Mr. Gruden Goes To Washington

Bengals offensive coordinator Jay Gruden is a smart guy.  He's not waiting around to see if he gets the axe after yet another first-round playoff choke for Cincinnati over the weekend, instead he's taking the head coach job for Washington.

Jay Gruden will be introduced as the new coach of the Washington Redskins on Thursday afternoon, becoming the team’s eighth head coach since Daniel Snyder purchased the franchise in 1999. 

Gruden, most recently the offensive coordinator of the Cincinnati Bengals, succeeds Mike Shanahan, who was fired by the Redskins after a 3-13 season in which the team finished last in the NFC East. 

Gruden, the brother of former Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Oakland Raiders coach Jon Gruden, never has been an NFL head coach. He has been a head coach in the Arena Football League and the United Football League. He oversaw the NFL’s 10th-ranked offense this season with the Bengals. He inherits a Redskins team that lost 40 games in four years under Shanahan. 

“I’m really happy for my brother,” Jon Gruden, now an analyst for ESPN, said. “He’s worked extremely hard to get this opportunity. The Redskins are one of the great NFL franchises and I expect him to make the most of this opportunity.”

I'm sure he will.  The franchise deserves Gruden, and I'm sure he'll make a bigger mess in Washington than he did in here in Cincinnati.