Redskins Notes: D.J. Swearinger, Jay Gruden, Organizational Changes

D.J. Swearinger

Redskins HC Jay Gruden explained that they made the decision to move on from veteran S D.J. Swearinger after “repeated offenses.”

“I had multiple discussions with him for previous instances,” Gruden said Wednesday, via NFL.com. “And at the end of the day, we thought as an organization it was best for us to part ways. Obviously, he wasn’t happy. He voiced his displeasure many, many times. At the end of the day, we thought it was best for him to let him go and best for us moving forward.”

Gruden added that Swearinger’s decision to publicly criticize of the coaching staff isn’t productive for anyone involved.

“Well, I think if you read the articles, I think those aren’t constructive,” Gruden said. “Having a suggestion whether to play zone or man, as a suggestion that’s fine in-house. With a microphone in your mouth it’s not productive for anybody. The fact of the matter is we didn’t play good enough to win against the Titans…

“We had discussions before in the past, obviously. It’s my fault. Ultimately, it’s my fault. Obviously, I didn’t make it clear to certain people that we don’t talk about our business to the media, and for me to allow that to creep in is ultimately my fault.

“D.J. did some great things here without a doubt, we wish him nothing but the best. But at the end of the day, that’s something that this franchise or any franchise can’t afford to have, so we moved on.”

According to Gruden, this will be an example for everyone on the team moving forward.

“When you’ve got a guy who’s been here a year and a half, two years, there’s going to be friendships that are going happen, and, obviously, there’s a natural reaction to when you lose a good friend of yours and a pretty good player,” Gruden said. “I don’t expect everybody to be happy about it. I wish it would have never happened, really, to be honest with you because I like D.J. and I like what he brought to this football team in his energy, passion and competitiveness. But at the end of the day, you can’t have that. So I think everybody will learn from it, grow from it. At the end of the day, when you work for a company or a team, it’s best that you try to be positive with your remarks.”

Jay Gruden

• Regarding Redskins HC Jay Gruden’s status with the team, John Keim says that he has yet to hear anything that suggests Gruden won’t be back in 2019.

Organizational Changes

• Craig Hoffman of 106.7 The Fan in Washington reports that a “major shakeup” is coming to the Redskins’ front office that includes multiple executives being fired from the organization as soon as this afternoon.
• However, Hoffman says that these changes won’t involve president Bruce Allen and instead include members of the business operation.
• The list of executives who have been fired include COO & President of Business Ops Brian Lafemina, CMO Steve Ziff, Senior VP Consumer Sales & Marketing Jake Bye. (Craig Hoffman)