RICHMOND — For the next several days, the Redskins will have scripted practices as training camp gets underway. But later sessions will be unscripted, an important step for coach Jay Gruden as he prepares to resume play-calling duties this fall.
“Once we get going, get our main, core plays in there I think we’ll have a lot of unscripted practices where I can call plays,” Gruden said Wednesday as camp opened in Richmond.
“I think that’s the most important thing, the unscripted practice, whether it’s two-minutes, drives down the field, third downs, all that stuff. We’ll do a lot of unscripted work in the red zone and go from there but I feel pretty comfortable already.”
It’s been since 2014, Gruden’s first year as Redskins coach, that he called the plays on offense. Along with making sure that he himself is up to speed, Gruden will use training camp to further develop trust in his defensive and special teams coaches so that he can be mostly dialed into the offense and the big-picture on game days.
Gruden said it’s critical that he be a good delegator.
“How I will handle that will be how successful I will probably be as a coordinator calling plays and as a coach,” Gruden said.
He’ll be one of only eight head coaches calling plays in 2017 and, if he micromanages both the offense and the defense, he’s probably going to be overwhelmed and things won’t go well.
If he’s going to trust defensive coordinator Greg Manusky and special teams coordinator Ben Kotwica on Sundays, he’ll have to trust them during training camp so that they, too, can get the reps they need.
“The big thing is I’ve got to be involved in the football game and make sure I’m ready for the red flag tosses and all that good stuff,” Gruden said.
• Nora Princiotti can be reached at nprinciotti@washingtontimes.com.
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