While the rest of the football world was watching the NFL playoffs Monday night, a simple take by former Washington head coach Jay Gruden sparked old wounds to resurface for one of his former quarterbacks, Robert Griffin III. In turn, the coach and QB had a Twitter spat for the ages.
As the two exchanged barbs, former Washington kick returner Brian Mitchell got drawn in, leading to a spat between Gruden and him.
The ordeal started as Gruden tweeted his take on the relentless pressure the Tampa Bay Buccaneers put on Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts. Gruden felt compelled to apologize if he failed to adjust to protect any of his former QBs.
Griffin couldn’t help but respond the only way he knew how.
The backstory of Jay Gruden and Robert Griffin III tension
Commanders fans know the tension between Griffin and Gruden all too well. Gruden replaced Mike Shanahan as Washington’s head coach in 2014, Griffin’s third season in the league, and two removed from his Rookie of the Year campaign.
Griffin, who suffered a torn ACL in 2012, was looking to be more of a pocket quarterback. Gruden appeared to be a good fit after being a successful offensive coordinator with the Cincinnati Bengals. However, the pairing never meshed from the start.
Griffin struggled from the pocket. He suffered an ankle injury his first year under Gruden, leading to him missing six games. A concussion during a 2015 preseason game opened the door for Gruden to start Kirk Cousins, who got Washington picked in the same draft as Griffin, as the starting quarterback.
Griffin was benched for the entire 2015 season, as Cousins led Washington to an NFC East division title and a playoff appearance.
After a pit stop in Cleveland, Griffin was out of the NFL in 2017 before signing with the Baltimore Ravens as a backup to Lamar Jackson for three seasons.
Gruden didn’t last in Washington much longer. After failing to get the team back to the playoffs, Gruden got fired after a 0-5 start during the 2019 season.
At least Gruden took the high road to close out his spat with Griffin. Then again, Gruden tried to stay cordial throughout the tweets with RG3.
Brian Mitchell couldn’t stand by quietly
Meanwhile, Mitchell entered the chat with a fiery response to Gruden for his initial tweet about protecting quarterbacks.
Gruden couldn’t let Mitchell’s diss pass by quietly.
Mitchell answered by saying he was “better” at all his jobs than Gruden was, alluding to Mitchell’s playing career and tenure as a radio analyst. “You are a joke,” Mitchell said.
Gruden fired back, saying all Mitchell has ever done on the radio was criticize every coach Washington had, and challenged the former legendary special teamer to enter the coaching ranks.
Mitchell and Gruden’s exchange was more about two old heads debating sports after one too many adult beverages.
Hopefully, cooler heads can prevail, and Mitchell and Gruden can see eye-to-eye down the road. But it’s hard to imagine a truce will come anytime soon.
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