Robert Griffin III discusses relationship with Jay Gruden

By Vincent Frank

It’s not a secret that the Washington Redskins were a hot mess under then-first-year head coach Jay Gruden last season.

Finishing the year with just four wins and losing seven of its last eight, Washington has nowhere to look but up.

One of the lingering issues from last season remains the relationship between Gruden and starting quarterback Robert Griffin III. Not necessarily acting the part of a quarterback-friendly mentor, Gruden took to the press to criticize his struggling signal caller more than once. It was a situation that didn’t exactly paint the head coach in the best of light.

Now months removed from the drama, RGIII spoke out about his relationship with Gruden and what the plans are moving forward. In doing so, the former top pick didn’t give his head coach much of an endorsement.

When asked specifically about his relationship with Gruden, the embattled quarterback simply said that they both want to win.

We sure hope so, Robert.

The issue here is that there hasn’t been a lot of winning going on in D.C. since a surprising playoff run back in 2012. The Redskins have won a total of seven games over the past two seasons. And for his part, the former Heisman winner is 5-15 as a starter during that span.

Despite this, Gruden has already indicated RGIII is the team’s starting quarterback for now.

Looking to move on from the 2014 season, the Redskins’ quarterback showed some optimism.

Washington has done some good work on the defensive side of the ball this offseason. With solid draft later this month, the team might be more competitive in 2015.

It just remains to be seen whether RGIII or Gruden will be around when this thing finally turns around.

More from Sportsnaut: