Redskins GM Scot McCloughan is "not with the team at the NFL Scouting Combine," a "notable absence for a front-office figure whose specialty has long been college scouting and the draft," according to Mike Jones of the WASHINGTON POST. McCloughan via text message last night said that he was "dealing with a death in the family." Jones notes McCloughan's 100-year-old grandmother "died Feb. 6." The absence has "raised speculation over McCloughan’s job status with the Redskins." DC-based WJFK-FM late yesterday reported that McCloughan had been "sent home from Redskins Park on Feb. 20, and multiple league insiders wonder if there's more to the story, given the timing." But McCloughan's agent, Peter Schaffer, said late last night the report was "not true." Redskins President Bruce Allen this morning said, "He is dealing with family matters." He added McCloughan will return to work, "just as soon as things are handled." McCloughan has "been under scrutiny this offseason because of the mixed results of last year’s draft and the past two free agent classes." Allen has "restricted McCloughan from speaking to the media this offseason, denying interview requests for McCloughan at the Senior Bowl in January and leading up to the combine" (WASHINGTON POST, 3/2).
WHAT'S REALLY GOING ON? WJFK's Brian McNally notes the death of McCloughan's grandmother is a "totally legitimate reason" for not being at the combine, but admitted it was a "little odd" he would miss the event for something that happened nearly a month ago. McNally said, "This is the biggest week for what he does. To be missing in action over the death of your 100-year-old grandmother from three weeks earlier, something just doesn’t ring true about that.” McNally notes McCloughan has been “absent from Redskins Park for over a week," and to compensate for the absence, "other guy’s roles have naturally increased." McNally: "It goes hand-in-hand with the stories of him being marginalized before that and then not showing up at the combine at all. Something is going on besides just a family matter” (“The Sports Junkies,” WJFK-FM, 3/2). PFT’s Mike Florio notes there are a "lot of weird things going on in Washington." Florio: "When Scot McCloughan isn't here for the scouting combine, that's odd, that's bizarre. ... Any time the general manager of a football team isn't at the scouting combine, I tend to think that's a significant piece of evidence that there's a problem, that there's an issue" (“PFT,” NBCSN, 3/2).
