Riggo's Rag
FanSided

Why Washington Football Team fans shouldn’t be upset with the Marty Hurney hire

By Tim Meek

CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA - NOVEMBER 03: (L-R) Team owner, David Tepper of the Carolina Panthers talks to Panthers General Manager, Marty Hurney, before their game against the Tennessee Titans at Bank of America Stadium on November 03, 2019 in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)
CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA - NOVEMBER 03: (L-R) Team owner, David Tepper of the Carolina Panthers talks to Panthers General Manager, Marty Hurney, before their game against the Tennessee Titans at Bank of America Stadium on November 03, 2019 in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
2 of 3
Next
INDIANAPOLIS, IN – FEBRUARY 25: Vice President of Player Personnel Kyle Smith of the Washington Football Team speaks to the media at the Indiana Convention Center on February 25, 2020 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images) *** Local Capture *** Kyle Smith
INDIANAPOLIS, IN – FEBRUARY 25: Vice President of Player Personnel Kyle Smith of the Washington Football Team speaks to the media at the Indiana Convention Center on February 25, 2020 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images) *** Local Capture *** Kyle Smith /

How Kyle Smith factors in

Fans of the Washington Football Team have been beaten down by decades of incompetence.  But through the dysfunction, the emergence of Kyle Smith as a top level talent evaluator shined brightly.  Smith gave us hope when we had very little.  He was the guy we trusted, a true football guy with pedigree and a track record of success.

But we must remember the bar was set low by his predecessors,  Cerrato and Allen.  When fans finally saw competence from the front office, naturally, we got excited for the guy.

Smith is undoubtedly a great evaluator and has an eye for talent.  More importantly, he’s put together a great staff of scouts.  But to think there aren’t other capable talent evaluators in the league is silly.  Kyle is our known commodity and the football person most easily recognized as a professional in a building that was lacking such.

However, loyalty from fans typically runs much deeper than it should.  Again, I’m very much guilty of it. I love what Kyle has done and would be so disappointed if this young football guy isn’t around for the next 20 years like I envisioned.

But at the moment, Kyle Smith holds the title of VP of Player Personnel, a very prestigious title with a lot of responsibility.  It’s quite possible Kyle Smith remains here for the foreseeable future, hopefully gaining valuable experience and continuing to show his worth as he’s groomed into the General Manager’s role for Washington. There is so much we don’t know behind the scenes, let’s allow this to play out.

Washington Football Team fans have also seen an array of young assistant coaches leave Washington in recent years and find great success as head coaches for other teams.  We feel snake bitten as a result.

But we asked for change in Washington. We wanted a person running the organization with a clear vision and with complete control.  That’s what we’ve gotten with Rivera. And that’s what we don’t completely understand as fans.  We only see things from the surface.

Home/Commanders News