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Washington Redskins: 5 Possible Jay Gruden replacements at head coach

By Cody Williams

LANDOVER, MD - OCTOBER 06: Head coach Jay Gruden of the Washington Redskins looks on against the New England Patriots during the first half at FedExField on October 6, 2019 in Landover, Maryland. (Photo by Scott Taetsch/Getty Images)
LANDOVER, MD - OCTOBER 06: Head coach Jay Gruden of the Washington Redskins looks on against the New England Patriots during the first half at FedExField on October 6, 2019 in Landover, Maryland. (Photo by Scott Taetsch/Getty Images) /
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The Washington Redskins fired Jay Gruden after an 0-5 start, a move a long time coming. Who could be the next head coach in the nation’s capital?

Perhaps it happened sooner than expected but no one thought the Washington Redskins were going to stick with Jay Gruden for much longer. As it turns out, their demoralizing Week 5 loss to the New England Patriots following a drama-filled buildup to the matchup was the final straw. On Monday, the Redskins announced that they’d fired their head coach.

In the wake of Jay Gruden being relieved of his duties by the Redskins, offensive line coach Bill Callahan will be the interim head coach in Washington, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter. However, it stands to reason that Callahan will not be the head coach in the 2020 season. Thus, it’s time for a coaching search to get underway.

Washington Redskins owner Dan Snyder has never been shy about making a splash and getting the biggest fish in the pond. As such, it wouldn’t be a shock to see him pursue a guy like Oklahoma Sooners head coach Lincoln Riley. Riley is going to be a highly coveted commodity, though, meaning he’ll have his pick of job and Washington does not look all that enticing right now. On top of that, he may not even be ready to leave Norman.

Riley aside, where could Washington look to find their next head coach? Let’s take a look at five possible replacements for Jay Gruden as the head coach of the Washington Redskins.

5. Kevin O’Connell (Redskins Offensive Coordinator)

One of the more interesting notes in the wake of Jay Gruden being fired came from NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport. Appearing on Good Morning Football, Rapoport noted that the Washington Redskins will give a look to current offensive coordinator Kevin O’Connell for the head coaching position. The thought is that the organization wants to avoid past mistakes.

Those “mistakes”, of course, are the guys that they’ve let out of the building in Washington. At one point or another, Sean McVay, Kyle Shanahan and Matt LaFleur were all on the Redskins coaching staff. Now, they are all highly touted head coaches at other places throughout the league.

Given the tumultuous 2019 season, it’s hard to say what O’Connell would bring to the table if he were to get the head coach job with the Redskins. Having said that, the fear of making another big mistake could lead them in this direction. Make no mistake, though, it would be a massive risk for Washington to make this hire.

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