Jay Gruden, the longest-tenured head coach in the Dan Snyder era and fourth longest-tenured head coach in Washington football history, said he was surprised that his former boss actually agreed to sell the Commanders.
"Yeah, I was surprised, I know there were talks about it possibly going through or him possibly selling the team, I didn't think he'd actually go through with it, to be honest with you," Gruden told Chris Russell on Monday. "I knew how much he cared about the team and all that stuff, but I guess, a guy can only take so much from the media and everything else and he thought it was time to sell it and he made a heckuva lotta money, so good for him, I guess."
"The thought never crossed my mind that he would sell the team when I was there, at least," Gruden continued. "He had a big passion for it and it was his baby. He loved it, loved being the owner, loved walking around with his chest out. I just never thought it happen. And I think lot of people are glad it did."
The former head coach said he did not have much dialogue with his boss, it was former team president Bruce Allen who would be the buffer. But despite that lack of contact, outside a few conversations during the offseason before the draft and occasionally before games, Gruden said of Snyder, "He didn't really think we knew what we were doing with the players ever. So, yeah, not a very positive guy."
Russell also asked Gruden about the comparison between Sam Howell and Colt McCoy and arm strength.
"I think Sam's probably got a little bit better arm than Colt, he can rip it down the field a little bit better," Gruden told Team 980. "But I think both their arm strengths is plenty good enough to play in the National Football League, I mean, there's no doubt about it. You don't have to be able to throw the ball 75 yards to be successful. Not everybody throws the ball like Josh Allen or Patrick Mahomes, there are some guys that don't have that powerful type arm that are very successful and have been very successful. Guys like Joe Montana, he didn't have an overwhelming strong arm.
"But both of 'em are about the same size, similar arm talent, I can see where the comparisons fall in. Only difference is coming out of college Colt McCoy was like the all-time winningest quarterback in college history. He played a lot of football, had a lot of success. And Sam Howell hasn't had as many injuries as Colt McCoy, either, and that gives Sam a little bit of a leg up. Colt's injuries in college and then the concussions in Cleveland and then his broken leg with us hampered him quite a bit."
Topics also hit on: Dealing with the Trent Williams situation ("I love Trent. Trent meant a lot not only as a player but in the locker room."), the quarterback situation when he was coaching, drafting a quarterback, the pressure Ron Rivera is facing entering this season, the Commanders draft class including Emmanuel Forbes at No. 16, the position Washington should have drafted this year, and when he thought he was going to get fired.
Listen to the full conversation above!
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