HOUSTON — The gamut of emotions that Jay Gruden ran through during his coaching debut didn’t come close to preparing him for how he felt after it was over.
“Oh, I’m sick,” Gruden said, shaking his head. “Sick, sick. You only get one chance at your first time, and I failed to get it done. We failed as a staff. We failed as a team to get it done.”
As far as debuts go, Gruden will likely be the only one to remember Sunday’s game for any worthwhile reason. The Redskins lost, 17-6, to Houston in an otherwise forgettable game at NRG Stadium, spoiling his first regular-season game as the 29th coach in franchise history.
Though he had four preseason games to serve as a tune-up, this was the first time Gruden’s priority was to win — and, as such, it gave him the first opportunity to react to the game. When the Texans continued to play off coverage on the Redskins’ wide receivers, Gruden called plays to get them the ball on a variety of screen passes and quick throws. If he recognized an opportunity to run the ball, he did just that.
It didn’t seem particularly difficult for Gruden to get in that zone. An hour before the game, Gruden went through a variety of exercises no doubt meant to calm his frayed nerves. He and equipment assistant Pat Coleman threw 15-yard passes to quarterbacks Robert Griffin III and Kirk Cousins before later doing the same for his tight ends. When the players stretched before the game, he walked up and down the array, slapping some on their shoulder pads and shaking hands with others.
And, when Griffin gathered the players near the 20-yard line for a pep talk 40 minutes before kickoff, Gruden toed cautiously around them, motioning for a football to throw around for a few seconds before the start of team drills. A former quarterback, Gruden seemed comforted by having the ball in his hands.
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“It was kind of nice — a fun little deal, you know what I mean?” said tight end Logan Paulsen, who could not remember the last time he warmed up with his coach before a game. “It’s just an opportunity to get some more reps and not overwork the quarterbacks’ arms.”
The preseason provided an ample opportunity for Gruden, who was previously Cincinnati’s offensive coordinator, to grasp the full nature of his responsibilities during the course of a game.
By having Sean McVay, Jim Haslett and Ben Kotwica, his three coordinators, with him on the sidelines during the game, Gruden has found it easier to delegate responsibilities and focus more on the action on the field. It’s helpful, too, considering Gruden has chosen to call his own plays on offense.
“I think you’ve got to have some kind of poise on the sideline,” Gruden said Friday. “I don’t want to be running around trying to high-five everybody. You’ve got to have some kind of poise and always stay focused on what’s upcoming and not worry so much about what happened.”
He threw his first challenge flag with 3:11 remaining in the first quarter, objecting to the ruling that Andre Roberts was out of bounds on a potential 36-yard reception. When officials upheld their decision, Gruden, five yards out onto the field, hung his head and retreated to the sidelines.
Later, when Texans coach Bill O’Brien lost a challenge with 6:11 remaining in the second quarter on what he thought was a fumble by Alfred Morris, Gruden clenched both of his fists in celebration, lowered his headset, raised his play card and barked out the call that resulted in a 1-yard touchdown run by fullback Darrel Young moments later.
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“From a quarterback’s perspective, I think he does a good job of not riding the rollercoaster — staying focused, staying with the plan, no matter what happens,” Cousins said. “At the same time, while he’s not going to ride the rollercoaster, there’s an intensity behind that consistency that I think is good for us.”
In an odd twist, the meeting between the Redskins and Texans marked the first time in 14 years that two coaches made their debuts in the same game. With the loss, the Redskins fell to 12-14-3 all-time in their first game under a new coach.
The next task for Gruden will be a week from Sunday, when Washington opens the home portion of its schedule with a game against Jacksonville at FedEx Field.
That, for Gruden, could be the retribution that he needs.
“I thought he did a great job,” Griffin said. “He did a great job out there leading us, and I think I can speak for the team — we want to apologize for him not winning his first start as a head coach. We took that to heart. We wanted to do that for him … but we’ll move forward. We’ll be better. He knows that, and like he told us, we just have to go back, regroup, watch the film and get better.”
• Zac Boyer can be reached at zboyer@washingtontimes.com.
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