Philadelphia Eagles: 3 offensive coordinator options still available for 2020

Jay Gruden

Current Job Title: former head coach of the Washington Redskins.

This one doesn’t even sound right, does it? The face of one of the Eagles biggest rivals in the NFC East since 2014, suddenly becoming a key designer of the offense sounds ludicrous, right?

Well, not so fast. Recently fired Jay Gruden actually makes a lot of sense for the Eagles.

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Despite insinuations that Gruden would most likely join his brother Jon Gruden with the Oakland Raiders in 2020, Jay has so far not been offered a position with the team, at least not officially.

The Raiders may not be looking for a coach like Jay to lead their offense. The team is moving to Las Vegas next season and they will be very exposed in their first season in the desert.

What kind of tone does it set for the team, trying to make a good impression on a new city full of new fans, to hire a coach that failed in Washington?

I expect Jay and the Raiders organization would be wise to learn from the lessons the Los Angeles Chargers had moving from San Diego in 2017.

Three years after moving up the coast, and the Chargers are still having trouble drawing fans into the stadium. Fan participation is at an all-time low, due to a lack of interest in the team.

It doesn’t help when the team only succeeds in making the playoffs one of those three seasons.

Bringing in an unproven coach who is related to the head coach, who has also not proven anything since returning to the Black and Silver, reeks of nepotism and unoriginality. It has the potential to mirror the circumstances the Chargers are in today, where even a home game is a de-facto away game.

The Eagles, on the other hand, could use someone like Gruden. For starters, this is a coach that has been preparing his former team to take on the Eagles twice a season since 2014.

Who is going to have a better understanding of the Eagles offensive deficiencies better than a former rival?

Who is going to have a better understanding of the Eagles other NFC East rivals deficiencies better than a former rival? While Eagles fans may have become conditioned to scowling every time Gruden’s face made an appearance on the sidelines on game day, they would be wise to welcome Gruden to Philadelphia, if he is offered a position.

Another NFC East rival is thinking along similar lines. Reports emerged this week the the New York Giants are considering Jason Garrett for their offensive coordinator position. The recently deposed Cowboys coach has over a decade of experience traversing the nuances of the NFC East and could be a valuable asset for the Giants, should they look upon him as an asset.

It is impossible to judge Gruden based on his performance in Washington, based on the complicated hierarchy of the Redskins organization. Reports have suggested a confusing and archaic system in Washington that even legendary coaches like Mike Shanahan were happy to leave.

Gruden has a ton of offensive coaching experience, having worked as an offensive coach since 1997. Besides multiple Arena Bowl championships, Gruden was also part of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers offensive coaching staff when they won a Super Bowl in 2003.

In 2015, Gruden coached the Redskins’ offense to a 9-7 record, and winning the NFC East title. During that season, the offense ranked 12th in offensive efficiency according to Football Outsiders. The next season, the offense ranked fifth in offensive efficiency.

Gruden has showed at times to have the capacity to create a winning offense. In 2018, the Redskins lead the NFC East for several weeks and were considered locks for the NFC East crown, before quarterback Alex Smith broke his leg against the Texans.

The Redskins have been at least competitive in most of the seasons Gruden was at the helm. It would be interesting to see what he could when his sole responsibility was the offense and not acting as the face of the organization.

It is at least worth bringing Gruden into the building for an interview. At the very least, he would make an excellent consultant for the team when planning against other NFC East teams.

For the Eagles, it never hurts to get an outsider’s perspective on your team from time to time.