Redskins Must Rid Themselves of Jim Haslett
By Jesse Jones
There were countless problems with the Washington Redskins this season. From the name controversy, issues with all three quarterbacks, locker room problems and a beef between the head coach and the superstar quarterback, almost all the talk around the Redskins this season has been negative.
Yet, after finishing the season 4-12, head coach Jay Gruden and veteran defensive back Ryan Clark both had nice things to say about one coach: Jim Haslett. Both Gruden and Clark endorsed Haslett and Gruden even said that he wants Haslett back as the defensive coordinator next season.
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Well, there’s one problem with that.
Since Jim Haslett took over as the defensive coordinator for the Redskins in 2010, he’s never coached a defense that finished in the top half of the league in points or yards allowed.
In fact, Haslett’s defenses have been so terrible that he’s set a record for the most yards allowed over a five-year span by any defensive coordinator in NFL history with 29,069 yards.
It gets (slightly)
better
when it comes to points allowed over Haslett’s tenure. Instead of being the worst, his defenses have only been second-worst! With 2,048 points allowed since 2010, Haslett’s defense falls just 16 points behind Gunther Cunningham’s defense, when he coached for the Detroit Lions from 2009-2013.
To break those numbers down year-by-year, Haslett’s defenses have allowed 23.6 points per game in 2010 (22nd in the NFL), 22.9 points per game in 2011 (20th per game), 24.2 points per game in 2012 (22nd per game), 29.9 points per game last season (30th) and 27.4 points per game this season (29th in the league).
And since 2010, Haslett’s defenses have never given up less than 5.5 yards per play in a season. Their 5.5 yards allowed per play in 2011 was ranked 16th in the league, the lowest over his tenure. Besides that season, the Redskins have been 26th or worse each season.
Of course, Haslett does not deserve all the blame. He’s stuck trying to coach the players that Bruce Allen gives him. But there have been respectable names on the defensive side of the ball in Washington over the past few years. However, there haven’t been the results.
The Washington Redskins need to make a lot of changes in the offseason (if only they could choose the fate of the owner) and they need to bring in a new defensive coordinator.