The feud between former Washington quarterback Robert Griffin III and Jay Gruden, the team's final year head coach, has erupted for all to see on social media.
Gruden said his former quarterback “wasn't good enough” and said Kirk Cousins, who took over in Washington under Gruden after Griffin started the first seven games of the 2014 season, was “better.” It got to the point where he said, “It was.''
Gruden said this in a post that has since been deleted, adding, “Cleveland didn't want you. Baltimore.” [didn’t] which one. Please stop blaming me. ” But where does it come from?
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Baltimore Ravens No. 3 Robert Griffin III shakes hands with Washington Redskins head coach Jay Gruden after a preseason game at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore on August 30, 2018. (Rob Carr/Getty Images)
Gruden was watching the wild-card game between the Philadelphia Eagles and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Monday when he noticed the Eagles' offense couldn't blitz.
“If I put a QB through what Philadelphia is putting on Jaylen, I apologize,” Gruden wrote. “Fire the electric shock!”
Griffin used the post as an opportunity to hit back at his former coach, posting a photo of himself looking confused with the caption, “Say WHATTTT???” He suggested that Gruden may have done so in 2014, when Gruden took over as Washington's head coach after Mike Shanahan had been at the helm for four years.
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Gruden responded, “Robert, weren't you ready?” to which the two-way quarterback-turned-sports media personality posted another photo of himself looking confused, with the caption: “You weren't ready, Robert?” I responded. Knowing how to coach a QB like me who can throw and run, Jay, I don't think you're ready. ”
The situation on social media escalated into Griffin's “RG3 and The Ones” podcast, where Griffin addressed his relationship with Gruden and their public rift today.
Griffin explained why their relationship has deteriorated.
“If Jay Gruden really wants to talk, I'm not going to curse the guy, I'm not going to call him anonymously. But what I'm going to do is tell you guys the truth. “The thing is, there was a moment in D.C. that I remember vividly. Jay Gruden went to a press conference, and in that press conference, he said the coach was the starting quarterback. You took my clothes off in a way that no clothes should be taken off.”
Griffin went on to comment in the media that “the best players in the NFL make the players around them play at a very high level” and that Washington needs their teammates to step up in their place. He explained that he was hinting. 2014 got off to a poor start.
However, this coverage wasn't very good, as the media basically said that Griffin threw his teammates under the bus. But that's what Gruden told reporters he wanted Griffin to do.
Head coach Jay Gruden during a fourth-quarter timeout during the Washington Redskins' 27-24 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles at FedEx Field in Landover, Maryland, on December 20, 2014. Washington quarterback Robert Griffin III (number 10) speaks. (John McDonnell/The Washington Post via Getty Images)
“He reinforced it even more and actually featured me in the media,” Griffin explained.
“But what people don't know is that the only reason I went to that press conference and said what I said throughout that press conference to challenge my teammates was because Jay Gruden challenged me to do it. It was after I did it that it hurt me.''At the press conference, Jay Gruden not only didn't have my back, he actually burned me.'' The next day he came out and burned me in the media.The next day at our team meeting he came out.''I went to the conference room and he burned me in front of my teammates. I was allowed to.
”[I] I took responsibility for what I said. It was taken out of context and he apologized to his teammates in front of a team meeting. Now, Jay, he knew he asked me to do it, but he still went to the media and bashed me in the media, but even though he was in that room, he had no self-awareness. There is also a fact that there is zero sincerity. Because even if he asked me to do something, he didn't have the guts to support me. ”
Gruden responded to a clip posted to Griffin's X account, saying, “Are you sure you want to play this game?” He also posted a clip of Griffin racing a hawk and wrote, “Let's go race the pigeons.”
“First of all, I don't mean to disrespect @TaimatheHawk. He's a saint and a great opponent who can fly up to 190 miles per hour. Second of all, what are you going to do with pigeons? Don't you know that it was pivotal to World War I? 'Victory? Pigeon's name commands more respect than your last name,' Griffin replied.
Additionally, Griffin isn't the only former player Gruden has been sparring with, as former Washington player Brian Mitchell chimed in, saying, “Are you serious??? Hey, go away!!!” Gruden called Mitchell a “punt returner” and told him to “be quiet.”
Mitchell fired back, saying, “Everything I did was much better than you. You're kidding me.” Gruden also didn't back down.
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“You've criticized every coach you've ever coached in D.C.. Why don't you coach? Punt returns would be terrible.”
Gruden spent six seasons as the Redskins' head coach, compiling a 35-49-1 record from 2014 to 2019. He was fired before the 2020 season and left to become the Jacksonville Jaguars' offensive coordinator. That season they had 1 win and 15 losses.
Gruden recently served as an offensive consultant for the Los Angeles Rams during the 2022 season.
Washington Redskins head coach Jay Gruden (right) wears quarterback Robert Griffin III (number 10) during first quarter action against the Houston Texans on September 7, 2014 in Houston. ) have a conversation with (Jonathan Newton/The Washington Post via Getty Images)
After Cousins replaced Griffin as the starter in Washington, he was traded to the Cleveland Browns. Griffin played as a spare for the Baltimore Ravens from 2018 to 2020 (starting two games) before being dropped from the NFL's quarterback roster.
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He said a return to the NFL in 2022 is still a possibility, but he has found a role as an NFL and college football analyst with ESPN.
