team hasn't been competitive, they've been embroiled in controversy. Name the sexy players on the Washington Redskins." Former Redskins Super Bowl-winning QB Joe Theismann said, "Redskins fans are just sort of saying, 'I'm tired of pulling for something and I don't see anything.'" Former Redskins radio announcer Frank Herzog: "I kind of feel sorry for the whole organization, because you wonder, what can they do? It's not something a draft pick can fix. I don't know if changing head coaches is going to do any good. Anything that they do has to be drastic, and is going to be long term. It's a real problem." In Boston, Ben Volin notes team Owner Dan Snyder is "only 54 years old, so he's not going anywhere" (BOSTON GLOBE, 10/7).
