Jay Gruden is not excited about the big news around the new name for the Washington Football Team.
In his weekly appearance Tuesday on "Russell & Medhurst," the former head coach in Washington opened the conversation in his familiarly sarcastic tone: “You guys just trying to figure out the new name? It's so exciting!"
"It's exciting," Gruden continued in mock enthusiasm. “I don’t think anybody really cares other than you guys.”
Earlier that day, Washington set a firm date, Feb. 2, 2022, for when they will end the speculation and announce a permanent name. The organization played the last two seasons under the name Washington Football Team after they dropped their previous "Redskins" nickname in July 2020 under mounting public pressure.
A change that Gruden, nor many of the local fans, supported.
“I don’t want to ruffle any feathers,” Gruden said on The Team 980. “But they should’ve never changed the name in the first place.”
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"With the fan base here," Pete Medhurst said, "that's probably the greatest thing you've ever said to them because I think 90% of the fan base agrees with you 100% on that."
Gruden coached in Washington for six seasons until he was fired by owner Daniel Snyder and then team president Bruce Allen in the pre-dawn hours of Oct. 7, 2019, following an 0-5 start to the season.
Since his departure, Gruden has given several candid interviews including speaking about the drafting of Dwayne Haskins, the team culture under Allen and Snyder, and his brother Jon's firing after he was caught in the Allen email chain.
Follow @BenKrimmel and @Team980 for the latest.
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