How the hell is Haslett still here?

So here I am in the basement trying to sneak in some work and my 8 year-old son comes wandering down and just spontaneously says "Hey Dad, I don't think the Redskins are going to win the superbowl next year."

"Why?" I ask.

"Because Jim Haslett's still the defensive coordinator. We need to get somebody good."
 
I wouldn't be surprised if Haslett is replaced by end-of-season.

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He's been proving the rumors and his claims to be correct to this point. All 21 points on TD's we've given up are not based on his playcalling and/or scheme. He's been impressive and I hope it continues.
 
Fear The Spear said:
It's becoming increasingly clear why Haslett is still here
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I'll be impressed when we hold the Eagles, Seahawks, or Colts to under 20 points but yeah the defense looks much better. Actually it looked pretty good to start 2013 too but the offense was turning the ball over and not getting past mid field the first 5-6 games.
 
Two games, against offenses that could charitably be described as average. Every week that goes by, opposing OC's have more film to work on to take away whatever he's been doing differently so far this year. Is the talent better? No doubt. Enough to make up for whatever deficiencies have been Hazlett's shortcomings throughout his career as DC? We'll see starting Sunday.

To me, Jim Hazlett is going to have to turn in a complete season or two of consistently solid defenses before my perception of him really changes.
 
Thought everyone already knew why. Haz is here because of his past working relationship with Gruden. He was Gruden's boss.

I will take a losing season to see Haz gone. Never like him as head coach, and he hasn't shown me anything on Defense. His success has been from taking chances with blitzes. Gruden schooled him last year on the first play against Cinn.

Success this year I see from the addition of Hatcher. His arrival has changed the whole dynamic on the front four. He makes the others better by being such a force inside. In fact, its having a positive impact on the linebackers and secondary as well. I'm not giving Haz the credit yet. Wait until he faces a decent QB. Wait until we face a "must win" situation. Wait until injuries pile up and how he makes adjustments. Wait until we see how points allowed are accrued.
 
Fear The Spear said:
I bet it wouldn't take 2 years.
I bet if in 2 weeks, our D holds Seattle to 6 points, that Om won't be able to contain himself, and would actually crack a smile.
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I smile plenty, brother, in the moment. I also tend to take the long view on things like this. Haz didn't earn his rep as a mediocre DC in 2 weeks, 4 weeks, or a couple of seasons. He earned it with consistently poor defenses over the course of a long career.

Smiles are fleeting. Trust endures. :)
 
When Haz stayed on I was livid and it made me go so far as to think Gruden was the wrong hire. How can someone who's been that bad for that long be allowed to stay on?

And the excuses that were made for him made me even angrier. The whole "Shanahan wouldn't let him run the D" crap. I still don't buy that, no matter how good Has looks this season. Most head coaches will have their hands in the Defense, but it's fantastical to think Mike was just sitting there creating all the defensive game plans, coaching the players on D and calling a majority of the plays during the game. And that's what the organization was implying.

To me, that meant Haz was either a cowardly subordinate who accepted being ordered to fail or people within the organization were lying for him to justify how he kept his job. Not good either way.

That being said, I was willing to believe Gruden when he said that Haslett hasn't had much to work with in terms of personnel. That cap penalty destroyed our ability to bring in better personnel, and Mike clearly chose to improve the offense with what little we had. So I can understand that. Haslett has better personnel now and so far so good. Let's see if he can keep it up. The other thing I was telling myself to keep a sliver of hope on the matter was that there have been many instances of consistently average to below average D Coordinators suddenly becoming very good. In fact, you'd be surprised how many of the best ones in the league right now teetered in mediocrity for a long time before becoming among the best at what they do. Pretty slim pickings in the hope department, I know, lol.

This game is really a great litmus test for Haslett. If he can come up with a solid game plan and limit the Eagles offense, I'll be super impressed. I hope Haslett can turn it around and become one of those aforementioned D Coordinators.
 
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Yeah, this game will be the beginning of the litmus test, but still a small sample size. If Haslett gets gun shy after being burnt for the first time when blitzing, it will say a lot. The Eagles ares susceptible to the blitz, but the one or two they break can crush a defense. That's how they've whooped us the last couple times they beat us up. If Haslett accepts we'll likely get beat at least once or twice in the blitz with McCoy or Sproles, but comes back and doesn't rely on a 3 man rush the rest of the game because he's afraid to bring pressure, I will start giving him some credit.
 
Om said:
I smile plenty, brother, in the moment. I also tend to take the long view on things like this. Haz didn't earn his rep as a mediocre DC in 2 weeks, 4 weeks, or a couple of seasons. He earned it with consistently poor defenses over the course of a long career.

Smiles are fleeting. Trust endures. :)
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The optimist/homer in me is holding out hope that his average (at best) career as a defensive coordinator was mainly achieved coaching a 4-3 defense. That of course at the time, made his hiring for a 3-4 conversion even less sensible.

Now as an "uncuffed" coach of a 3-4 defense with some quality pieces personnel wise, both players and assistant coaches, he gains a new, positive reputation, after years of suck. :)
 
Still my only real problem with Jay Grudem so far. Keeping Hazlett on as DC is just about impossible to justify. This is the same defense we've been watching for four years.
 
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