Let's talk about the front office situation

[FRPLG]

The structure is fine...whether the people are any good is what we'll find out. I have said it in the past...doing things the right way doesn't mean you're doing the right things. Shanny is the prime example. He was a good hire in that he was able to come in and run a professional org..he just sucked at making the right decisions essentially.

[Schneed10]

Exactly mooby. I think people need to understand that the most effective CEOs do almost nothing themselves. They think strategically and put people in the right position. NFL coaches and GMs are in the same boat. That will be Allen's role as the personnel czar.

Cerrato tried to do everything himself, ignoring the scouting department. And his moves were asinine. Just make sure you have the right people in place, and concentrate on keeping a workable environment where everyone can freely weigh in without fear of reprisal. Then by simply being a subscriber to the common sense newsletter, you can make very sound decisions. Allen is so mature and clearly a slick politician, I guarantee he understands how to manage people.

[The Goat]

Originally Posted by Schneed10

Exactly mooby. I think people need to understand that the most effective CEOs do almost nothing themselves. They think strategically and put people in the right position. NFL coaches and GMs are in the same boat. That will be Allen's role as the personnel czar.

Cerrato tried to do everything himself, ignoring the scouting department. And his moves were asinine. Just make sure you have the right people in place, and concentrate on keeping a workable environment where everyone can freely weigh in without fear of reprisal. Then by simply being a subscriber to the common sense newsletter, you can make very sound decisions. Allen is so mature and clearly a slick politician, I guarantee he understands how to manage people.

This. I'll take BA up there over Vinny a million times over. In a sense we haven't really seen the abilities of Brown and Campbell through Vinny then Shanarat. Maybe we can do better than Brown like SS says but it's a great start for now.

[Schneed10]

And that includes managing up.

[WillH]

So, now that Shanahan is gone it sounds like a lot of you think the culture of the organization is going to dramatically improve instantly. Maybe I'm misunderstanding, but it is hard for me to be so optimistic about a FO at least inactively involved in the past four years, not to mention these organizational culture issues have been around for almost 2 decades. After all the crap I've seen I'm going to remain skeptical until I see results.

[mooby]

Originally Posted by WillH

So, now that Shanahan is gone it sounds like a lot of you think the culture of the organization is going to dramatically improve instantly. Maybe I'm misunderstanding, but it is hard for me to be so optimistic about a FO at least inactively involved in the past four years, not to mention these organizational culture issues have been around for almost 2 decades. After all the crap I've seen I'm going to remain skeptical until I see results.

I mean there's good reason to be skeptical, the last guy we trusted to build a team was also the head coach that led us to a 3-13 year. There's a lot of trust we're going to have to put in Bruce Allen that he will be able to do this, and a lot of trust will be placed on Campbell and Brown to do their jobs effectively, because if they don't word will definitely get around the NFL.

We're basically placing our trust in a group of guys and saying,"ok now the onus is on you to prove you are a smart talent evaluator. Now go do it." Only way we'll be able to effectively judge them is in a couple of years. But I do think they deserve their shot, especially Morocco Brown considering there are teams out there that might be considering him for a GM job. If that's true then it says a lot about what other teams think of him, and if he's that valuable a piece I'd love to keep him and put him in a role where we trust him to evaluate talent. I mean personally, is this any more risky than hiring another guy who wants complete control over everything? There's risks in any move you make.

[KI Skins Fan]

Originally Posted by WillH

So, now that Shanahan is gone it sounds like a lot of you think the culture of the organization is going to dramatically improve instantly. Maybe I'm misunderstanding, but it is hard for me to be so optimistic about a FO at least inactively involved in the past four years, not to mention these organizational culture issues have been around for almost 2 decades. After all the crap I've seen I'm going to remain skeptical until I see results.

I can certainly understand your viewpoint. You have good reason to be skeptical but I like that you're giving it a chance.

If I relied more on my head and less on my heart then I couldn't be a Redskins fan. But I grew up in D.C. and in my childhood I loved the Redskins unconditionally. Right now, I'm trying to view the Redskins optimistically, as if through the eyes of a child. It makes me happier.

[Lotus]

In ejecting Vinny we tried to move toward a "real" FO structure. But this movement was hijacked at least in part by Shanahan. We have an opportunity now to complete the revolution by truly installing a real FO. So there is reason for cautious optimism.

[Jayroc24]

I think at this point we have to believe that BA will make the best choice for the organization. I do like that all statements came from BA and not Snyder, Allen doesn't strike me as a puppet kind of guy. Let's not forget that they hired AJ last year, Snyder and Allen must have seen something back then that would have them hire AJ. He has a reputation being a great talent evaluator but poor with letting talent walk out the door That won't happen here.

[WillH]

Yeah, I hear you. I mean I try to remain optimistic about this team, and in one way I'm glad they aren't blowing up the whole operation. It would probably be a mistake to given the investment in RG3. So I feel like we really don't have any option but to give this a chance. I mean, ideally I'd like to see them bring in a football guy to be GM, but if we can't get a proven guy in here willing to use some of the pieces we have, then I guess I'd rather give it a shot with who we've got rather than start from square one. It might be a mistake though to let our hopes for RG3 hinder the future of the franchise, but I guess that's the bed we made when we drafted him. My biggest concern right now is that the lack of a true GM with football knowledge will mean a lot of the candidates won't even consider us and that this core team won't get a fair shake either way. I do really hope I'm worrying for nothing, but all in all I feel that this is a miserable situation to be in, and in the third year of our hopefully superstar QB that we've sold the farm for it is potentially disastrous.
That said Im really hoping for some good news over the next few weeks.

[KI Skins Fan]

I feel that we must be underestimating Bruce Allen's football IQ. After all, he is the son of the great George Allen. He grew up on football. He's also been an executive in the NFL for a long time.

He didn't just grow up on football. He grew up on Redskins football. I feel like he's one of us.

I've wanted him to be our true GM for quite a while. I'm happy about it because I believe that he cares about resurrecting this franchise for personal as well as professional reasons. A liitle extra motivation couldn't hurt.

[MTK]

Originally Posted by KI Skins Fan

I feel that we must be underestimating Bruce Allen's football IQ. After all, he is the son of the great George Allen. He grew up on football. He's also been an executive in the NFL for a long time.

He didn't just grow up on football. He grew up on Redskins football. I feel like he's one of us.

I've wanted him to be our true GM for quite a while. I'm happy about it because I believe that he cares about resurrecting this franchise for personal as well as professional reasons. A liitle extra motivation couldn't hurt.

I grew up eating a lot of great food but I couldn't cook you up an 8 course dinner.

I'm on the fence with this current FO setup. If Allen is going to let Campbell and Brown do their jobs and he's there more or less as a mediator, that very well could work. I'd still prefer to have a decision maker in place that specializes in personnel though. We'll have to wait and see.

[KI Skins Fan]

Originally Posted by Mattyk

I grew up eating a lot of great food but I couldn't cook you up an 8 course dinner.

I grew up the son of a plumber but I don't know sh**!

[Lotus]

It is normal to have:
1) a GM whose expertise is personnel
2) a coach whose expertise is on the field

Yet we have not adopted that approach for many years and our current set-up still does not reflect that approach. Why can't we just be normal?

[BigHairedAristocrat]

Originally Posted by Lotus

It is normal to have:
1) a GM whose expertise is personnel
2) a coach whose expertise is on the field

Yet we have not adopted that approach for many years and our current set-up still does not reflect that approach. Why can't we just be normal?

For all intents and purposes, morocco brown and Scott Campbell are co-gms