MOBILE, Ala. – When the Redskins hired general manager Scot McCloughan entering Jay Gruden’s second season with the team, questions arose about how such a marriage would work. Commonly, a team hires a general manager, and lets him hire his own coach. Or sometimes, a coach will tell a team which general manager he wants hired.
But Gruden and McCloughan had no direct ties to each other, and Gruden didn’t even know the Redskins had interviewed McCloughan until he was informed of the impending hiring.
A year later, McCloughan says that despite their lack of a rapport, he and Gruden quickly got on the same page and that they now share a strong relationship.