It's been nearly 10 years since Jay Gruden and Robert Griffin III were on the same sideline together, but apparently, when it comes to the relationship between these two, time does NOT heal all wounds.
The two have been involved in a bitter social media spat over the past few days and it seems to be getting uglier by the hour. The feud started when Griffin took issue with a tweet that Gruden sent out earlier this week.
The former Washington head coach was watching the Eagles-Buccaneers playoff game and he couldn't believe that Philadelphia's offense wasn't doing anything to help Jalen Hurts against Tampa Bay's blitz-heavy attack.
If I ever put a QB through what Philly is putting Jalen through , I apologize. Pick up a blitz !
— Jay Gruden (@Coach_JayGruden) January 16, 2024
RG3 definitely seemed shocked to see that tweet, because it took him less than 30 minutes to respond.
Say WHATTTT??? https://t.co/TAHWqvDoce pic.twitter.com/mnuh9VafCz
— Robert Griffin III (@RGIII) January 16, 2024
After Griffin sent out the tweet above, the blood feud was officially on. Gruden replied to Griffin's tweet with a simple question.
U weren’t prepared Robert ?
— Jay Gruden (@Coach_JayGruden) January 16, 2024
Gruden is basically insinuating that if Griffin wasn't prepared, then it was his own fault.
Griffin then escalated the feud with another tweet where he took a huge shot at Gruden's coaching abilities.
You told me you didn’t know how to coach a QB who could throw and run like me, so looks like you weren’t prepared Jay. https://t.co/hrcZFXISkk pic.twitter.com/qiikYkFkpq
— Robert Griffin III (@RGIII) January 16, 2024
There's obviously some serious bitterness here, which is kind of crazy when you consider that RG3 and Gruden only spent two seasons together. Gruden was hired to be Washington's head coach in 2014 and by the end of the 2015 season, he decided he didn't want RG3.
Griffin went 2-5 while starting seven games during his first year with Gruden. Kirk Cousins also started five games in 2014 and Colt McCoy started the other four for a Washington team that finished 4-12.
Griffin got injured in Week 2 in 2014, which caused him to miss six games, and that might be why he was so upset when he saw Gruden's tweet about the Eagles not helping their QB. Griffin was also on the team in 2015, but he didn't take a single snap the entire season. He was then cut after the 2015 season, which was a dramatic fall for a QB who had won offensive rookie of the year in 2012.
It seems that Griffin and Gruden never really liked each other, as you can tell by the current state of events.
Anyway, Gruden responded to Griffin's tweet by getting sarcastic.
You are right. We didn’t have a good enough staff. Sorry. Hope all is well with ya.
— Jay Gruden (@Coach_JayGruden) January 16, 2024
If Griffin is correct that the coaching staff didn't know how to use him, that's also a shot at Rams coach Sean McVay, who was Washington's offensive coordinator in 2014.
At this point, the feud could have ended, but Griffin then decided to take things to YouTube, where he revealed one reason why he doesn't like Gruden. Apparently, Griffin called the team out in a press conference because Gruden ASKED him to, but then Gruden didn't defend him when he was later asked about RG3's comments.
"The truth of the matter is that there was a moment in DC that is vividly remembered," Griffin says in the clip. "Jay Gruden went to a press conference and he undressed me at that press conference in a way that a coach should never undress his starting quarterback. It was after a game and I said in the press conference that 'the best players in the NFL have the guys around them play at an extremely high level. No one is out there doing it on their own.' Now, the media pundits and everyone took that and said RGIII threw his teammates under the bus. And I had to eat that for a long time because Jay didn't back me in the media the next day. He doubled down on it and actually picked me apart in the media."
If that really happened, it's easy to see why Griffin is bitter.
Gruden then jumped on social media on Thursday and responded with a kill shot: "You weren't good enough. Kirk was better. Cleveland didn't want you. Baltimore didn't either. Quit blaming me."
The tweet was so harsh that Gruden ended up deleting it, but this is the internet where nothing can ever be deleted.
HAHHAHAHA this is WILD. pic.twitter.com/aZKLNYlTT0
— Zach Bollinger (@zachbollinger18) January 19, 2024
Gruden then told Griffin to go race a pigeon. I thought maybe that was a metaphor for something, but it is not. Griffin actually raced a pigeon once.
Go race a pigeon. pic.twitter.com/qpAofBpfq7
— Jay Gruden (@Coach_JayGruden) January 19, 2024
There you have it. You are now caught up on this crazy feud and it definitely qualifies as crazy. It's not often -- or ever -- that you'll see a former NFL coach clash with a former player on social media, but that's exactly what happened here.
It won't be surprising if this battle continues over the weekend, especially if we see another quarterback getting beaten up on the field.