Washington Redskins Fire Jay Gruden After Team’s 0-5 Start

In a move that should surprise no one, the Redskins have fired head coach Jay Gruden following the team’s 33-7 blowout loss to New England on Sunday, Washington’s fifth straight defeat.

Team owner Daniel Snyder and club president Bruce Allen informed Gruden he’d been “relieved of his duties” early Monday morning.

“Through the first five games of the 2019 season, the team has clearly not performed up to expectations, and we all share in that responsibility,” the team said in a statement released early Monday morning. “Moving forward we are committed to doing all that we can collectively as an organization to turn things around and give our Redskins fans and alumni a team they can be proud of in 2019 and beyond.”

It was fairly obvious Gruden was in a tough spot because, in addition to the team’s horrendous start, unflattering videos of him drinking and speaking to a young woman leaked prior to last weekend. It’s unclear where the videos came from, but there are rumors the team put them out in order to make firing Gruden, who is married with children, easier and possibly allow them to do it without paying the balance of his salary.

Gruden finishes his Washington tenure with a 35-49-1 record over five-plus seasons and a single playoff appearance. He was Snyder’s eighth coach in 20 seasons as Washington’s owner and the seventh to be fired.

Bill Callahan, who succeeded Gruden’s brother Jon as Oakland’s head coach after he defected to Tampa Bay in 2002, will take over coaching duties for Washington. He has has been the Redskins’ offensive line coach since 2015.

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