Allen is the team's public face, and is in charge of the search for a new stadiumGETTY IMAGES
Redskins President Bruce Allen "dismissed the notion" that the organization has "built a losing culture," according to Adam Kilgore of the WASHINGTON POST. Allen, speaking yesterday after the team fired coach Jay Gruden, said, "The culture is actually damn good." Allen remains in his position as the "franchise's public face" and Owner Dan Snyder's "top football lieutenant." He is "in charge of securing a new stadium, which Snyder prefers to build in the District." Allen yesterday offered "optimistic resolve and half-truths." He was asked why "nothing had worked to create sustained success during Snyder's two decades as owner, despite trying so many different kinds of coaching hires." He replied, "I don't necessarily agree with the premise that it's never." Allen faced several questions "regarding his accountability and why he should remain in control of the franchise's direction." Allen said that he "would not 'hide'" from the team's 0-5 record. He added, "All we can do is work. And do I believe in the group that's here? Yes" (WASHINGTON POST, 10/8).
LEADING MAN: Allen said that the Redskins will "wait until after the season before seeking a permanent replacement for Gruden." In DC, Matthew Paras writes this season already "seems to encapsulate a little of everything that has gone wrong for the franchise over the past 20 years." From being "demolished on the field to being embarrassed off, the Redskins are clearly among the NFL's dregs, with no easy fix in sight" (WASHINGTON TIMES, 10/8). PRO FOOTBALL TALK's Mike Florio wrote Allen is still with the Redskins because he has "become, essentially, the surrogate owner, handling aspects of the job" that Snyder would "prefer to avoid." For all the "criticism that Snyder has absorbed in 20 years as owner of the team, he's not stupid," and he is "smart enough to realize that the only thing better than being rich and famous is being rich." With Allen "serving as the front man, Snyder has slid into the background, taking a backseat while Allen ... takes the heat." That is why Allen is "still there, and that's why he'll stay until Snyder finds another pincushion" (PROFOOTBALLTALK.com, 10/7).
STUCK IN THE MUD: In DC, Deron Snyder writes under the header, "Redskins' Formula Works For Allen, But Everyone Else Is On Their Own." When asked directly about his personal accountability for the Redskins' "sorry state of affairs, Allen stayed stuck in the groove." He said, "We're all involved in this." Snyder: "If that's the case, he should fire himself. Owner Dan Snyder clearly won't do it, making you wonder what he sees" (WASHINGTON TIMES, 10/8). Also in DC, Thom Loverro asks, "Does it really matter? Will nothing short of a three-hour tour by Snyder on his yacht change anything, no matter who is the coach?" Allen yesterday was at his "arrogant, delusional worst, declaring that their Politburo culture is 'damn good.'" He also claimed there are "millions of Redskins fans." That is "ignoring the fact that few of them watch the team on television and even fewer pay money to see them in person" (WASHINGTON TIMES, 10/8).
WHAT DOES THE FUTURE HOLD? In DC, Jerry Brewer writes unless Snyder is "prepared to do some serious soul-searching, unless he is prepared to break the vicious cycle of catastrophe that he created, this latest firing will lead to nothing other than wasting more money on a new coach who cannot possibly succeed." It "doesn't matter if Snyder hires a rock star with Super Bowl credentials." The new coach "already has failed." That is because the Redskins are "failing him with their current power structure" (WASHINGTON POST, 10/8). THE ATHLETIC's Michael Lombardi wrote the team did "not have a Gruden problem." They have an "ownership problem." Lombardi: "They have a Dan-Snyder-has-no-clue-how-to-run-a-football-team problem and until that changes, until the owner removes himself and his henchmen from the day-to-day operation of the team, the list of former head coaches will continue to grow" (THEATHLETIC.com, 10/7).
