Washington Redskins: Bruce Allen should be the one on the hot seat

The Washington Redskins suffered another embarrassing loss on Sunday. That’s why team president Bruce Allen should be on the hot seat.

After the Washington Redskins lost to the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday, head coach Jay Gruden took the podium and addressed the team’s play. Gruden, ever accountable, was asked about the defense regressing and told reporters it wasn’t just the defense that had regressed. It was the offense and the coaching staff, too.

Specifically, Gruden said he had regressed. That, of course, led to many on social media calling for Gruden’s job.

It shouldn’t be Gruden feeling the heat, though — it should be team president Bruce Allen. Allen’s seat should be red-hot. Allen, in fact, should already be gone. How many executives with a winning percentage barely above 40 percent last in the same job for eight years?

Allen came to Washington in December 2009 after owner Daniel Snyder fired longtime lackey Vinny Cerrato. Allen was hailed as the prodigal son returning home. After all, his dad, George, was a legendary Washington head coach and is in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Allen’s tenure has been full of blunders and questionable decisions. Remember the salary-cap debacle in 2012? Allen was warned about moving money into an uncapped year and did it anyway. While some viewed it as shrewd, it was actually reckless. It cost the Redskins a $36M cap hit on the day before free agency that was spread over two years.

Perhaps Allen’s most defining moment was his press conference at the conclusion of the 2014 season. In a meeting with the local media, Allen talked about his team’s 4-12 record and said the team was “winning off the field, but we’ve got to start winning on the field.”

That press conference was a disaster for the Redskins. And the clean-up process began shortly thereafter and led the team to hire Scot McCloughan as general manager. That was a move widely praised around the league. McCloughan, who’d battled alcohol abuse, was the feature of an excellent story by ESPN’s Seth Wickersham that got him back in the public eye. The Redskins, looking for some good PR with an angry fan base, loved the move. McCloughan became an instant cult hero in Washington.

The Redskins posted their first back-to-back winning seasons in 20 years with McCloughan in town. Yet, Allen struggled with the credit McCloughan was receiving and wanted him out. That led to an awkward winter at the beginning of 2017 where Washington would fire McCloughan with cause, citing his issues with alcohol while on the job.

Then, of course, there is the debacle that is the contract situation of quarterback Kirk Cousins. The Redskins weren’t wrong to franchise Cousins the first time. He had a string of good games in 2015. It was smart to want to see more. However, when Cousins offered the team an offer of $19M per year for three years, Washington should’ve taken it. Or at least negotiated. Instead, Allen was focused on winning a negotiation he’d already lost.

Now, the Redskins face losing Cousins in the offseason with no viable alternative in place. Why not trade Cousins last offseason? Or at least entertain it? Allen did travel to Michigan to negotiate with Cousins over the summer. However, once Cousins chose to accept playing under the tag again this season, Allen released a clumsy statement to the media about how great Washington’s offer was and Cousins chose not to negotiate. Another terrible decision.

The Redskins have three games left in the 2017 season. Then, all hell could break loose. Snyder isn’t known to be a rational decision-maker. But, the biggest date left on Washington’s calendar in this month is December 18. That’s when the team is scheduled to face McCloughan in a grievance over his dismissal. According to Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports, several high-ranking Washington officials, including Snyder and Allen, could potentially be forced to testify in the case. This could get even uglier for Washington.

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We shouldn’t be debating the future of Gruden. In fact, the discussion should be what should Snyder do when he fires Allen? This is the Washington Redskins and anything can happen, just don’t expect it to be the right thing.

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