The mixed bag known as the Redskins’ coaching history
June 24, 2020
by Steve Thomas
Ever wondered about the history of success of the various Redskins head coaches? It’s a particularly relevant question in light of the Redskins’ hiring of Ron Rivera as their new head coach this offseason. Back when the team first hired Jay Gruden, I researched the success rate of NFL head coaches in their first year. Now, since the Redskins have another new head coach, I thought it was time address this topic again. So here we are: in this column, I’ll look into the history of Redskins head coaches in their first year with the team as well as various win / loss-related info. Consider this your fair warning that it isn’t all sunshine and roses, but if you’re a Redskins fan, you should already know that.
First year success (or lack thereof)
First up are the records of each Redskins head coach in their first season with the team:
1932: Lud Wray, 4 – 4 – 2 (as Boston Braves)
1933: William “Lone Star” Dietz, 5 – 5 – 2 (as Boston Braves)
1935: Eddie Casey, 2 – 8 – 1 (as Boston Braves)
1936: Ray Flaherty, 7 – 5 (as Boston Braves)
1943: Dutch Bergman, 6 – 3 – 1
1944: Dudley DeGroot, 6 – 3 – 1
1946: Turk Edwards, 5 – 5 – 1
1949: John Whelchel & Herman Ball 4 – 7 – 1 (combined; Whelchel replaced Ball after game 5)
1951: Dick Todd, 5 – 4 (replaced Bell after game 3)
1952: Curly Lambeau, 4 – 8
1954: Joe Kuharich, 3 – 9
1959: Mike Nixon, 3 – 9
1961: Bill McPeak, 1 – 12
1966: Otto Graham, 7 – 7
1969: Vince Lombardi, 7 – 5 – 2
1970: Bill Austin, 6 – 8
1971: George Allen, 9 – 4 – 1
1978: Jack Pardee, 8 – 8
1981: Joe Gibbs, 8 – 8
1993: Richie Pettibon, 4 – 12
1994: Norv Turner, 3 – 13
2000: Terry Robiskie, 1 – 2 (replaced Turner after game 13)
2001: Marty Schottenheimer, 8 – 8
2002: Steve Spurrier, 7 – 9
2004: Joe Gibbs, 6 – 10
2008: Jim Zorn, 8 – 8
2010: Mike Shanahan, 6 – 10
2014: Jay Gruden, 4 – 12
2019: Bill Callahan, 3 – 8
As you can see, you have to go all the way back to George Allen in 1971 to find a coach who had a winning record in year 1. The only other Redskins coaches who were able to accomplish this were Vince Lombardi in 1969 and multiple coaches in the 1950s and earlier. The franchise’s history has been a veritable sea of despair in this regard.
Overall winning percentage
Next, here’s a list of all Redskins coaches and their winning percentages, sorted from best to worst:
Name Years Record Win %
Dudley DeGroot: 1944 – 45 14 – 5 – 1 .737
Ray Flaherty: 1936 – 42 54 – 21 – 4 .720
George Allen: 1971 – 77 67 – 30 – 1 .691
Joe Gibbs #1: 1981 – 92 124 – 60 .674
Dutch Bergman: 1943 6 – 3 – 1 .667
Vince Lombardi: 1969 7 – 5 – 2 .583
Dick Todd: 1951 5 – 4 .556
Lud Wray: 1932 4 – 4 – 2 .500
William “Lone Star” Dietz: 1933 – 34 11 – 11 – 2 .500
John Whelchel: 1949 3 – 3 – 1 .500
Jack Pardee: 1978 – 80 24 – 24 .500
Marty Schottenheimer: 2001 8 – 8 .500
Turk Edwards: 1946 – 48 16 – 18 – 1 .471
Joe Gibbs #2: 2004 – 07 30 – 34 .469
Norv Turner: 1994 – 00 49 – 59 – 1 .454
Joe Kuharic: 1954 – 58 26 – 32 – 2 .448
Otto Graham: 1966 – 68 17 – 22 – 3 .436
Curley Lambeau: 1952 – 53 10 – 13 – 1 .435
Bill Austin: 1970 6 – 8 .428
Jay Gruden: 2014 – 19 35 – 49 – 1 .418
Steve Spurrier: 2002 – 03 12 – 20 .375
Jim Zorn: 2008 – 08 12 – 20 .375
Mike Shanahan: 2010 – 13 24 – 40 .375
Terry Robiske: 2000 1 – 2 .333
Bill McPeak: 1961 – 65 21 – 46 – 3 .313
Bill Callahan: 2019 3 – 8 .273
Richie Pettibon: 1993 4 – 12 .250
Eddie Casey: 1935 2 – 8 – 1 .200
Herman Ball: 1949 – 51 4 – 16 .200
Mike Nixon: 1959 – 60 4 – 18 – 2 .182
Yes, this isn’t a joke. Somebody named Dudley DeGroot is the most successful head coach in Redskins history as measured by winning percentage, and the great Joe Gibbs’ first tenure is only ranked 4th. When put together, the totality of Joe Gibbs’ coaching tenure lasted 16 seasons, and his record was 154 – 94, for a .621 winning percentage, which would have been ranked 5th in team history.
It’s certainly fair to point out that a number of the coaches near both the top and bottom of the list didn’t last long, so when sorted to only include coaches who were with the team for 30 or more games, the list becomes:
Name Years Record Win %
Ray Flaherty: 1936 – 42 54 – 21 – 4 .720
George Allen: 1971 – 77 67 – 30 – 1 .691
Joe Gibbs #1: 1981 – 92 124 – 60 .674
Jack Pardee: 1978 – 80 24 – 24 .500
Joe Gibbs #2: 2004 – 07 30 – 34 .469
Norv Turner: 1994 – 00 49 – 59 – 1 .454
Joe Kuharich: 1954 – 58 26 – 32 – 2 .448
Otto Graham: 1966 – 68 17 – 22 – 3 .436
Jay Gruden: 2014 – 19 35 – 49 – 1 .418
Steve Spurrier: 2002 – 03 12 – 20 .375
Jim Zorn: 2008 – 08 12 – 20 .375
Mike Shanahan: 2010 – 13 24 – 40 .375
Bill McPeak: 1961 – 65 21 – 46 – 3 .313
Yes, this list shows that only 3 coaches in the history of the franchise who lasted 30 or more games ended up with a winning record. In the immortal words of Metallica, sad but true.
Playoffs and Super Bowls
Here’s the entire list of the Redskins’ playoff records, sorted by number of games played per coach:
Name Years # gms Playoff Record
Joe Gibbs #1: 1981 – 92 21 games 16 – 5, 3 – 1 in Super Bowls
George Allen: 1971 – 77 7 games 2 – 5 overall, 0 – 1 in Super Bowl
Ray Flaherty: 1936 – 42 4 games 2 – 2 overall, 2 – 2 in championship games
Joe Gibbs #2: 2004 – 07 3 games 1 – 2 overall
Norv Turner: 1994 – 00 2 games 1 – 1 overall
Dutch Bergman: 1943 2 games 1 – 1 overall, 0 – 1 in championship games
Dudley DeGroot: 1944 – 45 1 game 0 – 1 overall, 0 – 1 in championship games
Mike Shanahan: 2010 – 13 1 game 0 – 1 overall
Jay Gruden 2014 – 18 1 game 0 – 1 overall
As a franchise, the Redskins are 23 – 19 in the playoffs including their time as the Boston Braves, with 5 total league championships. What should jump out at you from this list is what you already know: the Redskins’ post-season success came primarily from Joe Gibbs’ first tenure as coach during the golden years, with a small amount of success under George Allen in the 1970s and Ray Flaherty in the ‘30s and ‘40s. You may not have known about Flaherty’s success, but other than that, the franchise’s coaches have for the most part been unsuccessful throughout the entirety of the team’s history. Gibbs is the only coach in franchise history to have a winning playoff record in the postseason.
The worst of the bunch
Of the coaches who served as the head coach for 2 or more seasons, these were the 6 least successful:
Name Years Record Win %
Steve Spurrier: 2002 – 03 12 – 20 .375
Jim Zorn: 2008 – 08 12 – 20 .375
Mike Shanahan: 2010 – 13 24 – 40 .375
Bill McPeak: 1961 – 65 21 – 46 – 3 .313
Herman Ball: 1949 – 51 4 – 16 .200
Mike Nixon: 1959 – 60 4 – 18 – 2 .182
The worst coach in team history who lasted at least 2 seasons? Mike Nixon in 1959 – 60. On another note, for those of you who remain Mike Shanahan apologists, his stats show that you’re just wrong. His record as Redskins head coach is tied with fellow failures Jim Zorn and Steve Spurrier as the worst of the Super Bowl era for a coach with two or more seasons. Blame RG3 if you want, and Kyle Shanahan can continue to bash the Redskins to the media, but the fact of the matter is that the team was very unsuccessful during his years, and Mike was the guy in charge and needs to own it.
Conclusion
Overall, the history of this franchise is littered with long, ugly periods of losing. The franchise record right now is 603 – 603 – 28, so if the Redskins lose the first game of the 2020 season, they will have an overall losing franchise record. Washington actually went 13 straight years between 1956 and 1968 without a single winning record. The only truly successful coaches in the 87 year history of the franchise are Gibbs, Allen, and Flaherty. I don’t mean this to be overly negative; the stats are what they are, and we all love our team no matter what. Can Ron Rivera overcome the tide of all of this negative history? I certainly hope so.