Doug Williams came to Bruce Allen with a precise plan, and nowhere in that plan was the term general manager. As Williams spoke Tuesday he explained that his desire is specific: finding good football players,
"My job is senior vice president of player personnel. I'm going to run my hallway. Jay's going to run the football team. My job is to get Jay [Gruden] football players," Williams said Tuesday.
Any coach would like to hear that from a personnel executive, and Williams doubled down on the notion. He explained that he has no intention of telling Gruden what players need snaps, and what players don't. Williams said his goal is to give Gruden so many good players that those decisions become more and more difficult.
What makes Williams' promotion perhaps most interesting is that he was very specific that he didn't want to be GM. He only wants to be in charge of personnel - finding good players - and not all the ancillary things that fall in line with the general manager position.
As for his relatipnship with Gruden, that's an asset.
"This was Doug’s plan of wanting to develop and lead the personnel department. And I want to echo, and you heard Doug speak, his relationship with the head coach is critical," Bruce Allen said. "Every department, every team in the league has that same need to have communication. Coach Gruden and Doug have a great relationship."
Gruden echoed the positive sentiment.
"It’s great to hire somebody in-house, somebody who has worked very hard for this team and organization. He’s done some great things, not only as a player, but also working here in the scouting department," Gruden said of Williams. "He’s worked very hard. He’s never used his name and what he’s accomplished here as a crutch to get him to where he is right now. He just worked very hard and earned the role he’s received today. We’re very happy for him."
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