Scot McCloughan Fired as Redskins GM After 2 Seasons

The Washington Redskins reportedly fired general manager Scot McCloughan on Thursday, per Liz Clarke, John Woodrow Cox, Mike Jones and Master Tesfatsion of the Washington Post.

McCloughan's contract had two years remaining. The team released a statement on the decision:

According to the Washington Post, "An official with direct knowledge of the situation attributed the decision to McCloughan’s ongoing problems with alcohol, which also led to his firing from front office positions with the San Francisco 49ers in 2010 and Seattle Seahawks in 2014."

The official said, "He showed up in the locker room drunk on multiple occasions. ... This has been a disaster for 18 months."

However, Jones offered this on the development:

"

Was told late in the season of jealousy up top and how they'd one day use McCloughan drinking as an excuse to can him. Exactly what happened

— Mike Jones (@MikeJonesWaPo) March 10, 2017"

This comes after Clarke and Jones reported that McCloughan was not at the team's facility Tuesday when the NFL's legal tampering period began. Clarke and Jones also noted the general manager was missing from the NFL Scouting Combine and called the absence of someone of McCloughan's position at the event "highly unusual." 

Team president Bruce Allen said McCloughan wasn't there because of the death of his grandmother and would come back "when things are handled," per Clarke and Jones.

However, Clarke and Jones wrote "there were mounting signs of tension between Allen and his hand-picked GM."

Allen didn't allow McCloughan to speak to the media and canceled the state-of-the-team address at the Senior Bowl. What's more, he didn't "publicly rebuke" comments from former Washington tight end and current analyst Chris Cooley on a team-owned radio station indicating McCloughan was dealing with a drinking problem, per Clarke and Jones.

According to John Keim of ESPN.com, McCloughan was hired in 2015 and had the power to make player cuts and was in charge of building the roster.

Washington won the NFC East in 2015 at 9-7 but bowed out of the playoffs in one game. It then missed the postseason in 2016 at 8-7-1, meaning the team never won a playoff game during McCloughan's short tenure.

The Washington Post noted the Redskins likely will not have to pay him the remaining money on his contract "because he is being fired for cause—rather than for philosophical differences or as the result of an internal power struggle."