Wisdom often never comes at all, as the saying goes. It’s better that arrive late.
And that’s precisely what seems to be happening in D.C.
As reported by Mike Garafolo of NFL Network and as confirmed by JP Finlay of NBC Sports Washington, Washington owner Daniel Snyder is for the first time ever evaluating the status of team president Bruce Allen.
Finlay adds that “never in Allen’s tenure in Washington has his grip seemed less firm over the organization,” and that some league sources “believe that Allen’s involvement in football operations is hurting the team’s bottom line.”
The last part doesn’t need sourcing; just look at images of the stadium and the parking lot on game days. Fans are staying home because the team stinks. And the team stinks because what Allen has called a “damn good” culture is damn bad.
Still, as Finlay notes, the mere act of firing Allen would likely result in a surge in ticket sales.
Of course, some would say that Allen isn’t the problem but simply a symptom of an issue that starts with Snyder, and that nothing will change until he sells the team. (The mere act of selling the team would likely sell out the stadium for years to come.)
It was believed that Allen would remain in place until he finagles a new stadium for the franchise. But with the team being such a perennial poor performer, getting a new stadium becomes an even tougher task.
Still, we’ll believe that Allen is truly in trouble when we see him do the walk of shame with a cardboard box full of his personal belongings. Snyder can’t make that move until he knows he’ll have someone better to take Allen’s place, and the question is whether any candidate who would constitute an upgrade would touch that job with a 10-foot pole and/or for anything less than $10 million per year.