The Washington Redskins are officially in the market for a new head coach after firing Jay Gruden on Monday, and one of the top candidates for the job may already been on their staff.
Offensive coordinator Kevin O’Connell, a former NFL quarterback who has been with Washington in a coaching role since 2017, is expected to be considered for the team’s head coaching job. As Ian Rapoport of NFL Media notes, the Redskins have already allowed talented young assistants like Kyle Shanahan and Sean McVay leave and have success elsewhere, and they may not want the same to happen with O’Connell.
From @gmfb: The #Redskins have watched as several talented offensive minds left their coaching staff to excel elsewhere. Expect OC Kevin O'Connell to get consideration for the head coach job to prevent history repeating. pic.twitter.com/1fRLlzRW3Y
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) October 7, 2019
O’Connell is just 34, but he was an offensive assistant with the Cleveland Browns and San Francisco 49ers before landing in Washington. McVay is only 33, and he had seven years of experience working on the Redskins’ coaching staff before the Los Angeles Rams hired him to be their head coach.
The Redskins have promoted Bill Callahan to interim head coach in the meantime. Ironically, it was Callahan who led the Oakland Raiders to the Super Bowl in 2002 when he took over for Jay’s brother Jon.
Washington may have trouble attracting big-name coaches, as the situation surrounding first-round pick Dwayne Haskins appears to have caused a divide among the organization. A young candidate like O’Connell may make the most sense.
