Bruce Allen's Bloodline: Will It Make a Difference as Washington's GM?

Drama! Intrigue! Excitement! Redemption! Betrayal!

Just stop it.

Yes, anyone who seriously follows the NFL or happens to live within the Washington Post’s catchment area now knows the news.

Vinny Cerrato is out as Executive Vice President of Football Operations and Bruce Allen is in as General Manager.

Oh wait, sorry, Bruce Allen, the son of legendary Redskins coach, the late George Allen, is in as General Manager. That’s better.

The removal of Cerrato in favor of Bruce Allen, the son of legendary Redskins coach, the late George Allen, has become pretty much the biggest story in DC these past few days, making the above-the-fold headline in the Post and dominating DC-area sports and news programming.

What people seem to be forgetting is that this is not exactly big news. Or, more to the point, it shouldn’t be big news.

When other teams hire GMs it’s important, yes, but no more so than a big free agent signing, or the hiring of a head coach. It’s news. It happens. It’s over. But in DC, the hiring of Bruce Allen, the son of legendary Redskins coach, the late George Allen, has caused a total eclipse of the media sun.

There are two main reasons for this. The first one is that, as my not-so-subtle sarcasm has hinted at, Bruce Allen, the son of legendary Redskins coach the late George Allen, is...well, the son of George Allen. George Allen was the coach who led the Redskins to their first-ever super bowl, became a Washington DC legend, and in no way ever coached the Los Angeles Rams.

For many of the Redskins faithful, bloodlines, and/or links to the past, are important, sometimes even more so than other qualifications, such as basic competence. So, while Bruce Allen has a proven track record, it seems more important that he is...well, I think you can see where this is going.

The problem, though, is that it’s not particularly effective business practice to go solely on links to an idyllic past.

Recent Redskins history has shown us this all too clearly (paging Joe Gibbs Part II to the Disappointment Ward...). Just because in the past the Redskins were once a dominant franchise does not mean that bringing someone with links to that past will be a panacea.

Here’s a news flash: The Redskins are not dominant anymore.

The Redskins need help. Badly. The main reason they need help is because there has been no one—with or without burgundy and gold bloodlines—capable of steering the ship in quite some time.

That brings me the second reason that Allen’s hiring is such a big deal. While hiring a general manager is rarely huge news for most teams, it is for the Redskins. This is a franchise that has not had a GM—competent or not – since Charley Casserly was fired by Dan Snyder in 1999.

Since then, whoever has been in charge (and I use that term loosely) of the personnel department has made one fascinating decision after another.

Brandon Lloyd. Adam Archuleta. Laveranues Coles. Rod Gardner. Clinton Portis for Champ Bailey (don’t pretend that the Redskins didn’t get the worse half of that deal).

The list goes on.

So Dan Snyder, for whatever reason, decided to finally cut loose Cerrato, his personal friend and professional failure, and bring in a true GM, Bruce Allen.

Say what you will about his father, but there’s no doubting Allen’s credentials. True, he’s no Bill Polian or Ernie Accorsi, but the fact remains that he helped build a super bowl team in Oakland (which looks more and more impressive with each passing day) and mostly maintained a perennial contender in once-and-once-again putrid Tampa Bay.

Quite a few people in the DC area seemed excited that Allen will both bring in a high profile coach (like a Jon Gruden or Mike Shanahan) and will be able to convince the notoriously meddlesome Snyder to stay out of personnel decisions. If he does these things then he will likely get the Redskins on the road to contention once again.

But that’s a big "if."

Fact is, the Redskins are in need of some major roster moves. They have too many high priced stars who accomplish little—Albert Haynesworth, Clinton Portis, DeAngelo Hall—and are tying up too much money. If possible, Allen will need to move some of them, with Portis the most likely candidate to get the axe.

However, it’s not like there are only cosmetic changes necessary. Offensively, for starters, the Redskins currently have a JV line blocking for a suspect quarterback and an anonymous backfield.

The fact that these players are actually performing admirably should be a good starting point for Allen. Guys like Quinton Ganther and Rock Cartwright come cheaper, and will play harder and better as a team.

Jason Campbell is a restricted free agent and could possibly be dangled for draft picks or, depending on who the new coach is, coached up and be entrenched as a very affordable starting QB next season.

But will Snyder allow all of this?

Snyder has never shied away from going after big stars, both in his coaching searches and in his free agent signings, and if this team is going to improve, then Allen needs to put his foot down. But with Snyder footing the bill, will Allen be all “yes sir,” or will he assert himself?

The question, then, is whether Allen is going to be a strong, capable GM, or if he’s simply been brought in as Bruce Allen, the son of legendary Redskins coach, The late George Allen.

We’ll see.