Washington could look to hire general manager in offseason: report

When the Washington Football Team hired Ron Rivera in late 2019, Rivera said one of the reasons he took the job was because owner Dan Snyder sold him on implementing a “coach-centric” approach. That meant Rivera became the primary voice of the organization and gave him an expanded role, even having say over personnel matters.

Now, according to a new report, Rivera could soon have more thrown on his plate this upcoming offseason: He could be leading a general manager search.

Sports Illustrated reported that Washington could look add a general manager after the season — and if it does, then Rivera would have heavy say who would work alongside him.

SI’s Albert Breer writes:

Washington is very pleased with the work of Ron Rivera, to the point where if the Football Team does hire a GM, and I think they probably will, I’m told that search would be led by Rivera. If it happens, I’d expect ex-Lions GM Martin Mayhew (who shares an agent with Rivera) to be in the running, as well as former Panthers personnel men Ryan Cowden (Tennessee’s VP of player personnel) and Joe Schoen (Buffalo’s assistant GM).

Interestingly enough, the report does not mention Washington vice president of player personnel Kyle Smith, who heads the personnel department and works closely with Rivera. Some within the NFL see Smih, a the son of former Chargers general manager A.J. Smith, as a rising star and could be in line for a top job one day.

Last week, Rivera was asked about the possibility of Smith being promoted to general manager, though the coach largely side-stepped the question.

“I think he’s done a nice job for us,” Rivera said. “Again, as we continue to go forward, I think the big thing more so than anything else is we’ve got to make sure we’re all on the same page.”

Rivera and Smith have received for their work in free agency and the draft. 

With three games left to go in the regular season, Washington is in first place in the NFC East thanks in part to the moves the team made in the offseason. Bargain-bin signings like Logan Thomas and J.D. McKissic have panned out. Draft selections, even beyond star Chase Young, like third-rounder Antonio Gibson and seventh-rounder Kam Curl have been great additions. 

Washington was rumored to be interested in adding a general manager last year, though Rivera opted to work with Smith instead.