The Redskins hired Bruce Allen as their new executive vice president and general manager, replacing Vinny Cerrato. Allen has served in a similar role in Oakland and Tampa Bay and is the son of legendary Redskins coach George Allen.
According to numerous NFL sources, Allen is not considered a strong personnel guy, but rather an excellent administrator — one who can get along with everybody.
“He’ll be great with Dan Snyder as far as dealing with him,” one NFL source said.
But he was not responsible for making personnel decisions in Oakland, where Al Davis did that and Jon Gruden had that power in Tampa Bay.
“Bruce knows everybody,” one NFL GM said. “He doesn’t make enemies. He’s an administrative guy. Really, he’s a politician. He’s connected and he has a good infrastructure with agents. He knows the cap and can deal with head coaches. He knows who to listen to and he defers and doesn’t try to make decisions out of his box.”
One source said his biggest challenge will be limiting Snyder’s role in the draft, something Cerrato could not do. One complaint scouts have had in the past is that their work sometimes went for naught during the draft because of last-minute changes in opinion from others in the organization, like Snyder.
“Nobody could control Snyder in that process; that’s what you have to do,” the source said. “Maybe Bruce can do that.”
