To steal a line from the great Bill Parcells: Washington Redskins interim head coach Bill Callahan is not only cooking the food, but he's shopping for the groceries in D.C. as well. According to a report from JP Finlay of NBC Sports Washington, Callahan made it clear to the Redskins brass prior to accepting his current role as the interim head coach that he'd only take the gig if he had complete control of the 53-man roster. With the Redskins already putting the wheels in motion to fire former head coach Jay Gruden, the organization agreed to Callahan's demand really out of necessity.
This is quite the change in philosophy than how the Redskins were operating under Gruden as Finlay points out there were instances where he did not have full control of the roster. One example of that Finley gives is Gruden wanting to cut safety D.J. Swearinger early in 2018. The Redskins brass said no and he was only released later in Week 16 after making public comments against the defensive coaching staff.
Since the decision to hand the power over to Callahan, he's had his fingerprints all over the operation in Washington. He overhauled the practice squad, organized more physical practices, recommitted to the running game with Adrian Peterson, and, most notably, has made changes at the starting quarterback spot under center.
In his final games as the head coach,Jay Gruden had Colt McCoy has his starter. Once Callahan gained control, Case Keenum was quickly named the leading man. After he suffered a concussion, first-round rookie Dwayne Haskins saw the first start of his NFL career last week against Buffalo. In that contest, Haskins completed 15 of his 22 passes for 144 yards as Washington fell to the Bills, 24-9.
The Redskins have yet to commit to Haskins for the remainder of the season, but, once that final quarterback decision comes out, you'll know exactly where it's coming from.
