Redskins have removed Bruce Allen from organization entirely, per reports

It was the decision that needed to made, in order for the Redskins to move forward. And it looks like it’s finally happened.

The decade of Washington Redskins football under Bruce Allen was marred by a rife tendency to revert to dysfunction both on and off the field, and fleeting signs of hope never lasted long. Allen famously prefaced the 2019 season with a statement that the Redskins were “close” because they’d gone 7-9 the past two seasons.

Now, Washington has recently closed out a 3-13 2019 campaign, and they appear to be moving forward from that mess, so that they can truly get close at some point. There were reports earlier in the week that Bruce Allen had been removed from football operations, but there was no clarity as to whether he remained with the organization in some other capacity. Now, we have confirmation that he is gone.

NFL insider Adam Schefter has confirmation that former Redskins president Bruce Allen has been relieved of his duties within the team’s front office. He is no longer with the organization in any capacity. As the team makes progress on a deal with Ron Rivera, Allen’s time is officially up.

This is not a drill.

Rumblings of tension between Dan Snyder and Bruce Allen were met with reasonable skepticism throughout the season; Allen and Snyder have always been close friends in their dealings, often side by side traveling to and from games. Recently, Snyder appeared to take to Alex Smith as company more often, and last night, a video clip showed Snyder and Allen walking in opposite directions and exchanging no words as they passed one another after the game.

It’s never wise to extrapolate monumental conclusions from a small clip, but the suspicions of many have now come to pass. Bruce Allen is gone, and the toxic effect he had on the Redskins organization is gone with him.

Removing Allen is only the first step toward progress, however; decisions still need to be made, or at least announced publicly, about the Redskins head coach and general manager. But removing Allen, who’s always had a way of sticking around longer than he should, was always going to be the biggest roadblock. With any luck, it’ll be smooth sailing from here, as the Redskins re-invent themselves in 2020.