With the end of the 2013 season and the turning of the calendar, the Washington Redskins have a number of New Year's resolutions to fulfill.
That starts with identifying a new head coach, something general manager Bruce Allen and key members of the Redskins front office have been charged with spearheading.
After that, the Redskins must make some tough decisions as far as personnel are concerned, targeting areas in need of upgrade while balancing the retention of valuable free agents.
Former Redskins quarterback Joe Theismann spoke on ESPN's Mike and Mike radio program and gave his take on some of the things that Washington needs to focus on improving heading into next year.
Theismann started his analysis at the quarterback position, where he noted that Robert Griffin III needs to improve his accuracy on the deep ball.
"This year, whether it was his legs not quite under him, whether it was the lack of all the work in the offseason, he didn't seem as accurate and as comfortable throwing the ball down the field," Theismann said. "That's the thing Robert must realize he's going to have to develop."
In his rookie season, Griffin completed four passes over 60 yards including an 88 yard bomb to open the season vs. New Orleans.
In 2013, Griffin had only one pass over 60 yards, a catch and run by fullback Darrel Young.
"It's going to be really important for Robert to be able to work in the offseason and develop the ability to throw the ball down the field accurately," Theismann reasoned.
Griffin enters his first healthy NFL offseason, a critical period of time for his development as an NFL passer.
But the downfield passing game was not the only area of concern for the Redskins.
"Bruce Allen has made the statement that they are going to take long hard looks and he is the guy that is going to be making the decisions," Theismann said. "It isn't going to be just one person in charge; I think it's going to be a collaborative effort going forward to make a decision.
"I think the top two candidates for head coaching jobs around the league, I think Lovie Smith is one, I think Jack Del Rio has to be considered as another and of course Todd Bowles name has been mentioned."
Over the holiday, Smith was announced as the new head coach for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Del Rio is currently in the playoffs with the Denver Broncos and Bowles recently finished a successful season as the defensive coordinator for the Arizona Cardinals.
Regardless of who makes the final list of interviewees, Theismann expects the Redskins top job to be desirable to prospective candidates.
"Whoever the head coach is going to be he will work with the general manager and be able to do things they need to be able to build this football team," Theismann reasoned. "There could be a surprising big jump in this football team because of the economics involved and the ability to go get personnel that they sorely need on both sides of the ball."
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