The Washington Redskins fired Jay Gruden after their Week 5 loss to the New England Patriots and named Bill Callahan their interim head coach. Instead of looking for a long-term replacement during the season, Washington will start their coaching search after the season, Adam Schefter of ESPN reports.
After going 35-49-1 since hiring him in 2014, Washington decided it was best to part ways with Gruden midseason. Callahan will take his spot as the interim head coach; with him having experience as a head coach before in the NFL.
Ironically, the last time that Callahan was a head coach, he was replacing Jay's brother, Jon Gruden, as the head coach of the Oakland Raiders. In his first season as the Raiders head coach in 2002, Callahan led the team to an 11-5 record and got Oakland to the Super Bowl.
Unfortunately, Callahan's Raiders fell to the hands of Jon Gruden's Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the Super Bowl. Then, in 2003, Callahan would finish with a 4-12 record in his final season as a head coach.
Now, the longtime assistant will get his next crack at being a head coach in the NFL. The team will also pay close attention to offensive coordinator Kevin O'Connell as a possible option at head coach.
Along with the in-house options, there have been rumors that the Redskins front office of Dan Snyder and Bruce Allen could try to pry Mike Tomlin away from the Pittsburgh Steelers. However, if that is going to come to fruition, it will come after the end of the season.
That goes to show that Callahan and O'Connell will get the first shots at becoming the head coach in 2020 and beyond.
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