Throughout much of the 2013 season, it was regarded as a given that Washington defensive coordinator Jim Haslett would be gone. Before early December, the only question was whether coach Mike Shanahan and offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan would be going, too.
The Shanahans are gone. But Haslett officially is staying.
According to Mark Maske of the Washington Post, new coach Jay Gruden confirmed on Friday that Haslett will return for a fifth season as the defensive coordinator.
“He has one year left on his contract,” Gruden said. “I’ll talk to [G.M.] Bruce [Allen] and we’ll talk to [Haslett] and see what we can do there. But definitely he’ll be back next year as coordinator.”
While in the middle of the pack when it comes to yards allowed (354.1 per game), the Redskins tied for 30th with the Bears in points allowed, giving up on average 29.9 per game.
Allen will have plenty of decisions to make defensively in the offseason, given that multiple starters are free agents, including linebacker Brian Orakpo and cornerback DeAngelo Hall. Also, linebacker London Fletcher has retired.
A Pittsburgh native, Haslett played linebacker for the Bills from 1979 through 1986, and he has coached at the NFL level from 1993 through 2008 and 2010 through the present, working for the Raiders, Saints, Steelers, and Rams. He served as head coach of the Saints from 2000 through 2005.