The Athletic's Ben Standig catches up with former Washington head coach Jay Gruden about the NFL playoffs and Washington's QB options, and branding expert Allen Adamson on the name change process.

*Ben opens the show with some podcast notes and shares the reaction to his recent story on Dan Snyder eventually returning to his usual role.

*Then Jay Gruden is back on the podcast for a lively and insightful conversation (11:24). Topics include:

• The wild 49ers-Cowboys conclusion -- and what Gruden saw from the coaching/execution perspective
• The most impressive part/player of the opening five NFL playoff games
• Whether Jimmy Garappolo and Derek Carr are potential answers or just QB teases
• How QB-needy teams prepare for the offseason search
• Brandon Scherff's likely exit and how Washington hasn't maximized roster assets enough going back years
• Why assistant coaches can be trickier to handle than players
• Whether Sean McVay is part of the Gruden or Shanahan coaching tree
• Jay revisits his recent name-change comments, ponders his employment future and explains why he keeps talking with the local media

Then branding expert Allen Adamson (Metaforce) joins Ben (118:04) to discuss Washington's name change, how the two collaborated on The Athletic's name-change simulation project last year, and Allen's favorite among the rumored names.

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