Washington Redskins owner Dan Snyder is restructuring his organization in attempts to turn the team’s fortunes on the field. After firing longtime president Bruce Allen, Snyder hired Ron Rivera as the Redskins head coach.
With their head coach in place, the Redskins are expected to hire a new general manager after April’s NFL Draft. However, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, Snyder came close to adding former Houston Texans GM Rick Smith before Rivera’s hiring.
“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.
But Snyder ultimately opted to run his franchise through his head coach instead of a president, bestowing the power to Rivera, who was officially hired Wednesday.”
Rivera is now expected to have final say in personnel decisions at least going into the draft. Both former Redskins executive, now ESPN analyst Louis Riddick and Indianapolis Colts exec Moroco Brown are rumored to be candidates.
Redskins senior vice president of football operations Eric Schaffer is expected to leave the organization in May after the draft.
Smith was the Texans GM from 2006-2017 before he took a leave of absence following his wife’s diagnosis of breast cancer. There he transformed the Texans roster, as they won four AFC South divisions title under him.
Landing Smith would have been a huge grab for Snyder. But as he stated in Rivera’s introduction Thursday, he preferred his team to be coach-centered organization.
