About that GM position in Washington? A few candidates are rising to the top

Washington’s recent success has brought some attention to the vacant General Manager position, and several candidate names are starting to rise.

Lost in all of the excitement and noise coming from the football field in Washington is the fact that this team is still operating without a general manager, which has been the case since Ron Rivera was hired and Bruce Allen was shown the door. This isn’t a shock, or a problem, with Rivera assuming the defacto GM role that was heavily emphasized in his ‘coach-centric’ approach that was sold during his hiring by team owner Dan Snyder. But as the team keeps winning, it may be time to start looking at that top vacancy and wonder what might happen.

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The first name that comes to mind is obviously Kyle Smith, the Vice President of Player Personnel — a man whose fingerprints are all over this team and the young talent that is currently buoying them into playoff position. Smith is in charge of the scouting department, and he has been the lead man when it comes to the NFL Draft over the past couple of years, all of which have been deemed major successes. This past year working alongside Rivera, the two are said to have gotten along well, and many believe that they almost split the GM role at the time being, with Rivera having final say. So it makes sense for Washington to simply elevate Smith to the top spot and change his job title, no?

That’s a question that The Athletic‘s Ben Standig asked last week, and his conclusion was that it isn’t quite that simple.

There’s plenty of work remaining and holes to fill this offseason, but barring a collapse over the final four games, Washington looks like its ticking up. That success might make Rivera want to keep the current structure – collaborative, but with him making the final decision.

There’s no logic in thinking that chain of command changes. Therefore, what differentiates the GM title from Smith’s current duties?

A GM with authority would likely get to hire his own staff. Maybe, but after Washington fired two members of the pro personnel department this summer, the replacements included pro scouting director Eric Stokes, who worked with Rivera in Carolina. The steady flow of ex-Panthers to Washington is why keeping tabs on Carolina GM Marty Hurney’s future is warranted.

Again, this isn’t about in-fighting. Smith and Stokes work well together to offer in-season personnel options for Rivera when asked. But it’s fair to ask if this is the best place for Smith to continue to grow and develop.

So if Smith isn’t ultimately the ‘guy’ in Washington, and they choose to bring someone else in to be the GM, who might they look at? MMQB’s Albert Breer had a few names in mind on Monday morning.

There’s always a worry that should Washington continue to trend upwards for the next few years, and Smith isn’t given the GM job, he will likely be poached by another organization to run their football operations. If that happens, so be it. That’s how the business is run, and we’ve seen it happen time and again with coaches in Washington. That’s a risk that this front office has to be willing to take, assuming that they don’t feel 100 percent confident giving Smith the top title this early on. He still has a future in Washington, and what he brings to the table is beyond valuable for many people, but whether or not he gets the increased pay and job title of General Manager is still unclear at the moment.

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