I wish we could actually get an idea of how much Smith actually had to do with it. I was a HUGE member of the Kyle Smith fan club but I've started to theorize since his departure that HE was the one that wanted out because he knew he could never be a 'true' GM with this organization based on how the front office is aligned. He may one day have the title, but a large part of the what the GM is in control of will pass across Rivera's desk, so I wonder if he decided that this front office wasn't for him.
I like to believe that if Smith was the one who was in the draft room this past offseason beating the drum for the likes of Kam Curl, Rivera wouldn't be finding reasons to get him out of the building... he would want that type of talent retained. I don't think it's because Rivera wanted to bring his own guy into that role because the current 'Director of College Scouting' is a guy named Tim Gribble. He's been with the team for 19 years... For all we really know THAT guy is the one who's been killing the drafts and not Smith.