No GM Until May? Not a big deal!

The Washington Redskins are re-shaping their franchise by the day. Think about this: A week ago, it was still widely thought that Bruce Allen would still be in the building and heading the stadium development plan..

He gone.

Ron Rivera emerged last Saturday into Sunday as a odds-on favorite to get the job and things moved quickly from there. Rivera and the Redskins completed a deal Tuesday morning and he was introduced on Thursday.

Rivera's been busy hiring coaches but front office personnel is going to take longer than some would like.

“With those guys, it’s really about meeting them, getting to know them as we start going forward. Like I said, everything we do is going to be able a collaborative effort," Rivera said. "There’s no one pure authority on this other than the owner. The key is we’re going to collaborate. We’re going to talk, we’re going to work together, we’re going to come to decisions that are best for this organization. Not best for an individual, but best for the organization.”

According to Adam Schefter of ESPN on Sunday, he's going to take more time to evaluate.

Redskins now are planning to wait until after the draft to hire a general manager, per league sources. The team’s thinking is that it still has people in place for now, though anyone in the front office is in jeopardy after the draft and there will be more changes.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) January 5, 2020

Even though this plan is meeting a lot of criticism, I don't buy it at all. It's not a big deal in my not so humble opinion.

As I said on radio earlier Sunday and have been saying a few times in this space, the time line and waiting until after the draft is not prohibitive.

A couple of reasons why:

Most (all?) front offices and scouting staffs are deep in the throws of preparing for the draft and free agency. If you think there's talent on the roster and the drafts have been good (they have been and their is), you don't uproot what is already in place immediately.

If Ron Rivera was targeting a general manager that was unemployed and without restriction, it's very likely they would join the Redskins right now.

For instance - there's been a lot of rumors and speculation about Rick Smith, formerly of the Houston Texans.

If Rivera is going after someone that is under contract with their current team, he probably does not want to pay any kind of draft compensation to rip that executive out of their current situation.

That executive might only be under contract until this upcoming May or after the draft. The Redskins would then be able to sign that executive to a new contract in the second hiring window for front office personnel.

Remember, Bruce Allen was hired on December 17, 2009 because he was a free agent and out of football. Nobody wanted him. Except the Redskins.

The Redskins could also privately negotiate with that person or his agent and agree to terms and role, before the draft and during the busiest part of the NFL offseason. If that were to happen, Washington could privately pick the brain of the executive to get the benefit of their knowledge. Marty Hurney? Morocco Brown? Dan Morgan?

Think it won't happen? It could and very much does. It's a different example, but Kyle Shanahan was unable to officially join the 49ers until after the Falcons Super Bowl loss three years ago. Was he not working on his coaching staff, general manager to be John Lynch and 49ers officials privately? I think you know the answer.

The other element is that perhaps the new general manager or whatever title the Redskins choose is already IN the building?

Is it Eric Schaffer? Alex Santos? Doug Williams? Or the most likely in-house choice, Kyle Smith?

As you know, Smith has been running the Redskins largely productive college draft over the last several seasons, the lifeblood of a franchise.

Rivera and Smith have a long relationship from when Rivera was the coordinator in San Diego and Kyle's Dad, A.J. Smith, was the general manager.

Sources tell Redskins Maven/SI.com that the two have a good relationship and perhaps Rivera's choice will be someone he knows?

Someone that is already very familiar with the building and the 2020 draft class. An executive that has been groomed for the position and success.

That's what I would do, but what do I know?

Either way, it's not that big of a deal in my opinion. The Redskins will likely get who they want and he might already be in the building.

Chris Russell is the Publisher of Maven & Sports Illustrated's Washington Redskins channel. He can be heard on 106.7 The FAN in the Washington D.C. area and world-wide on Radio.com. Chris also hosts the "Locked on Redskins" Podcast and can be read via subscription to Warpath Magazine. You can e-mail Chris at russellmania09@Gmail.com or follow him on Twitter at @Russellmania621.