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Just hours after Vinny Ceratto tendered his resignation, the Washington Redskins hired Bruce Allen as their new Vice President of Football Operations.
Just how successful has Bruce Allen been thus far as an NFL executive? Via Redskins Blog, here’s a thorough evaluation by the St. Petersburg Times from back in January, when Allen left the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
One positive?
Allen leaves the Bucs in a far better salary cap situation than he did Oakland, in part because he has been able to cut ties with veteran players whose best days were behind them, something he didn’t do with the Raiders.
Sounds like exactly what the Redskins need. However, here’s one of his weaknesses.
Overall inefficiency. Of his 51 draft picks since 2004, only 23 were still with the Bucs at the end of the 2008 season. Of 33 unrestricted and restricted free agents signed under Allen, 17 weren’t on the opening day roster in 2008.
The Washington Redskins sent out a press release confirming the hiring of Bruce Allen as the team’s new Vice President of Football Operations. Allen, the son of legendary Redskins coach George Allen, replaces Vinny Cerrato.
Via Redskins Insider:
“Bruce Allen is the personification of an NFL winner,” owner Dan Snyder said in a statement released by the club. “Our fans know his heritage; we know his abilities. He is the right person to lead our club.”
In typical Redskins fashion, though, the decision was not made conventionally, to say the least. According to the same report, very few members of the organization knew anything about the decision to hire Allen until it happened.
But both Cerrato’s resignation and Allen’s hiring were done with the knowledge of only a few in the organization. Even in the moments after Allen was announced, members of the coaching staff said they had been “told nothing” and were unsure of what was next.
Meanwhile, there’s speculation that Jon Gruden, the current ESPN broadcaster, is on his way. Allen worked extensively with Gruden in Oakland and Tampa Bay, and there’s no doubt that current coach Jim Zorn is on the hot seat.
Allen’s tight ties with Gruden — who served as his coach in both Oakland and Tampa Bay — will no doubt lead to speculation that Gruden could succeed Zorn after this season. Last month, though, Gruden signed a multi-year deal to remain as an analyst on ESPN’s “Monday Night Football.”
It’s not clear what hurdles Gruden would have to jump through to get out of his ESPN contract and return to coaching. A network spokesman declined to comment on Gruden’s contract terms.
“We expect to have Jon on ‘Monday Night Football’ for many years with the long-term commitment he has made to ESPN,” spokesman Bill Hofheimer said.
Well, that was quick: According to ESPN 980 in D.C., the Redskins have hired Bruce Allen as the team’s VP of Football Operations, replacing Vinny Cerrato, who resigned on Thursday morning.
Bruce Allen was the GM in Tampa Bay for four seasons, and his father, George, was the head coach of the Redskins in the 70’s.
This could also be a sign that the Skins intend to hire Jon Gruden as their next head coach. Allen and Gruden worked together in Tampa, and Dan Snyder is rumored to have strong interest in Gruden.
According to FOX Sports’ Jay Glazer, the Redskins are currently working to hire Bruce Allen as Vinny Cerrato’s replacement, and the next GM of the Redskins.
Bruce Allen has strong ties to the Redskins, as his father George Allen was the team’s head coach from 1971-77. Bruce is the former GM of Bucs, where he served from 2004-08.
Redskins fans across the country are waking up to the greatest news they could've possible heard about their disappointing team: VP Vinny Cerrato, the man in charge of making the horrid personnel decisions for the franchise, has resigned, according to ESPN 980 in D.C.
Cerrato has been owner Dan Snyder's VP of Player Operations since 2002. During that stretch, the team has posted a losing record, thanks in large part to Cerrato's unwillingness to draft players to fill the team's needs. Never was this more clear than this season, when several Redskins starting offensive linemen went down with injury and the team's extreme lack of depth was exploited. Cerrato has refused for years to use top draft picks on offensive linemen, despite the annual pleading of the fanbase to do so.
For many Skins fans (myself included), the dismissal of Cerrato was the only good that could've come from this season. Now that it's really happening, it makes the 3-win year feel like a winning season.
We'll keep you updated here with speculation as to who will replace Cerrato. Mike Holmgren's name is already being rumored, although he spent the week visiting with Cleveland.
For more on Cerrato's firing, and all things Redskins, head over to SB Nation's Hogs Haven.
Bruce Allen, Dan Snyder, Jon Gruden Speak About Redskins Front Office Change
New Redskins VP of Football Operations Bruce Allen, owner Dan Snyder and ESPN analyst Jon Gruden, who was the head coach of the Bucs under Allen, spoke about the hiring Thursday.
Allen on joining the franchise his father coached in the 70’s:
Dan Snyder on his newest pawn:
And Jon Gruden, who is currently the insufferable analyst for Monday Night Football:
Allen and Gruden worked together in both Oakland and Tampa, so the obvious speculation is that the Redskins will name Gruden their next head coach in the near future. The timing of the Cerrato departure/Allen hiring is curious as well with Gruden coming to Washington this Monday for MNF.
Dec 17 4:44p by Chris Mottram - 0 comments