The 2018 NFL season is officially over for the majority of the teams in the league after Week 17. One of those teams is the Washington Redskins who had high hopes for this year and were on pace to make the playoffs until a devastating injury to Alex Smith changed everything.
With the Redskins on the outside looking in on the postseason and finishing the 2018 campaign with a record of 7-9, head coach Jay Gruden's job status has come into question. However, it appears Washington will retain Gruden for the 2019 season, according to JP Finlay of NBC Sports.
Jay Gruden scheduled to speak in 90 minutes, which about confirms what I’ve heard for a while, he’s the Redskins coach in 2019.
— JP Finlay (@JPFinlayNBCS) December 31, 2018
After acquiring Smith in a trade with the Kansas City Chiefs back in January, the Redskins were thought to be a team that wouldn't miss a beat with Kirk Cousins leaving the team in favor of the Minnesota Vikings. Washington played well with Smith under center going 6-3 while having a tight grip on the NFC East division lead before he went down with a season-ending leg injury against the Houston Texans on Nov. 18.
Unfortunately for Washington, the team began to fall apart with Smith done for the year with what could potentially be a career-ending injury. The Redskins ended up losing the game to the Texans and then won only one more game for the rest of the season with a revolving door at the quarterback position.
Losing six of the last seven games of the season would be a fireable offense for many coaches in the NFL, but it appears Gruden has been given a break due to the circumstances in Washington.