Does Jay Gruden hate RG3? Does Gruden care if he's fired?

The Washington Redskins have named Robert Griffin III the starting quarterback for the remainder of the season now, with Colt McCoy hitting injured reserve.

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But Jay Gruden doesn't sound tickled by the idea of it. The Redskins head coach used his time with the media on Tuesday to take some thinly veiled shots at Griffin, via the Washington Post's Mike Jones.

Gruden says it'll take time for Griffin to become more savvy.

— Mike Jones (@MikeJonesWaPo) December 16, 2014

Well, then. So coach, is there anything you as offensive playcaller can do to help Gruden progress?

Gruden says as a play caller he can't think about Griffin's injury history. Just has to hope he can become more durable and play smart.

— Mike Jones (@MikeJonesWaPo) December 16, 2014

Ah, I see. Well ... is there anything RG3 does well? Any reason to think he can lead the Redskins to some late-season, feel-good victories?

Gruden says it's important to get a lead so griffin doesn't have to do a lot of dropback passing and defense reading.

— Mike Jones (@MikeJonesWaPo) December 16, 2014

Oh.

So what, then, can Griffin do to convince you that he's making progress and improving in these final few games?

Gruden on Griffin: "I don't expect perfection from him but I just need to see some progress from him"

— Mike Jones (@MikeJonesWaPo) December 16, 2014

Yikes.

Well, coach, you have to admit: You were down only two scores on Sunday against the New York Giants and it appeared that you, um, kind of gave up. What gives?

Gruden maintains that he let clock run because griffin so slow getting up. Says he needs to get up quicker and avoid awkward hits and falls.

— Mike Jones (@MikeJonesWaPo) December 16, 2014

Believe it or not, Gruden actually has been verbally rougher on RG3 earlier this season, saying he needs to "worry about himself" and not the rest of the team, as well as giving a lukewarm assessment of Griffin's potential improvement in the NFL.

So while this kind of raw take is not new for the first-year head coach, Gruden appears to be kicking the hornet's nest quite a bit. And we don't mean Griffin, specifically. It's almost as if Gruden is testing owner Daniel Snyder and GM Bruce Allen, who are said to be not ready to move on from Griffin, by taking weekly shots at the quarterback through the media.

While we applaud Gruden's candid assessment of the quarterback in an age when too many coaches scrub their public comments of any valid criticism, we can't help but wonder if Gruden is taunting his superiors a bit, or at least testing their loyalty.

See, Gruden earned himself a five-year, guaranteed contract upon being hired prior to last season, and firing him would cost Snyder a boatload of money for very little service rendered. Moving on from RG3 — what Gruden apparently wants — also would represent a poor return on investment. It's a lose-lose for management, but Gruden appears ready to risk his future employment by forcing Snyder's hand on whatever he deems to be the lesser of two evils: dump Gruden or trade Griffin.

Pretty bold move from a first-year head coach, wouldn't you say? Get ready — this battle is far from finished.

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Eric Edholm is a writer for Shutdown Corner on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at edholm@yahoo-inc.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Eric_Edholm

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