10 potential GM candidates for the Redskins if they part with Bruce Allen

Scott Pioli is an NFL veteran who has helped to build playoff contenders and Super Bowl champions at every stop that he has made during his career.

Pioli began his career in the pro personnel department with the Cleveland Browns. There, he worked as a part of Bill Belichick’s staff and clearly impressed the current New England Patriots head coach. After stops with the Baltimore Ravens and the New York Jets, Pioli joined Belichick in New England for the 2000 season. And from there, his career took off.

Belichick and Pioli made a dynamic tag-team duo that was able to win three Super Bowl. Pioli, who was eventually promoted to the VP of Player Personnel — essentially the GM role for the Patriots — helped to unearth a number of key contributors for the Patriots. This included 2002 second-round wide receiver Deion Branch, 2003 fourth-round pick Asante Samuel, and first-round stars like Vince Wilfork, Logan Mankins, and Jerod Mayo.

Pioli also worked with the Kansas City Chiefs as their GM after leaving the Patriots. He got the team to the playoffs once in four years there before being fired after a dismal 2-14 season. His big mistake with Kansas City was trading for Matt Cassel, who was coming off a solid season with the Patriots but struggled to be a full-time starter outside of New England. But he had some solid early-round draft picks with the Chiefs. Eric Berry, Justin Houston, and Rodney Hudson stand out.

The job that Pioli was able to do as an assistant GM in Atlanta was more indicative of his potential. He helped to oversee a number of really solid drafts by the Falcons. In fact, 30 of the Falcons’ last 32 draft picks are still in the NFL dating back to the 2015 draft. That’s an excellent track record of picking successful players, so he deserves some credit for that.

There are some concerns with Pioli. His draft record hasn’t always been perfect, as his late-round picks rarely panned out, so that’s an area of concern. That said, the Redskins have been hitting on more late-round draft picks in recent seasons. So, if Pioli enlists the help of Kyle Smith and Doug Williams, they should be in good shape.

And as for Pioli’s ability to construct a roster through free agency, he was able to help add the likes of Alex Mack, Andy Levitre, and Mohamed Sanu to the Falcons offense. That trio of acquisitions helped the team to make a Super Bowl run in 2017, and they really should have won the Super Bowl they played against the Patriots.

Thomas Dimitroff would have been another member of the Falcons front office to keep an eye on, but he is reportedly remaining with the squad. Dimitroff has been a really solid GM, so it’s a shame that he won’t be available for the Redskins.