Jay Gruden Back as Favorite to Be First Coach Fired, Now Given Even Odds

• The Washington Redskins lost 31-15 on Monday Night Football
• They have now lost nine of their last 10 games overall
• Washington has a really tough schedule coming up, which could result in an 0-9 or 1-8 start

The race to be the first head coach fired in the NFL has had a number of lead horses but it now looks like Jay Gruden is at the front of the pack. His Washington Redskins are coming off an embarrassing performance on Monday Night Football where they lost 31-15. Is Gruden the best bet to be canned first?

Odds On Next NFL Head Coach To Be Fired

*Odds taken on 09/25/19. 

Redskins Lose Again On Monday Night Football

Washington’s loss on Monday Night Football was nothing new for their home fans. That’s now the 17th time in the last 18 Monday Night Football home games that the Redskins have lost (also 1-17 ATS). Monday’s effort was particularly embarrassing as the team trailed 28-3 at halftime.

It’s one thing for Washington lose to Philadelphia and Dallas – two Super Bowl contenders – in games where Washington had the lead and was at least partially competitive. It’s another thing to show up on primetime, make Mitchell Trubisky look like Joe Montana and have a calamitous night with five turnovers.

These are the types of performances that tend to get a head coach fired. The Redskins had no answers on Monday and it’s unclear how they find any answers in-season as this roster looks short on talent and hope.

Schedule Doesn’t Get Much Easier

One of the reasons why Gruden’s time could be up is because this Redskins team could be staring down the barrel of an 0-9 or 1-8 start. This week, the Redskins visit the New York Giants. If Daniel Jones and company beat them, that will be another punch to the gut.

After that, this team faces New England, Miami, San Francisco, Minnesota and Buffalo. If their only win after nine games is the win at Miami, Gruden might be out of a job at their bye week.

No Other Coach In Imminent Danger

Gruden has a clear lead in this race right now because no other coaches are on the hot seat like he is. He opened as the favorite and after some shifting around, he’s back in front. Sure, Dan Quinn is likely at the end of the road in Atlanta but it’s hard to see them firing him in-season. The Falcons are 1-2 but last week’s loss was competitive at Indianapolis.

With Tennessee, Houston and Arizona coming up, Atlanta has a good chance to get to 4-2 or at least 3-3. That will take some heat off of him.

Matt Patricia entered the season on the hot seat but the Detroit Lions are 2-0-1. Pat Shurmur also entered the year hanging by a thread but with the emergence of Daniel Jones, he’s bought himself a lot of leeway.

So, who else is there? Maybe Doug Marrone or Ron Rivera, who was favored last week, but as of right now, the blame lies more so with the team quarterback play than with the head coaches.

What’s The Best Bet?

At this point, when you look at how the Redskins played on Monday night and what they have coming up in terms of their schedule, it’s hard not to see this being the end of the line for Gruden. The only thing that could save him is a change to Dwayne Haskins at quarterback – assuming he is NFL-ready.

The other challenge with the Redskins is that management is a mess and they might not be swayed to make a change at head coach – even if the overwhelming public sentiment is to do so. That being the case, I’d take a flier here on Doug Marrone.

The Jaguars did get a big win over the Tennessee Titans last week but this team isn’t very good. And with him clashing with Jalen Ramsey – the team’s best player – and creating a conflict there, that’s bad news for him. He bought himself a week of good press after the win over Tennessee but this team is still 1-2 with little prospect of turning things around.

He’s a 15-1 dog here but I wouldn’t be surprised if he gets the ax before anyone else.