It was known the Redskins were interested in Todd Bowles and Gregg Williams. But a new report from CBS Sports reveals it was owner Dan Snyder leading the charge.
CBS Sports’ Jason La Canfora wrote that Snyder “aggressively pursued” the two men — adding the search may not bode well for coach Jay Gruden in 2020.
The Redskins explored adding a defensive-minded coach to their staff this offseason, despite defensive coordinator Greg Manusky still under contract. But Bowles and Williams both landed jobs elsewhere, becoming defense coordinators with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and New York Jets, respectively.
Per the report, Snyder led a “full-court press” for Bowles:
While the sides did not enter into negotiations, sources said, Snyder was leading this push, not head coach Jay Gruden, and the owner made it clear he would compensate Bowles as well as any coordinator in the NFL and was also willing to alter his personnel structure within football operations if Bowles was interested
As one source with knowledge of the situation put it, “Dan put the full-court press on (Bowles). He didn’t want to let him leave. He wanted to know what conditions it would take to get him to stay. If Todd had said, ’I’ll only do it if I am the head coach,’ I think he may have gone for it.”
La Canfora ends the article with a suggestion that Snyder could pursue the two next season as well — even as potential head coaching candidates.
• Matthew Paras can be reached at mparas@washingtontimes.com.
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