Cincinnati Bengals offensive coordinator Jay Gruden has agreed to become the next head coach of the Washington Redskins, ESPN reported Thursday morning.
Gruden was rumored to be the frontrunner for the position, despite the organization lining up between 10-12 interviews. He formally interviewed for the position Wednesday, and was scheduled to meet with the Minnesota Vikings Thursday after speaking with the Tennessee Titans earlier in the week.
Gruden, the younger brother of former Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Oakland Raiders head coach Jon Gruden, spent the past three seasons as the offensive coordinator in Cincinnati under Marvin Lewis. He previously served as an assistant on his brother’s staff in Tampa, as well as head coach of Arena Football League teams such as the Florida Tuskers, Orlando Predators and Nashville Kats. He has never been the head coach of an NFL team.
The Redskins fired Mike Shanahan on Dec. 29 after the team, which was projected to repeat as NFC East champions, finished 3-13. In four seasons at the helm of the Skins, Shanahan went 24-39, with one trip to the postseason.
There was also reported tension between Shanahan, owner Daniel Snyder and second-year quarterback Robert Griffin III. RGIII was benched for the final three games as the quarterback and head coach did not see eye-to-eye on certain aspects of the offense and how Griffin’s knee injury was dealt with.
This year the Bengals owned the 10th-ranked offense in the league, and assistant coach Hue Jackson is expected to inherit that offense from Gruden.
