Washington Redskins general manager Scot McCloughan has been absent from a majority of this offseason’s most important events – typically a time when most NFL general managers are at their busiest. It is leading many to think that McCloughan will be shown the door soon, despite only having the job for two years.
The curiosity began during the 2017 NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis, Indiana when the general manager was not in attendance. This is an event in which almost every team’s general manager and head coach show up to, given the amount of prospects that are participating.
But McGloughan was nowhere to be found. The Redskins said that their general manager’s absence was due to him dealing with, “family matters,” that were related to his grandmother passing away.
However, his 100-year-old grandmother died in February and the Scouting Combine took place during the first week of March.
No one knows the level of grief that he was experiencing at the time, but he also is getting paid a pretty penny to fulfill his duties as Washington’s general manager. Missing the Scouting Combine definitely raised some eyebrows.
Following his absence from Indianapolis, McGloughan reportedly was not even at the team’s facilities when the NFL’s 2017 free agency period recently began.
So for two of the league’s most important times for a general manager to be working, McGloughan has been seen less than the latest Ice Cube movie.
As for why he has been missing, all that the Redskins have said is that the general manager will return to his job, “when things are handled.” The team also forbid McGloughan from speaking to the media until things are sorted out.
Is there possibly more to the story than McGloughan just dealing with the death of his grandmother?
Yes, duh.
The Washington Post is reporting that the general manager will likely be released from his position sooner than later due to his increasingly tumultuous relationship with his boss, Washington team president Bruce Allen.
“Three people close to the Redskins say relations between Allen and McCloughan have soured to the point that the general manager’s return is now viewed as virtually impossible.”
The Washington Post
The report also pointed out that McCloughan is very upset about no one in the Redskins’ organization denying a claim that the general manager has been out of the office due to an uncontrollable drinking problem. A claim made by former Washington tight end Chris Cooley on a radio station owned by the team, ESPN 980.
“I start to look at this and say, ‘Do we not trust what Scot McCloughan is going to say to the media, and is that why he’s not allowed to talk to the media?’
If you look at the history of Scot McCloughan, I think the one thing that you’d immediately start to flush out as to why we don’t trust what he’s going to say is that he’s had a drinking problem over his entire career. And so you ask right away, is he drinking?”
A bit of a low blow by Cooley, but he is trying to make money in a dying radio industry so he has to make headlines by spewing garbage from his mouth. However, it may even be more of a low blow by Washington based on the fact that the team has not commented on what Cooley said.
McCloughan has battled a problem with alcohol in his past, but it is not fair for people to assume that has become an issue once again. Especially since the Redskins’ comments on the situation with their general manager have revealed basically nothing.
Whatever is going on in Washington, it certainly does not look good for McCloughan’s future with the team. The Redskins have been a dysfunctional NFL franchise of late – perhaps they don’t want to rock the boat by starting to make smart decisions.
Despite the constant turmoil in Washington, the Redskins – one of the most valuable sports franchises in the world – are still worth way more than you think:
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