Redskins Have to Go All in on Scot McCloughan

By hiring personnel whiz Scot McCloughan as their new general manager, the Washington Redskins have taken an important step in the process of admitting they have a problem. That's the good news for fans of a franchise that for much of owner Daniel Snyder's 16-year reign has lived in a state of denial. 

With the roster close to being in shambles, a team that has won fewer than six games in five of its last six seasons had to realize that it was missing a key piece of a successful front-office puzzle.  President Bruce Allen is no draft guru, head coach Jay Gruden has neither the bandwidth nor the experience to take on personnel-related responsibilities and Snyder doesn't possess the credentials for football matters. 

In that respect, adding a guy like McCloughan, who helped build Super Bowl-caliber teams in San Francisco and Seattle, looks like a no-brainer. He's considered to be an elite talent evaluator and has a worthy resume.  

Time period	Team	Position	Notes
1994-1999	Packers	Regional scout	Two teams made SB
2000-2004	Seahawks	College scouting director	Made SB in '05
2005-2010	49ers	VP player personnel/GM	Led to 3 NFC title games
2011-2013	Seahawks	Senior personnel executive	Won Super Bowl

My concern comes with regard to the fact the Redskins have again failed to adhere to the standard pro football hierarchy, with owner hiring general manager and general manager hiring head coach and each supervising the next. 

In this case, they're wedging a new guy into the middle of a hierarchy, which has the potential to make things awkward and create power struggles. Allen is now the team president, but does that mean McCloughan has to answer to him or just Snyder? Their roles are separate, but can we be certain there won't be any cross over?

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"McCloughan will report to Bruce Allen, but he’ll also reportedly have final say over the roster," wrote ESPN.com's John Keim this week. "The key is for Allen and owner Dan Snyder to let the man do his job."

Easier said than done. 

In the egotistical world of professional sports, it's just dangerous to have a GM and a former GM sharing an office space. Throw in Snyder and there's a strong potential for clashes. 

Of course, that's the take you're going to get from an admitted cynic like myself. I can't help but see the potential problem areas here.

The move was made a week-and-a-half after the season ended, which basically handcuffs Gruden and most of the coaching staff to McCloughan. It's much harder to blow things up entirely at this point, which isn't necessarily what McCloughan should do. But if indeed he's being given full control, that should also be his prerogative. 

By taking so long here and by attempting to add McCloughan without making any major subtractions, the Skins are basically forcing him to spend his first offseason with a coaching staff that he might not necessarily support. 

If the Redskins were dead set on making a move like this, they should have simply blown things up. They should have fired Allen and Gruden and the rest of the coaches on staff, hired McCloughan and given him carte blanche. That would have guaranteed that everyone from GM on down would be on the same page with regard to the direction of the franchise, including the status of quarterback Robert Griffin III. 

That's why it's important for the Skins to emphasize that McCloughan is absolutely the man here. If he chooses to gut the coaching staff tomorrow or trade Griffin for a washing machine in March, nobody should stand in his way. If this franchise truly believes he's got the ability to lead it back to respectability and beyond, he should be the only cook in the kitchen. 

Pardon me for expressing doubt, but I've seen this movie before. Witnessed it with Marty Schottenheimer, Steve Spurrier, Joe Gibbs and Mike Shanahan, all of whom were supposed to fix this broken franchise. Now they've brought in two new guys with two very different backgrounds in two consecutive offseasons, and they've done so while leaving Allen on the staff as well. It's too complicated for a franchise that seems to seek complications. 

And that's without even considering McCloughan's drinking problem, which might help explain why he didn't stick in San Fran or Seattle. 

Nobody expects the Redskins to become a contender overnight, so McCloughan has time. But the key at this point is for everyone to give him some space. If you're going to gamble on this guy, every chip should be in the pot. 

Brad Gagnon has covered the NFC East for Bleacher Report since 2012.

Follow @Brad_Gagnon