Weekend Discussion Question: Do the Redskins need to fill the GM position?

There has been some recent reports/discussion that the Redskins may reorganize their front office without hiring a new General Manager to replace Scot McCloughan. Now details are very unclear at this point as to what exactly this entails. It could mean a variety of things, including a promotion from within and then hiring a replacement for whomever was promoted. It could also be a case where Bruce Allen again takes over full general manager duties and no one else is added to the process. Of course this could just end up being a rumor/idea they are considering and not the actual plan.

What it does though is raise the question as to whether or not the Redskins should hire a new general manager from outside the organization, promote from within and add a replacement to fill the new opening created, or just reorganize their front office structure without adding any new voices to the process.

Of those three general plans, the least attractive idea would be just a reorganization of the current duties, without adding any new front office personnel. While they may have fared well this offseason without Scot McCloughan, a lot of the work for the draft and free agency was already accomplished prior to his contract being terminated. To try and go a full year of the pro and college scouting process without adding a replacement, would be far more difficult. While the Redskins don’t have the smallest front office staff in the league, it’s also not the deepest either (probably roughly middle of the pack) so it would mean stretching the staff even thinner. Taking away the central figure to create the plan for the rest of the staff to work on, could lead to more inefficiencies in the process.

Promoting someone from within and adding a replacement would be more ideal. The top candidates from this type of structure would be Director of College Scouting Scott Campbell, Director of Pro Personnel Alex Santos and Senior Personnel Executive Doug Williams. All three are generally considered quality options and would be capable of a bigger role overseeing the entire front office as the GM. Campbell in particularly has a long resume and has worked both the college and pro sides of scouting for the Redskins in his career. Finding a replacement for their current roles would ideally be easier than finding a new GM candidate, particularly this late in the offseason.

Another internal option that is less optimal would be Bruce Allen formally assuming the GM duties and then hiring an assistant General Manager to be under him and take over some of the personnel duties. Even though this situation probably wouldn’t be much different than hiring an actual GM, it’s something that fans would hate and could cause some unnecessary friction.

Ideally the best solution would be hiring a new GM who has some autonomy to make his own decisions when it comes to the roster. Unfortunately this late in the offseason that might not be an easy sell to perspective candidates as they might not want to be saddled with a free agency/draft class they didn’t have a part of. Also Allen’s handling of the McCloughan situation could turn off a number of respected options who feel they can wait for a better fit.

What do you think? How should the front office office look to replace Scot McCloughan and would you be okay if the Redskins don’t hire a bigger name from outside of the organization?