It’s no secret that the Washington Redskins have gone through a long period without success since the team was purchased by Daniel Snyder back in 1999. His management style has often been criticized as overly hands-on while not having any football operational experience. While the coaching staff has been a much joked about revolving door, his reluctance to change general managers has also brought on complaints and disenchantment from fans and media alike.
First, there was Vinny Cerrato, who became known for working with Snyder to bring in “past their prime” free-agents at enormous salaries in failed attempts to have immediate success. Eventually, with years of failure adding up, Snyder decided to move on from Cerrato and hired Bruce Allen, the son of Hall of Fame coach George Allen of the “over the hill gang” era.
The Bruce Allen era fails to impress
Although Bruce Allen has extensive experience in NFL front offices and comes from football royalty, his tenure with the Washington Redskins has been anything but successful on the field. The Redskins record under The Bruce Allen era stands at 52-75-1.
He has also been the constant punchline of non-ending jokes for his now infamous statement back in 2014 that the Redskins were “winning off the field.”
Bruce Allen has been at the helm for the hiring and unceremonious firing of clan Shanahan, the debacle with Robert Griffin III (now with the Ravens) as the one and done star quarterback, and what most in the league say was the team’s multi-year botched efforts to secure a long-term contract with Kirk Cousins, now with the Minnesota Vikings. There was also the soap-opera-like hiring and firing of GM Scot McCloughan, who has since filed a grievance against the organization.
NFL agents weigh in on free agency and team executives
In a newly released USA Today poll of 25 NFL agents, the Washington Redskins ranked very low on two key measures.
Even with the infusion of younger talent brought in by Bruce Allen in recent seasons, agents surveyed found the Redskins one of the worst prepared teams for contract negotiations. Even more problematic, the survey found that Bruce Allen is the least trusted NFL executive among all team executives in the league.
Rumors have been swirling around Redskins Park that Dan Snyder is not happy with Bruce Allen’s performance, especially given the recent high-profile mishaps with Cousins and McCloughan, and it will be interesting to watch Allen and Snyder’s relationship as the upcoming season unfolds. The fans have already given Allen a big thumbs down.