RG3 beefs with Jay Gruden on social media
Oct 17, 2022; Inglewood, California, USA; Steve Young (left), Robert Griffin III (center) and Larry Fitzgerald on the ESPN Monday Night Football Countdown set before the game between the Los Angeles Chargers and the Denver Broncos at SoFi Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
There is still no love lost between Robert Griffin III and one of his former coaches.
Jay Gruden has been active very active on social media lately, and that continued when the ex-Washington Redskins head coach shared a couple of thoughts during Monday night’s Wild Card Round playoff game between the Philadelphia Eagles and Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Griffin took exception to one of them.
Jalen Hurts faced a ton of pressure in the Eagles’ 32-9 loss at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Fla. Gruden was critical of Philly’s coaching staff for not figuring out how to beat the blitz and protect Hurts.
If I ever put a QB through what Philly is putting Jalen through , I apologize. Pick up a blitz !
— Jay Gruden (@Coach_JayGruden) January 16, 2024
“If I ever put a QB through what Philly is putting Jalen through, I apologize. Pick up a blitz!” Gruden wrote.
RG3 had a not-so-subtle response:
Say WHATTTT??? https://t.co/TAHWqvDoce pic.twitter.com/mnuh9VafCz
— Robert Griffin III (@RGIII) January 16, 2024
Griffin was obviously implying that Gruden put him through the same thing when RG3 played for Gruden in Washington. As you might expect, Gruden sees it differently. He fired back at Griffin and said the ESPN analyst was not properly prepared.
RG3 made sure to get the last word.
You told me you didn’t know how to coach a QB who could throw and run like me, so looks like you weren’t prepared Jay. https://t.co/hrcZFXISkk pic.twitter.com/qiikYkFkpq
— Robert Griffin III (@RGIII) January 16, 2024
“You told me you didn’t know how to coach a QB who could throw and run like me, so looks like you weren’t prepared Jay,” Griffin wrote.
Griffin’s career got off to a promising start after Washington drafted him with the No. 2 overall pick in 2012. He had an excellent rookie season under Mike Shanahan but suffered a knee injury during the first round of the playoffs, and it was all downhill after that.
Shanahan, who was fired after the 2013 season, opened up years ago about some of the issues he had coaching RG3. Gruden came in after Shanahan and clearly preferred Kirk Cousins to Griffin, which RG3 has repeatedly used as a crutch.
The reality is Griffin played under some of the best coaches in football early in his career. Kyle Shanahan, Sean McVay and Matt LaFleur were all on Mike Shanahan’s staff when Griffin was with Washington. Despite that, RG3 has always pointed the finger at others for his shortcomings. He wasn’t about to pass up another opportunity to do that after seeing what Gruden posted on Monday night.