Report: Redskins almost hired former Texans GM Rick Smith

The Redskins were close to a deal with Smith, the former Texans GM, before Snyder decided to take a coach-centric approach in Washington.

Before Dan Snyder chose to implement a coach-centered philosophy into the Washington Redskins, he reportedly was close to hiring Rick Smith, the former general manager for the Houston Texans.

According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the Redskins were eyeing Smith as a GM hire before they inked the paper with new head coach Ron Rivera.

Smith and Redskins owner Daniel Snyder had multiple meetings in the Bahamas, formulating a vision for the struggling franchise, according to sources.

Sources familiar with the situation expected a deal to get done and Smith to be in charge of the Redskins.

The fact that Snyder met with Smith in the Bahamas shows truly how long team president Bruce Allen’s job was in jeopardy before he finally got the word that he was fired. Schefter goes on to detail that Snyder chose to go with a coach-centric plan in Washington, which ended a deal that many thought was likely to get done.

Now it’s being reported that the Redskins will wait until after the NFL Draft and free agency period to hire a new general manager and remake their front office. We’ll see what happens between now and then.

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