Bruce Allen was hired to bring the Washington Redskins back to their glory days, yet all he's given the franchise is chaos and continued dysfunction.
When Bruce Allen was hired by Washington Redskins' owner Daniel Snyder back in December 2009, it was supposed to be a great day for fans—young and old alike. Allen, after all, was the son of legendary Washington coach George Allen. Not only was Allen a link to the past, he was respected around the league.
Allen, a former executive of the year for Oakland back in 2002, brought plenty of reasons for Washington fans to be optimistic. His last name brought him instant credibility with fans and the owner alike. Snyder loves reaching into the franchise's glorious past when chaos emerges. And the Redskins were coming off the disastrous Vinny Cerrato era. Cerrato, a Snyder toady, was always the one standing in front of Snyder when the team did something calamitous.
And the era of Snyder/Cerrato did plenty of catastrophic things. Whether it be the hiring of Jim Zorn as head coach or the signings of players such as Adam Archuleta or Albert Haynesworth, this duo managed to bungle everything. Then Allen came along and that was supposed to end.
Here we are, eight years later, and the Redskins are the still the Redskins.
The first couple of years in the Allen/Snyder pairing went seemingly well. That was until 2013, when Mike Shanahan's final year as head coach featured more leaks than Watergate. The team fired Shanahan and hired Jay Gruden, handing the first-time head coach a guaranteed five-year contract, unprecedented for a rookie coach.
The Redskins won just four games in Gruden's first year, one year removed from just three wins. In a two-year stretch between 2013 and 2014, Washington was just 7-25. Allen, one of the best in the business at managing numbers, wasn't exactly a personnel guru. He needed help.
At a season-ending press conference with the local media, Allen defended his personnel acumen and said the Redskins were at least "winning off the field." Yes, he said that.
Snyder and Allen responded to that PR disaster by bringing in respected personnel evaluator Scot McCloughan to be the team's new general manager. It was a move that was well-received around the league. McCloughan, who had lost two previous jobs due to his battles with alcohol, helped build champions in Green Bay and Seattle as either a scout or personnel man and laid the groundwork for the roster Jim Harbaugh took to the Super Bowl in San Francisco.
Why McCloughan? His name was fresh in the news after this brilliant piece by ESPN's Seth Wickersham on his time away from football. All McCloughan did was help guide the Redskins to their best two-season run in 20 years.
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What did he get for it? He was fired and his name was drug through the mud in a way only the Washington Redskins can.
Mike Jones, of The Washington Post, reported back in February there was a lot of pressure on McCloughan in 2017 to nail this draft and free-agency period. Allen and Snyder weren't happy with last year's draft that saw the Redskins get next to nothing from their 2016 class. Jones went into further detail that Allen was jealous McCloughan received more credit than he for Washington's turnaround. Did Allen realize the Redskins were just 17-14-1 over the last two seasons? That's not exactly Belichickian.
The red flags began as soon as the 2016 season ended with Washington coming up short in the season finale. The team missed the playoffs after an embarrassing home loss to the Giants, who had nothing to play for. McCloughan was muzzled (per Pro Football Talk) and Allen never answered the question as to why. Then, when Washington set off for the NFL Scouting Combine in February, the general manager was nowhere to be found.
Allen offered vague answers (via Pro Football Talk) and refused to speak to the team's local media, instead opting to speak to a radio station in Nashville to avoid the tough questions. The Redskins were one of the few teams who chose not to take place in the scheduled media sessions at the combine, although a couple of local reporters did catch up with Gruden.
Outside of McCloughan, there's the handling of quarterback Kirk Cousins. Or, as Allen refers to him, "Kurt" Cousins.
Bruce Allen just called Kirk Cousins "Kurt" three times in a minute on 980, but also doubled down & said he's QB. #Redskins
— Chris Russell (@Russellmania621) February 3, 2017
Allen, who could have signed Cousins to a much cheaper deal in each of the last two seasons, instead refuses to make a serious offer for the Redskins' franchise passer. Last year, the franchise tag was just under $20 million, meaning that's where negotiations would begin. Allen low-balled Cousins and he played out the tag. Cousins, again, put up record numbers. So, Allen made his rounds at the Super Bowl and all offseason, continuing to maintain the team wanted to get Cousins signed to a long-term deal.
So far this offseason, the team has offered Cousins one contract, according to The Washington Post. It reportedly averaged around $20 million per year and was low with guarantees. The team knew Cousins would not accept that offer.
If the Redskins are serious about signing Cousins, it's time to make him a legitimate offer and negotiate with his agent. Put a respectable offer out there and work toward a resolution. If you feel he won't sign the deal, then trade him. Get something in return now. It literally makes zero sense to have Cousins play on another tag in 2017. That would be around $44 million in guaranteed cash in two years. Imagine if they would've just signed him to a contract for around $20 million last year?
Allen, who spoke with some local reporters over the weekend at the owner's meetings said he's talked with Cousins several times this offseason, just not about the contract, per Brian McNally of CBS DC:
I've had a lot of talks with Kirk and we've shared thoughts on—not the contract, but what his dreams are and visions and what he plans on doing. I guess July 15 is the deadline for all of these guys to sign and we'll see. Our goals and our objectives have not changed
Well, at least they're talking.
Allen, whose brother is a former senator and governor of Virginia, is also a master politician. He excels at saying plenty without saying a word. Subterfuge is the name of Allen's game.
Eight years after his arrival, it's clear the Washington Redskins are in no better shape with Allen calling the shots than they were with Cerrato teaming up with Snyder. Sure, Allen brings more credibility than Cerrato—who didn't belong anywhere near an NFL team—but he should be helping Snyder get the financing he needs for a new stadium or picking out the Redskins' uniform colors, not dabbling in personnel.
Washington is set to hire a new general manager after the draft to replace McCloughan. However, it's clear to everyone that it's Allen who will still be calling the shots. Is that a job worthy candidates will line up for? Unless the Redskins—and Snyder—make massive changes, expect the next eight years to be much of the same, regardless of who is under center or on the sideline in the nation's capital.
