It’s Never Too Late to Get Smart

Let’s call this surpise Jay Gruden extension exactly what it is: “A good start.”

Now, of course one has to wonder: “So, what did Coach Jay do exactly over steaks and wine last Saturday night in Indy to induce this 2-year extension? Did he draw the most incredible “Y-2-banana” pass play on a scrip of butcher paper?”

Either way, doesn’t matter. My football team finally did something helpful, and smart. Hoooray.

It was certainly new ground for owner Dan Snyder, that’s for sure. Not only had no coach in his tenure as owner made it past Season 4, but none had ever been given a 2nd contract.

Sure, Gruden could still end up leaving after this season, with 3 full bags of un-earned money. But it would take a unique sort of catastrophe.

So now let’s turn to the “why now” of this deal? The answer is pretty obvious: the uncertainty surrounding this franchise was set to make the Redskins a haunted house in free agency.

Kirk in his possibly last year, Jay in his perform-or-get-fired year, the possible losses of both top WR’s in free agency… all of that was more than enough. Add to it, the less than heroic coordinator hirings… and the picture was clear: everybody, stand clear!

Then the McCloughan fiasco blew-up like a trick cigar in the team’s face.

I think it’s pretty clear the basic shape of the issues facing Scot McCloughan. At this point, it’s not unfair to speculate, given how completely invisible he’s been, and the comedy show of excuses put up by Bruce Allen to cover for him.

The DOPP (Director of Pants and Picnics) and his tap-dancing last week with every tweet and report that came out about his GM, reached “Localized Aurora Borealis” level obfuscation.

I also think there’s a complicating issue in all of this, one that has to do with employee rights, and established labor law: either in general, or perhaps even something to do with the NFL’s policies.

I won’t go any further here, or now. Modern sports media being such a hair-trigger, butt-hurt sensitive place, I don’t need the headache – or the meetings. But this will all come out. It always all comes out in the end.

Now the ballgame comes back to Kirk, Kirk, forever Kirk.

He’s not cheaper today, than he was yesterday. And he won’t be cheaper tomorrow. Kirk Cousins, is NEVER going on sale. Not while he’s in Burgundy and Gold.

Certainly not with long-necked super-scrub Mike Glennon being wooed for around $15M a year, according to reports.

A report dribbled out last week that the Redskins had offered Kirk around $20 million a year, with at least half of that salary on a 6-year deal guaranteed.

It’s still not enough. They should hit him with their best offer first, an Andrew-Luck-topping contract that would be the talk of the league. Let it leak, and let Kirk feel the pressure of turning it down to keep betting on himself.

At this point it’s very late in the game, and might still not work.

But, as my headline says: “It’s never too late to get smart.”