Jay Gruden could get a look as the next Redskins general manager

Scot McCloughan’s recently shared is thoughts on Jay Gruden as a talent evaluator. Could the assessment potentially fuel Gruden as a dark-horse candidate for the open General Manager position?

Since being relieved of his duties by the Washington Redskins, Scot McCloughan made his first media appearance on CBS 106.7 “The Fan” earlier this week. In an extensive interview with Grant Paulsen and Danny Rouhier, McCloughan had nothing but positive things to say about the team. Most notably, he praised Jay Gruden’s ability to evaluate collegiate talent.

McCloughan has worked with several respected NFL coaches that were hesitant in evaluating players at the college level. Mike Holmgren and Pete Carroll combine for two Super Bowls and multiple playoff wins, but neither wanted no part in the draft process. McCloughan said the following, on the Grant and Danny show:

"“The thing that’s cool about this organization – because I’ve been in three other ones – the head coach in Jay [Gruden] is a good evaluator,” McCloughan said. “He can see it and identify it. I leaned on him, he leaned on me.” “I was with Holmgren. He didn’t want any part of it. Pete Carroll didn’t want any part of it. Mike Nolan didn’t want any part of it. Mike Singletary didn’t want any part of it,” McCloughan added."

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It seems highly likely that McCloughan’s successor is already on the Redskins front office. Doug Williams, Scott Campbell, and Alex Santos have been integral pieces in the Redskins successful draft and free agency. All three have the credentials to be successful. On ESPN 980 last Friday Bruce Allen refuted reports that the Redskins were going forward without a general manager, per Redskins.com’s Jake Kring-Schreifels.

"“No, there has been no decisions made,” he said. “The process, we are going to take our time. We want to get it right what we do…There is no submission to the league on a form or anything like that. We are going to keep talking and decide what is the best thing for the Redskins.”"

From Allen’s statements you get the sense that the Redskins will indeed assess every option available. Gruden is a long-shot to become the next Redskins GM, but he may receive some consideration. He signed a two-year extension in March, and received a great deal of credit in the Redskins draft selections. Mike Shanahan had the final say in roster decisions during his time in Washington, so the idea of Gruden doing the same isn’t that far-fetched.

Next: Predicting Washington Redskins 53-man roster

Gruden has been the stable figure in what has been a tumultuous offseason for the Redskins front office. It will be interesting to see if the Redskins really give him a look as the top talent evaluator.

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