Jay Gruden prior to the game against the Baltimore Ravens at Paul Brown Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Andrew Weber-USA TODAY Sports
The Washington Redskins head coaching search is in full swing, and there are several candidates that Dan Snyder and Co. are looking over and trying to snare interviews with. Vanderbilt Commodores head coach James Franklin has been linked extremely closely to the Penn State Nittany Lions vacancy, and there’s plenty of smoke regarding the chances of Franklin being hired by the university soon. Vandy is doing everything they can to keep Franklin in Nashville, and this makes it less likely for Franklin to be hired by the Redskins or Cleveland Browns. There’s still a chance, but it’s tough seeing him making the jump to the NFL this year.
One name that has emerged as a top candidate for the Redskins vacancy is Cincinnati Bengals offensive coordinator Jay Gruden, who has the pedigree and has plenty of clout in league circles. That said, it seems like front offices value Gruden more than everyone else. I mean, he’s a very good offensive coordinator, but it’s definitely fair to be skeptical of his chances of being a good head coach in this league.
The Redskins don’t appear to be too skeptical, as Mark Maske of the Washington Post reports that an “NFL source” stated that he thinks Jay Gruden is the Redskins “first choice” for their head coaching vacancy.
He isn’t the only choice, however, as the Redskins have also shown interest in Bengals defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer, San Francisco 49ers coordinators Vic Fangio and Greg Roman (another coach linked to Penn State), and San Diego Chargers offensive coordinator Ken Whisenhunt.