Jay Gruden understands where the Commanders are and need to go.
He was an NFL coach here in Washington who did not have Josh Harris as owner or Adam Peters as his general manager. He didn’t have Jayden Daniels either, did he?
Gruden, on “Grant & Danny” last week (106.7 The Fan), was blunt but also supportive of the Commanders and their efforts to improve their team in 2025 and catch and become better than the Super Bowl champion Eagles.
“You 100 percent think about that; you can’t just have blinders on and just look at your own team and say, this is how I envisioned it, you have to ask what we have to do to compete with these guys,” Gruden said via Lou DiPietro of Audacy. “These guys are a big, strong, physical bunch, we better get some bigger guys on the lines and make sure we can compete with them in the trenches, because that’s where they’re winning games. I know everybody wants the flashy toys, but there’s a lot merit into matching them man for man on the lines, or we’re not gonna have a chance.”
Speaking of the trenches, Gruden says the Commanders must determine where Brandon Coleman’s future is.
“You have to figure out if Brandon Coleman is a starting left tackle, or are we going to move him to guard, and then who’s going to be the right guard, and where Cosmi and Wylie fit in,” Gruden said.
Gruden understands that Sam Cosmi tearing an ACL in January means he might be out for at least the first half of the season. Therefore, the Commanders need to address their need at both tackle and guard this free agency and draft period if they are to challenge the Eagles in 2025.
Commanders fans, for the most part, don’t give Gruden a fair shake. They don’t realize what was stated above and also that Ron Rivera, in his four years, had no winning season record, while Gruden, in his 5.5 seasons, led the team to two winning record seasons in 2015 and 2016.
Gruden referred to the commanders several times in the discussion as “we.” He has also been on record more than a few times, and with Dan Snyder gone, he actually hopes good things for the Commanders and follows the team closely.