A few weeks back, a Redskins source made a prediction about Jon Gruden: He would stay with Monday Night Football because ESPN would give him a boatload of reasons not to return to coaching. At least not in the immediate future.
So it wasn’t a huge surprise that Gruden has agreed to an extension. What we don’t know is if there’s some sort of out clause for him to return to the NFL.
But, as of now, he’s out of the race to replace Jim Zorn (should he be fired, of course; it’s a bit awkward to talk about a replacement with seven games left, but at 3-6 it’s reality).
If Washington fails to turn around its season — after Sunday, they clearly aren’t done as far as being competitive, if nothing else — then it could be that the chase for the new coach comes down to two people: Bill Cowher and Mike Shanahan.
However, the same source, familiar with Dan Snyder’s thinking, who said Gruden would stay at MNF, flat-out said that Cowher would not be the next coach. Before the question could even be finished, the source said, “No.”
That does not mean it would be Shanahan, but, if a move is made, then he would seem to be the front-runner. They’ve already spoken with him twice but Shanahan did not want to take over during the season, the source said. But if the Redskins are looking for a coach in 2010, then look for them to go back to Shanahan again.
