A Look Inside Coach Rivera's Washington GM Search

The future of the Washington Football Team's front office is part of the national conversation after winning four in a row. It's not going away - and it is largely in coach Ron Rivera's hands.

ASHBURN, Va. - The Washington Football Team is playing meaningful games, and about to make meaningful decisions - and Ron Rivera, in the middle of his first year as head coach and seeking a WFT division championship for the first time since 2015 - is at the center of it all.

In this space, we have detailed thoughts on exec Kyle Smith's future. Is he going to stay? Is he going to be elevated to the general manager position? Colleague Albert Breer advances the ball well his in Sports Illustrated column for "The MMQB.''

Interesting nugget from @AlbertBreer here. Says he thinks Washington will probably hire a GM, but Rivera will lead the search. Mentions a few names with connections to Rivera, but no mention of Kyle Smith, the current in-house candidate. Full piece here: https://t.co/Y47eIyXon6 pic.twitter.com/WDapAL3WTa

— Mark Bullock (@MarkBullockNFL) December 14, 2020

A couple of things stand out: 

1. Ron Rivera is going to lead the selection process. He has total control of football operations, despite owner Dan Snyder's reputation and history. 

With the run that Washington has made, Rivera has all the juice and maybe even more from the time he was hired. 

2. There's zero chance that the person hired, assuming there is one (and the strong belief is that someone will be added) will be different philosophically than Rivera. 

Assemble a list of candidates: Joe Schoen, Martin Mayhew, Ryan Cowden and current general managers in the league like Marty Hurney or Dave Gettleman (if Carolina or the Giants were to move in a different direction). Whoever it is, they will see football the same way that Rivera does. 

3. Kyle Smith, the Washington VP of player personnel, is not mentioned by Breer. This doesn't mean that Smith has no shot, but as we've stated, we've always felt that a second promotion in a year or so, would be unlikely. 

READ MORE: Kyle Smith's Future? 

We believe Smith will draw interest from other teams for that promotion in the event he's not in line for one here.

4. Another name we find worth mentioning: Rob Rogers, currently the Washington VP of football administration. Rogers is a contract-and-cap executive. Rogers and Rivera have worked together in Carolina and obviously came along after Rivera was hired in Washington, which is a good indication of their ability to work together. 

READ MORE: Could Rob Rogers be a GM Candidate?

5. The belief, according to some, is that Rivera needs more help in the administrative area of the front office.

An experienced general manager who can do both would seem to fit that bill. But perhaps Rivera would choose to go with the personnel guru over the duel option or the young assistant GM like Schoen, who has learned under Brandon Beane, one of Rivera's most trusted confidants. 

Beane just signed a multi-year extension in Buffalo. He's not going anywhere anytime soon, which could open the door for Schoen to get his opportunity to hold the GM title elsewhere.

In any event, Snyder has decided to put football decisions into the hands of Ron Rivera ... increasing the odds that WFT is in good hands in general.