The Redskins 2020 season is officially underway

The removal of Bruce Allen from the Redskins football operation is the breath of fresh air fans have so urgently been begging for over the past few years. But this move could be the first step in completely restructuring the entire organization.

With the reported removal of Bruce Allen from football operations, the Washington Redskins‘ search for a new identity in 2020 is at hand. Of course, the complete removal of Allen from the organization has yet to be announced, but it is clear that after a decade of mainly losing football, Dan Snyder has had enough.

Bruce Allen, however, is the tip of the iceberg when you begin to look at the organization from a bigger lens. The Redskins have several holes on and off the field to fill for next season.

This offseason, the Redskins will be looking for a new head coach, a new general manager, a new team president, presumably an entirely new defensive staff, and a draft team they feel comfortable with going into April, holding the No. 2 overall pick. That’s a lot of work to do.

But recent reports are beginning to finally uncover some flames to the smoke of speculation that has surrounded the team for months. Names like Ron Rivera and Marvin Lewis for future head coaches, and former Texans GM Rick Smith and ESPN analyst Louis Riddick for front-office roles are all linked to Washington.

The start of the 2020 season for the Redskins has officially commenced. Bruce Allen’s likely departure from the organization is the first step in fixing the problem. As noted numerous times before, the first step in fixing a problem is knowing there is a problem to fix. Dan Snyder knows that there is a problem to fix, and this is the first and correct step to take to begin to make things right again.

The search for replacement names at head coach and general manager is only part of the more significant search: the search for an identity.

The goals for everyone involved with the team include winning games and giving Dwayne Haskins everything he needs to succeed. But how does this team want to be identified? Do they want to bring in a defensive head coach and build a team from the defensive side of the ball? If so, will they run a 4-3 or continue at the 3-4? Will they let Kevin O’Connell take over the offense next season, or will they bring in an offensive head coach like Mike McCarthy? How much will the offense change for Dwayne, if at all?

These are the questions that go into selecting new coaches and front office members. But most importantly, these are foundational questions that go into creating and maintaining a team’s identity.

Identity has been what the Redskins have lacked over the past decade under the leadership of Bruce Allen. But his departure from the football side of the organization, and possible departure from the team, is the first step in finding people who can build three things — a winning identity, a winning culture, and most importantly, bringing Washington from an NFL bottom-feeder, back to the respected and cherished organization that it once so proudly was.