sub,
I am 100% on board with you on Haslett. I've been scratching my head since Shanahan brought him here as to why he rated the job in the first place, then was able to keep it as it became clear he was failing at yet another NFL stop. I wish I knew the real reason he was retained. I've read all the theories, but like everyone else outside the executive wing at Redskins Park, all I can do is guess at the truth.
As far as Gruden/Allen ... I'm not ready to say they've failed yet. I think, to the extent it was Gruden's call, he made a major competitive mistake that is coming back to haunt him early and big. From where I sit it looks as if he allowed personal loyalty and perhaps to some degree "comfort level" to trump sound strategy. But again, I'm just guessing like everyone else.
If this was Allen's call ... over Gruden's objection ... I'll be unhappy as hell too. Because Allen has been here since Haslett was hired. Absolutely zero excuse for allowing the defensive circus to continue to drag the team down.
So what I'm hopeful for is 1) it'll be Gruden's call in 2015, and 2) that if it is, he'll recognize the Haslett mistake as such and fix it.
If Haslett is still the DC in 2015, that's when I'll start to seriously question Gruden/Allen--because it'll either mean it's not their call to make (meaning, it's Snyder making the call), or that they simply fail to see what the rest of the world sees.