Press Release: #REDSKINS PROMOTE KYLE SMITH TO VICE PRESIDENT OF PLAYER PERSONNEL

[skinny21]

4 minutes ago, Burgold said:

Nice. Glad to see him recognized. We've had several pretty strong drafts in a row. Our free agency has lagged although to be fair it free agency was really limited due to the Alex Smith albatross.

Will be an interesting change for Kyle Smith.  As for free agency, I have to separate the big moves from the smaller ones, because I’m pretty sure the big ones were almost all Bruce.  The little ones I imagine were mostly Santos but with input from others (coaches, Allen, Williams, etc).  
 

Allen gave us Landon Collins (felt like more of a PR move), probably made the call on Reuben Foster, traded for Alex Smith, signed Norman and Jackson.  He also traded away Fuller, and let Breeland, Jackson, Garçon, Crowder and Preston Smith walk.  Also extended Reed, Alex Smith, and Moses.  To be fair, he also extended Ioannidis, Dunbar and others.  I’m leaving a ton off (both sides of the ledger)... but on balance I think he was pretty bad in this area.  
 

Needless to say, I expect KS to perform far better.  

[Voice_of_Reason]

So now the big question is going to be if Kyle is running g the scouting departments, who is pulling the trigger on the actual moves?  Kyle? Ron? 
 

Are they going to hire a GM to sit above the scouting department to be more of the decision maker?

 

This is a good move, but I still don’t know who sets the strategy.  Well, actually, I think we know Rivera will set the strategy.

 

This is going to be interesting. 

 

Congrats to Kyle though.  

[Skin'emAlive]

Phenomenal move. Everything’s coming up Milhouse

[wit33]

I prefer two guys having equal say so, hope it’s Smith and Rivera. A coach in the everyday grind with the players/coaches and an executive observing the machine and it’s parts. Complimentary football!! 

[Birdlives]

2 hours ago, dyst said:

Joke or for real?

 

Real. I’m pretty sure Dan is President of the team. I also think it’s largely a title more than an actual position. Ron Rivera and Kyle Smith are running the football operations.

50 minutes ago, Voice_of_Reason said:

So now the big question is going to be if Kyle is running g the scouting departments, who is pulling the trigger on the actual moves?  Kyle? Ron? 
 

Are they going to hire a GM to sit above the scouting department to be more of the decision maker?

 

This is a good move, but I still don’t know who sets the strategy.  Well, actually, I think we know Rivera will set the strategy.

 

This is going to be interesting. 

 

Congrats to Kyle though.  

 

My impression in light of this move is Rivera believes he and Kyle can run the team together, Kyle as personnel guy and him with final say. If there are too many conflicts they might bring in a guy with the GM title after the draft as an intermediary to help. If they mesh well, no new cooks will be brought to the organization. Total guess.

[TSO]

I think this is an audition of sorts to see how he handles the role of overseeing both sides of player personnel acquisition. If he works well with Rob Rogers and Ron in terms of overall vision and resource management, then he gets elevated to GM and, hopefully, gets final say over the roster. 
 

But a great move for now and definitely clarifies the roles within the building right now even more. 
 

That’s been one my favorite aspects of all the moves thus far. Moving Doug out of personnel acquisition and into focusing on their development, and now this... the old habit of assigning titles to unqualified people with vague roles where you didn’t know who did what is over.
 

I love it.
 

Final step hopefully comes after the draft and you have an organizational structure most conducive to success along with qualified people in those roles for the first time in Dan’s history! 
 

Amazing to think about.  

[KillBill26]

13 minutes ago, Birdlives said:

My impression in light of this move is Rivera believes he and Kyle can run the team together, Kyle as personnel guy and him with final say. If there are too many conflicts they might bring in a guy with the GM title after the draft as an intermediary to help. If they mesh well, no new cooks will be brought to the organization. Total guess.

I agree with this.  I think Ron oversees the coaching, Kyle oversees personnel, and if they are on the same page with each other, then there is no need to bring in anyone else.  They could have a gm that oversees both of them to make sure both sides are carrying your own weight, but if you are RR, and you have the power to make that decision, but you are confident working hand in hand with Kyle, then he probably believes that's an unnecessary move.  But as you are, I'm just speculating.

[LD0506]

What's amazing is just how fast Bruce's hall of mirrors came crashing down.

 

The FO bears no resemblance to the one we were ready to storm with torches and pitchforks a month ago.

[profusion]

Seems like a good move. Recent drafts have been pretty good, overall.

[Chump Bailey]

This draft is gonna be freaking awesome to watch now. I can't wait to see how it goes down!

[Gibbs828791]

2 hours ago, skinny21 said:

Will be an interesting change for Kyle Smith.  As for free agency, I have to separate the big moves from the smaller ones, because I’m pretty sure the big ones were almost all Bruce.  The little ones I imagine were mostly Santos but with input from others (coaches, Allen, Williams, etc).  
 

Allen gave us Landon Collins (felt like more of a PR move), probably made the call on Reuben Foster, traded for Alex Smith, signed Norman and Jackson.  He also traded away Fuller, and let Breeland, Jackson, Garçon, Crowder and Preston Smith walk.  Also extended Reed, Alex Smith, and Moses.  To be fair, he also extended Ioannidis, Dunbar and others.  I’m leaving a ton off (both sides of the ledger)... but on balance I think he was pretty bad in this area.  
 

Needless to say, I expect KS to perform far better.  

Bruce didnt draft bad, our worst drafts are with Scotty M here. Heck, Ron likes the roster, thats Bruces roster.

 

The issue with Bruce was he was terrible at everything else. By all accounts a self serving, back stabber, needed all the credit, treated people terrible, boarder line evil.

[skinny21]

9 minutes ago, Gibbs828791 said:

Bruce didnt draft bad, our worst drafts are with Scotty M here. Heck, Ron likes the roster, thats Bruces roster.

 

The issue with Bruce was he was terrible at everything else. By all accounts a self serving, back stabber, needed all the credit, treated people terrible, boarder line evil.

Yeah I hear ya, but I, and the post I quoted, were talking about free agency.  
 

As for the draft, I’m not sure how much credit to give him vs Kyle Smith, et al (beyond maybe Haskins - though that could have been almost pure Dan).  Drafting has been pretty good though IMV.  
 

Edit:  agreed though for sure on the terrible character flaws...

[ANONYMOUS SOURCE.]

4 hours ago, RVAskins said:

Can I see an org chart?

I’ve heard that in shape it resembles an Infinity Circle. 😄

[method man]

4 hours ago, Burgold said:

Nice. Glad to see him recognized. We've had several pretty strong drafts in a row. Our free agency has lagged although to be fair it free agency was really limited due to the Alex Smith albatross.

Bruce bogged it down too by forcing the team to sign ****ty but bargain FAs

[Califan007 The Constipated]

5 hours ago, RVAskins said:

Can I see an org chart?

 

 

 

 

[Mr. Sinister]

3 hours ago, thesubmittedone said:

I think this is an audition of sorts to see how he handles the role of overseeing both sides of player personnel acquisition. If he works well with Rob Rogers and Ron in terms of overall vision and resource management, then he gets elevated to GM and, hopefully, gets final say over the roster. 
 

But a great move for now and definitely clarifies the roles within the building right now even more. 
 

That’s been one my favorite aspects of all the moves thus far. Moving Doug out of personnel acquisition and into focusing on their development, and now this... the old habit of assigning titles to unqualified people with vague roles where you didn’t know who did what is over.
 

I love it.
 

Final step hopefully comes after the draft and you have an organizational structure most conducive to success along with qualified people in those roles for the first time in Dan’s history! 
 

Amazing to think about.  

 

Aww, look who's a right little ray of sunshine now:)

[TSO]

29 minutes ago, Mr. Sinister said:

 

Aww, look who's a right little ray of sunshine now:)

You know I can do “insufferable homer” better than anyone here, damnit! Just need a reason.  
 

 

[zCommander]

7 hours ago, RWJ said:

Wonder what this means for Alex Santos?

 

From NBC Sports: "Alex Santos remains in his role as the director of pro personnel, a source confirmed, while Tim Gribble could be in line for a promotion. Gribble had served as assistant director of college scouting under Smith."

[wilco_holland]

I don't now if this was necessary. I expected the team to keep this position open and see if after the draft or later this off-season could hire a guy for this kind position. 

 

But I guess Ron liked what he saw and heard from Kyle. Has faith in working together. 

[Thinking Skins]

4 hours ago, method man said:

Bruce bogged it down too by forcing the team to sign ****ty but bargain FAs

I really wonder if our strategy changes much in that regard. Like I wonder if the big signings and trades were more Bruce, Dan, the front office or the coaches. 

 

We've had some steals like Bostic, DJ, Brown, and definitely some of the waiver / young unproven guys like the FB, Hentges and Wilson. 

[RWJ]

2 hours ago, zskins said:

 

From NBC Sports: "Alex Santos remains in his role as the director of pro personnel, a source confirmed, while Tim Gribble could be in line for a promotion. Gribble had served as assistant director of college scouting under Smith."

Thanks zskins.  This means that Smith is over Santos the, I believe.  You concur?  

[method man]

6 hours ago, wilco_holland said:

I don't now if this was necessary. I expected the team to keep this position open and see if after the draft or later this off-season could hire a guy for this kind position. 

 

But I guess Ron liked what he saw and heard from Kyle. Has faith in working together. 

I think it is entirely possible Kyle gets promoted again to GM in May if we have a great FA period and draft

5 hours ago, Thinking Skins said:

I really wonder if our strategy changes much in that regard. Like I wonder if the big signings and trades were more Bruce, Dan, the front office or the coaches. 

 

We've had some steals like Bostic, DJ, Brown, and definitely some of the waiver / young unproven guys like the FB, Hentges and Wilson. 

I think it is clear now that we were able to get guys like DJ and Brown for peanuts because of their cancerous ways in the locker room. The fact that ZB only got a 1 year deal from us despite coming off a Pro Bowl year suggests that

 

Team has been ok at picking up street FAs under Santos with all the guards in 2018, Hentges (good prospect but still unproven) and Orchard and others. However, there hasn’t been that home run yet of picking up a guy off waivers / street FA and having him become a major contributor like Waller with the Raiders

[skinny21]

1 hour ago, method man said:

I think it is entirely possible Kyle gets promoted again to GM in May if we have a great FA period and draft

I sort of agree with this.  I mean, you can’t really judge a draft (accurately) or FA until you’ve seen them in action, seen how they mesh with coaches/scheme, etc...

With that said, Rivera can absolutely get a better feel for Smith as a person and evaluator, how Smith works and how well he and Smith work together.  

1 hour ago, method man said:

I think it is clear now that we were able to get guys like DJ and Brown for peanuts because of their cancerous ways in the locker room. The fact that ZB only got a 1 year deal from us despite coming off a Pro Bowl year suggests that
 

Maybe so.  

1 hour ago, method man said:

 

Team has been ok at picking up street FAs under Santos with all the guards in 2018, Hentges (good prospect but still unproven) and Orchard and others. However, there hasn’t been that home run yet of picking up a guy off waivers / street FA and having him become a major contributor like Waller with the Raiders

Is this a common occurrence - a street FA becoming a good contributor?  How much does this depend on coaching?  Roster depth?  Willingness to give these guys a chance?  Hard for me to factor all of those things. 
 

Regardless, it will be interesting to see how things play out.  

[TSO]

A couple things to maybe help with some confusion*: 

 

1) This title means Kyle becomes the guy who oversees both the pro and college scouting departments. He’s in charge of evaluating the talent evaluators themselves (including Santos), assigning tasks/titles to his subordinates, gathering and assessing all the information/scouting reports on players from his subordinates, and creating overall rankings for FA and the draft (big boards). 
 

2) There’s a reason “Executive” is missing from the title (thank God they didn’t add another “Senior” one, it was getting ridiculous, lol). That means he’s still not in charge of creating the overall vision/plan of attack, roster construction, and likely can’t hire/fire anyone himself. Trades, philosophical positions (aggressiveness, positional prioritization, cap allocation, etc...), and final say over the roster aren’t yet his and will remain with Ron.
 

That’s where the GM title comes in, or they can add “Executive” to his title, same deal as long as Dan is essentially the President and both Ron and the EVP/GM report to him regarding their respective departments. If no one is getting final say over the roster and Ron will retain it, there’s really not much of a point to add an EVP/GM. Which would be disappointing if that’s the route they go, but not the end of the world (great conversation here about that if anyone would like). 
 

Kyle either gets promoted and gains those added responsibilities (essentially, he becomes the architect of the team), or someone else assumes that title. If the latter occurs, I wouldn’t be surprised if Kyle leaves the organization were someone to offer him a GM position and that title, along with its responsibilities, just gets assumed by the GM/EVP hired.
 

Of course, they could elevate or hire someone else to that spot but it could be viewed as redundant. 
 

This will be a good audition to not only see if Kyle can handle all of this, manage his time well, and excel at it, but also see if he can add (or deserves to add) those overarching responsibilities once the draft is over. 
 

*  This is based on what I’ve come to understand regarding these titles in other organizations around the NFL, but that info isn’t easily accessible and I could be off on some of the minutiae. 

[skinny21]

@thesubmittedone - that’s exactly how I see it.  I presume it will be a trial basis (essentially as you said), even if the end result isn’t necessarily to gain the GM title - he’s the de facto GM, but the ultimate’power’ will still be held by Rivera (and Dan, to some extent).  
 

I think it’s a good setup.  My only concern is for down the road.  If Rivera’s seat gets a bit hot, I’d rather someone with a long view be in charge.  Not a factor for the foreseeable future though because I think Ron will probably have the longest leash ever given to anyone not named Gibbs (by this org), and given that, he should be better able to maintain a more macro view.