Washington Football Team to interview Chargers’ JoJo Wooden for GM job

The Washington Football Team is undergoing an extensive search for their next general manager, and most recently, their search has taken them to Los Angeles.

The Washington Football Team’s season ended last weekend, but the last week has been eventful, nonetheless. As Washington heads into the next step of its organizational rebuild with optimism, they still need someone to man the ever-crucial general manager position.

At first, it was speculated that VP of Player Personnel Kyle Smith might be promoted internally to general manager, after the team experienced success in its first draft with Smith and Ron Rivera working side-by-side. But the team clearly wants more of an outside perspective, a theme that extends from the regime changeover back in January of 2020. The Washington Football Team hasn’t been successful for a long time, so it makes sense to glean insight from others.

In the past few days, Washington has requested to interview several GM candidates, including the following: Falcons Director of Football Operations Nick Polk, 49ers VP of Player Personnel Martin Mayhew, and Titans VP of Player Personnel Ryan Cowden. There’s also been talk that Buffalo Bills executive Joe Schoen might also be on the team’s short list.

It’s time to add another name to the conversation. According to NFL insider Ian Rapoport, the team requested to interview Los Angeles Chargers front office executive JoJo Wooden for their open general manager position.

Wooden is currently the Chargers’ Director of Player Personnel. He began his scouting career as a pro personnel assistant for the New York Jets in 1997. He was promoted to pro scout in 1999, then to senior AFC pro scout in 2000. In 2003, he was elevated to Assistant Director of Pro Scouting. And from 2004 to 2006, he was the Jets’ Director of Pro Scouting.

Wooden remained with the Jets from 2006 to 2012, but moved on to a wider role as Assistant Director of Player Personnel. In 2013, he joined the Chargers, and worked his way up to where he is now. According to Wooden’s bio page, the longtime executive “oversees the team’s pro and college scouting departments”.

The Chargers have been up-and-down in the draft since 2013, but they have added impact players like Keenan Allen, Joey Bosa, Melvin Ingram, Denzel Perryman, Mike Williams, Derwin James, Drue Tranquill, and — most recently — Kenneth Murray and record-breaking rookie QB Justin Herbert.

It remains to be seen whether the Washington Football Team will view Wooden as a strong candidate, but they’re clearly doing their due diligence. As playoff teams continue to filter out of the Super Bowl conversation, it’s likely that more names will pop up in the Washington Football Team’s GM search. We’ll keep you updated as it progresses.