Friday Jay Gruden appeared on 106.7 the Fan’s Grant and Danny. He was candid addressing various topics about his time as the Redskins head coach. One of the topics was him hiring Joe Barry over Wade Phillips as defensive coordinator in 2015. A decision, Gruden admits might have been a “mistake.”
“The hiring of Joe Barry over Wade Phillips was my decision,” Gruden told Grant and Danny. “Wade Phillips is obviously an older gentleman and a well-established football coach. But I thought Joe Barry brought some youth and could handle a lot of things that we had going on here and I had a history with Joe Barry.”
“I might’ve made a mistake there,” Gruden said, “But I still think Joe Barry is a heck of a coach.”
The Redskins defense faltered under Barry, ranking 28th overall in the two seasons he was defensive coordinator. Barry was fired after the 2016 season. Meanwhile, Phillips was hired by Gary Kubiak as the Denver Broncos defensive coordinator.
The Broncos defense was ranked first overall in 2015, carrying the team all season as they won Super Bowl 50. And they ranked fourth overall the following season. Phillips then became the defensive coordinator for the Los Angeles Rams in 2017. Newly hired head coach and Redskins offensive coordinator Sean McVay hired Phillips as well as Barry, as his linebackers coach and assistant head coach.
The Rams went on to appear in Super Bowl LIII against the New England Patriots.
That was not the only defensive coordinator hiring that Gruden appeared to so regret about. He stated that current Redskins defensive coordinator Greg Manusky was a package deal with defensive line coach Jim Tomsula. Ultimately, that decision did not work out.
“I thought that would be a great combination,” Gruden said. “Unfortunately, our defense did not perform up to their capabilities.”
Under Manusky, the Redskins defense marginally improved from Barry, ranking 21st, 17th in 2017 and 2018. However, this season they were a bottom-five defense before Gruden was fired following a Week 5 loss to the Patriots that dropped the Redskins to 0-5 on the season.
Manusky’s defense has been criticized by many, including former Redskins safety DJ Swearinger. However, Gruden hung on to him. Even after his firing, interim head coach Bill Callahan appears committed to Manusky.
