Redskins fire Allen, eye Rivera as next coach
Ashburn, Va. — Bruce Allen was mocked five years ago when he proclaimed that his perennially lastplace Washington Redskins were “winning off the field.” More eye rolls arrived recently when Allen defended the club's “culture.”
After a lot of losing on the field and all manner of public relations fiascoes off it, Allen is out as president of the NFL team once coached by his father. He was fired Monday, a move announced by owner Daniel Snyder a day after a 3-13 debacle of a season was capped by one last embarrassing loss, 47-16 at rival Dallas.
“As this season concludes, Bruce Allen has been relieved of his duties as president of the Washington Redskins and is no longer with the organization," Snyder said in a statement issued by the team. “Like our passionate fan base, I recognize we have not lived up to the high standards set by great Redskins teams, coaches and players who have come before us. As we reevaluate our team leadership, culture and process for winning football games, I am excited for the opportunities that lie ahead to renew our singular focus and purpose of bringing championship football back to Washington.”
From the outset of the 2010 season, the Redskins went 62-97-1 with Allen serving as Snyder's right-hand man, a stretch that featured only two playoff appearances and zero playoff victories.
“These guys that are taking the blame and taking that on, it's on all of us in this building,” said injured quarterback Alex Smith, who spent significant time with Allen and Snyder this season. "We're all responsible for it."
There could be another important move soon, too: Ron Rivera, fired as coach of the Carolina Panthers during the season, was visiting the Redskins on Monday. Rivera has quickly emerged as Washington's top candidate.
“He gets the best out of players," said cornerback Josh Norman, who played for Rivera in Carolina. “And not just players, but men. He builds men and guys and also builds character.”
Norman said the culture would be entirely different if Rivera gets the job. It has been an issue with Allen in charge, and even quarterback Case Keenum on Monday said of the organization, “I think there are some cultural things that need to be addressed.”
Allen was hired as Washington's executive VP and general manager in December 2009, then promoted to president in May 2014.
Only once in Allen's tumultuous tenure did Washington even manage to win as many 10 games and it finished at the bottom of the NFC East five times.
Just one team in the 32-club NFL had a worse record this season, and the Redskins own the No. 2 pick in the next draft.
Jay Gruden, who was given a contract extension by Allen, was fired after an 0-5 start to this season, his sixth and replaced by offensive line coach Bill Callahan on an interim basis.
So the always-in-disarray Redskins are now in need of a president, a general manager and a coach; whoever is hired to those jobs will need to oversee a massive rebuilding project.