Bruce Allen Appears To Be Embracing Philosophy Started By His Father
By Steve Herl
George Allen used to have a slogan for about how “The Future Is Now.” It appears that his son, Bruce Allen, may finally be catching on to that mantra.
Only from 1946 to 1970 have the Washington Redskins had as poor a run as they have had from 1993 to 2016. From 1946 to 1970 the Redskins won 119 games in 25 years, or an average of fewer than 5 wins per year. In the 24 years since 1993 Washington has won 161 games or an average of 6.7 games per year. In 1971 a man named George Allen, father of Bruce, came to town with a powerful slogan and core belief – THE FUTURE IS NOW. It may just be that the same philosophy is being tried to break out of the current slump.
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When the elder Allen was given the controls in 1971 he implemented his core belief by orchestrating 19 of his total of 81 trades as Washington’s decision maker. He genuinely trusted veteran players, especially older ones whose value had diminished in the eyes of others. He would gladly trade draft picks for veterans because, The “Future Is Now.”
In today’s NFL, free agency is the easiest way to add veteran leadership and consistency. The Redskins have now addressed several of their areas of need through free agency. With Monday’s signing of Zach Brown, Washington has added needed linebacker depth. They have picked up safety help (D.J. Swearinger) and they have filled gaps at receiver and defensive line.
Now, Washington should try to sign another free agent defensive lineman before the draft in Johnathan Hankins if the future truly is now. Then they can take the best player available in the draft at each pick as long as they draft a safety, an offensive lineman, a corner and a running back at some point.
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An interesting twist to this theory is what this means at quarterback. Some of us are old enough to remember Coach Allen licking his thumb and pumping up the troops. But we also remember his benching of the finest pure passer of all time, Sonny Jurgenson in favor of a scrappy competitor named Billy Kilmer. George Allen believed that the purpose of an offense was to avoid the turnover and to take advantage of the opportunities presented it by the defense.
Rumor has it that Scott McCloughan and Bruce Allen disagreed about the future of Kirk Cousins. George Allen finally lost his NFL head coaching jobs because he was a control freak and he did not like to compromise. Bruce has displayed this same characteristic in his “relationship” with McCloughan. However it could be that Allen has a plan in keeping with the old mantra. He may be thinking that with about $12 million remaining in cap space after signing Brown for $4.65 million, that Cousins gives the Redskins the best chance to win in 2017.
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The $33 million franchise tag in 2018 or even the $28 million transition tag may be too much so in keeping with the future philosophy because of its impact on cap space. A long term deal with $57 million guaranteed in the first two years may have the same cap breaking effect. If Bruce Allen is not sold on Cousins in the same way that his father was not enamored with Jurgenson, then Colt McCoy may get a chance to be Billy Kilmer until a draft pick in 2017 or 2018 is ready.