Personally I don't rip him for being honest... I just think it tells he doesn't believe in Kirk that much, and it amazes me (in a bad way).
And I don't think that's reading too much out of it: I went back and listen to this segment again, in the same sentence he praises TW, Brandon Scherff and RK who are "Pro Bowl type guys" and are among the "few guys obviously that jump out".
So even when the team is 7-9, there are some players that you can say without any hesitation had a solid season? But not Kirk?
I'm sorry but that tells me he doesn't believe in him.
Because by that standard you could say that TW Scherff and RK "played well at times"... Even they had bad plays, RK disappeared in some games, Scherff wasn't ALWAYS that great in the run game, TW was awesome even when hurt but he did gave away some sacks...
I think these 3 are really good players but I think Kirk is right there with them.
He's part of why we're not 4-13, he's not part of why we're not 11-5, so to hear the HC sort of pin the 7-9 season on him is unfair and not a good sign if you hope Kirk's staying here.
(Didn't read the article but here's a video of the segment I'm talking about
:
Jay Gruden wasn't overly critical of Kirk Cousins, but he was honest | NBC Sports Washington )