The Jacksonville Jaguars plan to bounce back from a disappointing 2019 campaign where they finished last in the AFC South with a 6-10 record. On Tuesday, the organization hired Jay Gruden, hoping the former Redskins’ head coach can improve a team that finished 20th in total offense, according to NFL Team Stats.

“We were trying to find someone who’s best for this staff, who’s best for what you want to run, then you’re looking for what person’s best for your players – who’s going to relate to the players, who’s going to be able to communicate with them,” Jaguars coach Doug Marrone said. “At the end of the day, we just felt that Jay was the best fit for us.”

The Redskins fired Gruden after an 0-5 start in his sixth season as head coach. He leaves Washington with a 35-49-1 record including an NFC East title and playoff appearance in 2015.

Before his first head coaching gig Gruden spent three years as the offensive coordinator in Cincinnati. In his three seasons the team finished with a winning record each year and in 2013, his offensive schemes helped the Bengals rank in the top ten in total yards per game, according to ESPN.

One of the toughest decisions Gruden will face is what quarterback will be starting Week 1 next season. Jacksonville had previously signed Nick Foles to a four-year, $88 million contract last March with a franchise record $50.125 guaranteed, but he sustained a broken collar bone in the first game of the 2019 season. He was replaced by rookie sixth round pick Gardner Minshew who went 4-5 before Foles returned. Much to the Jaguars’ chagrin, Foles struggled and was replaced by Minshew after just two and a half games. Marrone and general manager Dave Caldwell have not announced which quarterback will start in 2020.

SLIDESHOW: 50 GREAT SPORTS FIGURES WHO DIED IN 2019

Since Doug Marrone was named head coach in 2017, he has hired three offensive coordinators including Gruden.

In the middle of what’s already turned out to be a disappointing season for the Washington Redskins, coach Jay Gruden was fired on Monday following the team’s 33-7 loss to the New England Patriots.

Gruden entered the season on the hot seat and after the loss, it became clear he was out of chances to prove he could manage the team. Redskins owner Dan Snyder and team president Bruce Allen met with Gruden early Monday morning to deliver the bad news.

“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. “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.”

Redskins assistant head coach Bill Callahan, who is also the Reskins’ offensive line coach, will serve as the team’s interim head coach. Some of the top choices in Snyder’s eyes after Gruden are Tampa Bay Buccaneers defensive coordinator Todd Bowles, Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin and Kansas City Chiefs offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy.

30 SPORTS FIGURES WHO DIED IN 2019 – TRIBUTE SLIDESHOW 

Gruden had one more year left on his contract and was given one more chance this season as the Redskins were 6-3 before Alex Smith‘s devastating injury that left them to finish 7-9 and out of playoff contention last season. He had a 35-49-1 record with the team in six years, making him the longest-tenured coach in Snyder’s history. Snyder will now be looking to hire his ninth coach since he bought the team in 1999. No coach has had a winning record under Snyder.

The Redskins are a young and promising team. However, they are not without question marks in many areas. The job will also not be for the faint of heart, as the leash will not be long  for the next coach. The Redskins cannot afford many more years of losing.

Now that the Washington Redskins have officially missed this year’s playoffs, head coach Jay Gruden has made a bold move by deciding to fire all four members of his defensive staff.

Redskins Coach Jay Gruden Fires Entire Defensive Staff

The Redskins finished the 2016 regular season 8-7-1, with a 19-10 home loss to the New York Giants. Washington didn’t score in the first quarter in four of their last six games, and trailed at halftime in five of them. Gruden often spent most of his post-game press conferences apologizing for what had just happened.

“I don’t like the way we came out,” he said after the loss in Arizona. “I don’t like the way they had a 16-play drive right down our throat to start the game. I don’t like the way our offense answered with two penalties on the first drive and having to punt.”

“First off, we were out-coached today, there’s no question about that,” he said after the Carolina loss. “It’s my responsibility to get these guys ready to play, and we weren’t as ready as we’d liked to have been.”

The firing of defensive coordinator Joe Barry comes as no surprise, given the Redskins’ defensive struggles this season both against passing and running. Barry spent two seasons as defensive coordinator in Washington and saw no real improvement in his unit.

The termination of the other three assistants, however, does seem shocking. Gruden may possibly want his new defensive coordinator to start fresh, and one simple way to do that is to let the new coordinator bring in his own staff of defensive assistants.

This is the second time Gruden has demonstrated he is capable of making a tough decision. The first time was when he benched quarterback Robert Griffin III two years ago.

Early in the season, Barry said the Redskins didn’t want to move corner Josh Norman around and have hims shadow one receiver. Three games in, that’s exactly what they began doing.

Many players stated privately they didn’t have a problem with Barry and liked his upbeat demeanor and felt they were prepared. Fans, however, thought otherwise, as dozens immediately took to social media after Barry was hired to call Gruden’s choice “abhorrent” and “revolting,” among other things. Gruden praised Barry’s energy and his “commitment to being great.”

In Barry’s two years with the Redskins, the team’s defense finished No. 28 in the NFL in yards allowed.

Despite constant rumors of a riff between Robert Griffin III and head coach Jay Gruden, it appears the two have finally made up as the Washington coach told reporters that he has named RGIII the starting QB. This is quite surprising after his comments following Washington’s final loss: “I’d like to pick one as soon as I could, so we could try to work and grind on him and develop him. But until that position is earned, you have to have a competition. I anticipate us having a competition at a lot of spots, and quarterback is no different next year.”

However, it seems Gruden has changed his tune. “We’ll go into the season with Robert as our No. 1 guy,” he said. “It’s up to Robert to continue to grow and mature as a quarterback and as a person. Moving forward we want to see improvement. It’s up to us as a staff to get more out of him.” Many expected RGIII to start because of the team’s significant investment made into him three years ago, but everyone also expected some pushback from the head coach: stubborn is such a negative word, yet it boldly fits Gruden.

Over the season, Griffin dislocated his ankle in week two, which resulted in what some deemed the savior, Kirk Cousins, starting. But as the old expression goes, when “a team is playing bad, everyone’s best friend is the back-up QB.”  Cousins proved why he does not start, throwing ten touchdowns and nine interceptions — four of which came against the Giants in week four.

This resulted in Colt McCoy getting some time before Griffin’s eventual return in week nine, but the former Browns QB took back the starting spot in late November — a decision that many networks deemed the end of the RGIII era in Washington.  Yet he quickly came back following an injury to McCoy: finishing the year with a 68.7 completion percentage, 1,694 passing yards, five total touchdowns, six interceptions and nine fumbles in seven games started (nine total played).

To help with last season’s problems, Washington has brought in quarterbacks coach Matt Cavanaugh. He has spent time with the Bears, Jets and won Super Bowl XXXV with the Baltimore Ravens. On top of this, Griffin plans to work with Terry Shea, he previously worked with him prior to the 2012 draft and last offseason.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oM1f30MYy2c

Everyone will just has to wait and see how Washington pans out next season: they have only made the playoffs three out of the last 15 seasons and have also had eight head coaches in that time span.