WASHINGTON — Last week, at the very awkward end-of-season press conference, Washington Redskins General Manager Bruce Allen said that the organization will change and look into everything to try to improve a team that has finished in last place six of the last seven years.
He also said that it wasn’t too much for him to continue to wear both hats of President and General Manager.
Well, I’m not sure how many people believed him, but it looks like this team is doing something to put them on the road back to respectability. The Redskins are hiring a true General Manager, a person that has a football background and an eye for talent.
I can honestly say I did not think I would ever see that happen. I’m glad I was wrong.
His name is Scot McCloughan is, and reports say that the former 49ers GM and senior personnel executive with the Seattle Seahawks will have final say over the 53-man roster. He will report to Bruce Allen, who now will simply have the title of “President” with the Redskins.
McCloughan helped build Super Bowl teams in San Francisco and Seattle before stepping away from his position as a senior personnel executive in Seattle last year to deal with a personal issue. He spent his year away from football running a private scouting service and as a personnel consultant to several teams.
If you take a look at the players that he had a hand in drafting, you can begin to get excited: Russell Wilson, Richard Sherman, Frank Gore, Patrick Willis, Vernon Davis, and Joe Staley to name a few. All have been major contributors on the Seahawks and 49ers Super Bowl runs.
There are two big questions that will have to be answered, though.
First, will McCloughan be able to do his job without any outside influence from Dan Snyder and Bruce Allen?
I don’t know if we will ever know the answer to that, because no matter how often we hear that Dan Snyder is sick of losing, and embarrassed, and needs to step back, he just simply can’t do it. He has hired someone that is very well respected throughout the league as having an eye for talent. If he can’t do it now, then he never will.
The quarterback situation falls along those lines. Yes, there are plenty of needs on this roster, but everyone will be interested to know what McCloughan thinks about the quarterbacks and if he believes Robert Griffin III is still capable of leading this franchise into the future.
The other big question concerns off-the-field issues. Will he be able to deal with the pressure of Washington?
McCloughan admitted to having a drinking problem, which led him to step away from his job in Seattle last year and that also led to him parting ways with the 49ers. This is not an easy fix here, and will take a few years. The pressure will be great, I just hope the Redskins put him in an atmosphere that allows him to succeed.
Dan Snyder has taken the much needed first step, now step back and let the man do what he was hired to do.
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