At the introduction of Ron Rivera as coach of the Washington Redskins last week, multiple executives from the team’s front office were in attendance, including senior vice president of player personnel Doug Williams and director of college scouting Kyle Smith.
Alex Santos, director of pro personnel, and Jeff Scott, director of football strategy, were on hand as well.
Bruce Allen is gone, but the team left behind by the longtime president of the franchise is largely intact — for awhile at least.
According to a new report from ESPN, the Redskins are expected to hire a new general manager after this year’s NFL draft. That allows the current staff, which has been scouting prospects for months, to get to know Rivera better and help select Washington’s next crop of players. After that, the status of those executives is “in jeopardy,” according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
Other reports have ESPN analyst Louis Riddick and Indianapolis Colts director of college scouting Morroco Brown as candidates to become the Redskins’ next general manager. Both men have worked for the Redskins in the past.
Redskins now are planning to wait until after the draft to hire a general manager, per league sources. The team’s thinking is that it still has people in place for now, though anyone in the front office is in jeopardy after the draft and there will be more changes.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) January 5, 2020
In Thursday’s press conference, owner Dan Snyder said the Redskins would have “one voice” moving forward — with Rivera being that voice.
But Snyder was close to going in a different direction, according to ESPN. The network reported former Houston Texans general manager Rick Smith was almost hired as team president before Snyder opted for a coach-centered approach.
The two met multiple times in the Bahamas, ESPN reported.
Washington has a vacancy at general manager after Snyder fired Allen, who compiled a 62-100-1 record over 10 seasons, capped by this year’s 3-13 campaign.
Rivera is expected to have more of a say in personnel decisions, though when asked about his role, the 57-year-old said there would be a “collaborative” decision-making process.
“There’s no one pure authority on this other than the owner,” Rivera said. “The key is we’re going to collaborate. We’re going to talk, we’re going to work together, we’re going to come to decisions that are best for this organization. Not best for an individual, but best for the organization.”
But who will have the final say if there’s a disagreement?
“If we have to continue to discuss things and it goes a little bit longer, then we’ll ask Mr. Snyder to help,” Rivera said.
Snyder made no mention of Allen at Rivera’s press conference, only thanking interim coach Bill Callahan for his time with the Redskins. Snyder has said the Redskins need a new culture, one Rivera will be in charge implementing.
• Matthew Paras can be reached at mparas@washingtontimes.com.
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