Grading Bruce Allen

[NewCliche21]

Well...he picked him because they had a pre-existing relationship.


Um...you are really going to go down this road with a coach who hired his son as OC?!?!?! I'm not attacking Kyle's qualifications or performance, but this has been very similar to Gibbs 2.0 when Gibbs brought in all his old buddies.

Shanahan would not pick someone based on a pre-existing relationship. Kyle Shanahan happened to be leading one of the top offenses in the NFL. He's also currently leading one of the top offenses in the NFL. He's the son of a two-time Super Bowl-winning coach. You don't think that intelligence for football has been fostered for three decades?

Not to mention that he told Kyle not to come here because it would take forever to get here. Why would he have hired McDaniels when Kyle was available five or so years ago? Your argument doesn't work with that one.

I don't know how much weight his vote carries with Shanahan just liked I never knew what weight Cerrato's carried with Gibbs.

I will say this: I don't think he was the one who made the decision to sign McNabb nor do I think he made the decision to go after RGIII as aggressively as we did.

The Redskins made the same bad moves for ten years under Cerrato and had four head coaches in that span (remember that Schottenheimer fired him as terms of his employment, too).

The examples you used were of men who had some expertise to offer their superior. Beyond money and contract negotiations, can you tell me what expertise Bruce Allen has in selecting players and roster building that would interest Mike Shanahan?

No, I can't cite that just as I can't cite that Polian had any role with the Patriots or Cerrato had any role with the Redskins. What I can cite is that in no position in any business that survives will a person move that far up the ladder without said expertise.

Again, I am not saying that Allen has the ultimate say or even close; I am saying that he has an influence.

The Redskins have never had a problem with the cap, ever. So what would be the point in even having a GM, let alone Allen, when contracts and cap have never been a problem?

[Oldfan]

...No, I can't cite that just as I can't cite that Polian had any role with the Patriots or Cerrato had any role with the Redskins...

Why can't you cite Polian's expertise? It's public knowledge -- just as it's public knowledge that Allen does not have that expertise.

What I can cite is that in no position in any business that survives will a person move that far up the ladder without said expertise.

"General Manager" is just a title. The expertise he needs is determined by the responsibility he is given.

The Redskins have never had a problem with the cap, ever. So what would be the point in even having a GM, let alone Allen, when contracts and cap have never been a problem?

Good question. I asked that when Allen was hired.

[Redskindon2]

With all the things a GM is responsible for behind closed doors, it's hard to grade one. In short, I can say it's an incomplete set of starters and a lack of depth. Needs more time to come to a boil. Unfortunately, the nature of the game is that millions are always watching the pot.

with that being said plus all other comments from earlier, if Shanny & BA have another 4-12 / 5-11 season do they get to come back next year? 36 million penalty has killed us. is that the excuse to keep them 2 more years? and what about after that? do they get an extension to try one more year after penalty is over?

[Lombardi's_kid_brother]

No, I can't cite that just as I can't cite that Polian had any role with the Patriots or Cerrato had any role with the Redskins. What I can cite is that in no position in any business that survives will a person move that far up the ladder without said expertise.

Are you kidding me? This is the NFL.

You can be promoted king of the universe in the NFL as long as you have the right connections. This is a league where Brian Schottenheimer has been an offensive coordinator for 7 straight seasons. Todd Haley was hired as offensive coordinator of the Steelers because he was their towel boy 20 years ago. Wade Phillips has been a head coach three times. (Granted, Wade is actually good at being a coordinator but he is clearly a bad head coach. But everyone loved his daddy).

Once you are in the club in the NFL, you are never going to be out of a job.

Here are the facts about our team right now:

1. Shanahan is the head coach because Danny has been obsessed with hiring him for a decade.

2. Allen is here because Shanahan worked with him in Oakland and because of the weight his dad's name carried here. It was a brilliant PR move at a time when the fans seemed to be in a legitimate revolt against Danny. The stars really aligned there for him - the coach he wanted and a GM who promised to tie us to our past that he had neglected for so long.

3. Kyle is the OC because his dad is the HC. Kyle got his first NFL job through his dad and then kept getting promoted by his dad's protege in Houston.

(By the way, I'm not offering this as criticism. It's just a fact that the NFL is the mob. Someone needs to invite you into the Family. Once you are in, you are safe as long as you never took Al Davis' side in an argument).

[Oldfan]

...(By the way, I'm not offering this as criticism. It's just a fact that the NFL is the mob. Someone needs to invite you into the Family. Once you are in, you are safe as long as you never took Al Davis' side in an argument).

Can I get you to do a riff on the inbreeding of the Rooney and Mara clans?

[Lombardi's_kid_brother]

Can I get you to do a riff on the inbreeding of the Rooney and Mara clans?

I actually went to law school with a Rooney granddaugther. She was, shall we say, quite the target. (I think she was from the wing of the family that just sold their interest in the team though).

[bigevhfan]

Solid B. I love how he has cleaned house over the years, gotten rid of the overhyped/overpaid players, and has instilled youth onto the roster. He/Shanahan have made solid picks (Kerrigan, Morris, etc) as well. You also has to consider that he had/has $20 million less to work with in cap room for two years (except for Dallas) and he has the team under that number and somewhat competitive. The cap hit this year and next year is hard on the team and will set us back a few years, which unfortunatley, will reflect negatively on the FO although not their fault. What keeps me from give Allen/FO an A is that they can make knee jerk acquisitions at times that end up hurting the team. McNabb, Cundiff, etc......

[NIKKI8]

I don't know exactly what have been Shanahan moves and what have been Mr. Allen's moves but I do love the way that Mr. Allen has welcomed back former Redskins greats and has tried to restore the Redskins tradition. I think that he is a very good GM and hope that he is here for as long as he wants to be, meaning long after Shanahan is gone.

[Lombardi's_kid_brother]

I don't know exactly what have been Shanahan moves and what have been Mr. Allen's moves but I do love the way that Mr. Allen has welcomed back former Redskins greats and has tried to restore the Redskins tradition. I think that he is a very good GM and hope that he is here for as long as he wants to be, meaning long after Shanahan is gone.

My guess: A Shanahan move is when we sign or draft or trade for a football player.

[Oldfan]

I don't know exactly what have been Shanahan moves and what have been Mr. Allen's moves but I do love the way that Mr. Allen has welcomed back former Redskins greats and has tried to restore the Redskins tradition. I think that he is a very good GM and hope that he is here for as long as he wants to be, meaning long after Shanahan is gone.

My guess: A Shanahan move is when we sign or draft or trade for a football player.

And my guess is that after Shanahan runs out his string Snyder will hire a real GM and Allen will be out.

[The Slamming Butcher]

And my guess is that after Shanahan runs out his string Snyder will hire a real GM and Allen will be out.

And MY hope is that this day never comes.

[RG3toMonk]

It would be easier to evaluate him if I knew what he did other than pick the uniform colors. It's obvious that Shanny is making the final call on all personnel moves so why blame Allen for the secondary problems?

Yes but he's awesome for doing this!

---------- Post added October-8th-2012 at 01:16 PM ----------

Anyone ever read any articles on Allen's scouting prowess?

[AlvinWaltonIsMyBoy]

I think Bruce has done a great job. I like where we're headed. But I do think it's ironic that people continue to bring up our 36 million cap penalty without acknowledging that the reason we received that penalty is because of Bruce and Shanny.

[andyburd]

It would be easier to evaluate him if I knew what he did other than pick the uniform colors. It's obvious that Shanny is making the final call on all personnel moves so why blame Allen for the secondary problems?

Not blaming him, just not sure

[Theismann07]

And MY hope is that this day never comes.

And my guess is that after Shanahan runs out his string Snyder will hire a real GM and Allen will be out.

Any my biggest fear is that when Shanny is done, Snyder will return to his old ways and run this organization like his own personal fantasy football team.