The Washington Redskins recently parted ways with general manager Scot McCloughan. But the embattled executive may have sensed a change was coming as he felt the relationship between him and team president Bruce Allen was about to boil over.
Former NFL player Michael Robinson, who was once signed by McCloughan in Seattle, revealed in a local sports talk radio interview that his former boss may have seen the writing on the wall this offseason as communications between him and Allen dwindled. Robinson appeared on The Wes McElroy Show on Fox Sports 910 to give McCloughan’s view of the conflict.
“He knew the players loved him, and he started feeling the hate from Bruce Allen right around, well, he’s been feeling it, but when they didn’t let him speak at the Senior Bowl, he said to him that was his last straw, and he knew that he was on his way out,” Robinson said on McElroy’s show. “He said it was after a draft meeting, after the Combine, Bruce called him up to his office and was just like, ‘Nobody likes you in this building. Nobody wants you here.’ And Scot was like, well, I guess I’m out of here.”
McCloughan was reportedly fired over alcohol issues, although Robinson said that was not the case.
“He said, ‘Mike, I don’t have an issue right now drinking,'” Robinson said. “‘I haven’t touched a drink in a while. But of course they wouldn’t let me say it because they silenced me.’
“And (the conversation) was deep. And we’ll talk more – I can’t go into everything we talked about, but it was a guy who didn’t look like he was done with the National Football League. He looked like a guy who felt like he had something to prove.”
The firing comes amid a bizarre offseason that has seen McCloughan oddly missing from significant offseason activities such as the NFL Scouting Combine, from which he was sent home early by the team, and the start of the league’s free agency period.
McCloughan appeared to have a good relationship with players on the team, which can be essential to filling the role of a GM. For some reason, apparently, Allen was put off by that relationship McCloughan had with players.
“[McCloughan] also spoke about the time when the cornerback walked off the field and he told him to meet him in his office, and he was wondering why the (heck) did Mr. Allen get so pissed about that?” Robinson said. “I’m just talking to a player. It’s all about relationships.”
Yeah, why did Allen get so annoyed with that? Seems odd, right? Then again, this is Washington and during the Dan Snyder reign of ownership, there must be drama to be had. It wouldn’t be Washington without it!
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About Kevin McGuire
Contributor to Athlon Sports and The Comeback. Previously contributed to NBCSports.com. Host of the Locked On Nittany Lions Podcast. FWAA member and Philadelphia-area resident.