Fired Redskins GM reportedly wanted to sign Cousins before 2015 season

If Scot McCloughan had his way, Cousins would've been inked to a long-term deal

Scot McCloughan was hired to give the Redskins front-office stability, particularly when it came to personnel evaluation and roster building. By most accounts, that’s exactly what he did, but a behind-the-scenes power struggle led to his ouster, and last week, on the first day of free agency, McCloughan was canned.

It was McCloughan, in the weeks before the 2015 season, who first suggested to owner Dan Snyder and team president Bruce Allen, that Robert Griffin III wasn’t the franchise’s future, writes TheMMQB.com’s Albert Breer. Instead, he said, Kirk Cousins should be the starter, and not only that, the Redskins should look to extend his contract immediately.

It didn’t happen, of course, and after Cousins’ hot start, McCloughan was finally given the go-ahead for contract talks in December. By then, Cousins’ decided to wait until after the season, negotiations went nowhere, and the Redskins ended up franchising him for $20 million in 2016 -- and did it again this offseason for $24 million.

Breer writes that “the quarterback’s lingering contract situation was one noticeable trigger in the explosion of the relationship between McCloughan and Allen.”

It all came to a head this offseason; McCloughan didn’t attend the combine, and seven days ago, he was fired. Allen released this terse statement on the matter:

“The Washington Redskins have released Scot McCloughan from the organization effective immediately. We wish him success in his future endeavors. The team will have no further comment on his departure. The organization remains confident in our personnel department as we execute our free agency plans as well as prepare for the upcoming NFL Draft.”

But Vinny Cerrato, the man who preceded Allen in Washington, wondered last week if Allen might follow McCloughan out the door.

“If getting rid of Bruce Allen takes away the negative publicity, it would not shock me,” Cerrato, the Redskins’ former vice president of football operations, said last Friday during the “Vinny and Haynie Show” on Baltimore’s 105.7 The Fan (via the Washington Post). “A lot of the reason why I got fired, there was a lot of negative stuff going on,” Cerrato added, referring to when he was urged to resign in 2009 following a string of dismal Redskins seasons. The team’s poor record brought scrutiny to the team, and specifically onto owner Daniel Snyder, who Cerrato said Friday does not like negative publicity. “How did Dan take the media off of him?” Cerrato asked. “By firing me and bringing on Bruce. ... Now, if his name wasn’t ‘Allen’ I think he’d have been gone [already].”

Allen’s father was legendary Redskins coach George Allen, who led the team to a 67-30-1 record from 1971-1977, and a Super Bowl appearance after the 1972 season.

Meanwhile, NFL Network analyst Mike Mayock’s name has been floated as a possible candidate to replace McCloughan, as has former Buccaneers general manager Mark Dominik, who worked with Allen in Tampa. Also worth noting: The Redskins reportedly won’t hire a GM until after the draft.