The Washington Football Team will announce a new team name on Feb. 2. The team announced Tuesday, using Washington legendary former head coach Joe Gibbs to hype the upcoming name change along with former players Doug Williams and GM Martin Mayhew.
However, another former head coach, Jay Gruden, is no fan of Washington changing from its previous name, “Redskins.”
“I don’t want to ruffle any feathers, but they should’ve never changed the name in the first place,” Gruden said Tuesday while appearing on The Team 980 with Chris Russell and Pete Medhurst.
In July 2020, Washington retired its former team name and logo after pressure from a group of Native American groups and sponsors, who cited the name as disparaging and racist to Indigenous people.
Gruden was Washington’s head coach from 2014 through the five weeks into the 2019 season before he was fired. He compiled a 35-49-1 record in Washington with one NFC East division title (2015).
Jay Gruden hasn’t sounded like a fan of much of Washington since his firing. He started off his appearance with a bit of sarcasm to Russell and Medhurst.
“Are you guys just trying to figure out the new name? It’s so exciting.” Gruden said, “I don’t think anybody really cares other than you guys.”
Meanwhile, Washington’s current head coach Ron Rivera has been on board with the name change from the beginning. While the fan choice of RedWolves has been ruled out, Commanders and Admirals appear to be favorites to be the new name.
