Washington Redskins Name Bill Callahan Interim Coach Of 0-5 Team

WASHINGTON, DC — The Washington Redskins have a dismal 0-5 record so far this season, and Sunday's 33-7 loss to the New England Patriots seemed to be the final straw for the team, which fired Jay Gruden. Team president Bruce Allen said Monday afternoon that Bill Callahan will serve as the Redskins' interim head coach. Callahan has been the Redskins' assistant head coach since 2017 and the offensive line coach since 2015.

USA Today says fans have directed their ire at Allen for not trading holdout tackle Trent Williams, who has yet to report since training camp.

In a news conference at the team's practice facility Monday, Allen tried to sound upbeat about the team, saying "the pieces are here for a winning team."

"You know, the culture is actually damn good," Allen told USA Today. "These people care. We have a very young core of players that we have brought in here who are accustomed to winning. If you look at the record of these guys they're accustomed to winning. They want to win.

"We've made too many mistakes on game day," Allen continued. "But the effort — the effort of the players and the rest of this organization is fantastic."

It will be Callahan's call which quarterback starts Sunday against also winless Miami, Allen said.

Veteran Case Keenum started the first four games of the season to middling results. Top draft pick Dwayne Haskins took over in Week 4 for about half a game and threw three interceptions, NFL.com reports. Colt McCoy started Sunday and was pounded by the New England Patriots, completing 18 of 27 passes for just 119 yards, was sacked six times and threw one interception.

Callahan has more than two decades of NFL coaching experience, according to the Redskins. He began his career as the offensive line coach with the Philadelphia Eagles in 1995 and has worked for five franchises overall. He's been an offensive coordinator twice — for the Oakland Raiders from 1998 to 2001 and for the Dallas Cowboys from 2012 to 2014 — and served as the Raiders' head coach during the 2002 and 2003 seasons.

In 2015, the Redskins hired Callahan away from the Cowboys to become the offensive line coach in Washington. He was promoted to assistant head coach two years later.

Callahan will lead a Redskins team that is 0-5 for the first time since 2001 and is coming off a home loss to the New England Patriots. The Redskins will play the Miami Dolphins on the road on Sunday.

Gruden was informed of the decision early Monday morning by team owner Daniel Snyder and Allen.

The team has issued the following statement: "Through the first five games of the 2019 season, the team has clearly not performed up to expectations, and we all share in that responsibility. Moving forward we are committed to doing all that we can collectively as an organization to turn things around and give our Redskins fans and alumni a team they can be proud of in 2019 and beyond."

Who do you want to see lead the team? Who is responsible for the team's dismal record? Tell us in comments.

ESPN reporter Josina Anderson tweeted that the firing wasn't a surprise for players.

"Redskins player to me on coaching change: 'It was time. Too much laziness & stubborn *%#@ going on around here. Folks not taking #@$! serious. Looking at snap chat during practice, come on now. You know who I'm talking about. Guys were talking about it. We'll see how it goes."

Gruden’s teams finished with winning records just twice — 9-7 in 2015, then 8-7-1 in 2016 — and he took the Redskins to one playoff game, a loss. The team went 7-9 in each of the past two seasons, leading to speculation about whether he would be back.

And ESPN's Ed Werder says the Redskinsare likely to consider coach Mike Tomlin of the Pittsburgh Steelers, Tampa Bay Buccaneers defensive coordinator Todd Bowles, and Kansas City Chiefs’ offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy for the head coaching job.

Patch will update this breaking news story.