Allen has been an unpopular figure both inside the team's headquarters and among fansGETTY IMAGES
Redskins Owner Daniel Snyder is "planning a complete evaluation" of the franchise following the season, and that could include a "deeper assessment of President Bruce Allen's 10 years with the team than has taken place in previous years," according to sources cited by Carpenter & Copeland of the WASHINGTON POST. Allen has been an "unpopular figure among those inside team headquarters and fans who blame him for a particularly bad stretch in franchise history." Allen has been Snyder's "point man in negotiations for a new stadium, and he is supposed to oversee the search" to find a new coach after Jay Gruden was fired in October. Snyder typically holds year-end evaluations of the team, and one source "cautioned against reading too much into this year's evaluation" (WASHINGTON POST, 12/1). However, NFL Network's Mike Garafolo said, "For the first time, I'm really feeling like they are evaluating Bruce Allen's role." The franchise "may be rock bottom right now," and the fan base "has been begging" for Snyder to get rid of Allen. Garafolo: "Tickets are going for a couple of bucks. They can't tweet anything out on their social media without getting #FireBruceAllen all over all the replies. ... Dan Snyder understands that something needs to change, something drastic needs to change" ("Good Morning Football," NFL Network, 11/30).
LOSING HIS GRIP: In DC, J.P. Finlay cited sources as saying that never before in Allen's time with the Redskins has his "grip seemed less firm over the organization." Sources added that Allen's "involvement in football operations is hurting the team's bottom line." One source said that the Redskins "could actually see a bump in ticket sales should the team remove Allen" (NBCSPORTSWASHINGTON.com, 11/30). Also in DC, Jerry Brewer writes one should recall Allen has been to the "brink before," and "every time, he has recovered and come away with even greater power." But it "feels different now." There are "two ways to react" to the team's "unexpected little winning streak" of two games. One can either "express relief" that the Redskins' situation "isn't as hopeless as the typical awful football team's." Or, "use this flickering light as motivation to push harder" for Snyder to "make the necessary wholesale organizational changes to help this franchise reach its potential." Snyder currently is in "evaluation mode, and the erosion of the fan base screams for him to do something dramatic." That is "why many are whispering about change." Brewer: "Let's hope that Allen, who has mastered office politics (at least in this organization), cannot convince Snyder otherwise" (WASHINGTON POST, 12/2).
