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Skins Name AJ Smith As Senior Executive

Boone

The Commissioner
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PRESS RELEASE

For Immediate Release
March 6, 2013

REDSKINS NAME A.J. SMITH AS SENIOR EXECUTIVE

LOUDOUN COUNTY, Va. – The Washington Redskins announced today that they have named A.J. Smith as a Senior Executive.

Smith is entering his 29th NFL season after 14 seasons with the San Diego Chargers in various capacities. After two years as Assistant General Manager/Director of Pro Personnel with the Chargers from 2001-02, Smith served as the team’s Executive Vice President/General Manager from 2003-12. His 95 wins as general manager are a Chargers record.

Smith assumed the Chargers’ head role following three seasons in which the team had finished a collective 13-35 before eventually winning five AFC West titles under his direction. In his time as General Manager, the Chargers won 98 combined regular season and postseason games, fifth-most in the AFC and sixth-most in the NFL.

Smith was named the NFL’s 2004 Executive of the Year by Pro Football Weekly, the Professional Football Writers of America (PFWA), FoxSports.com and CBSSportsline.com. In 2006, Forbes named him its top NFL General Manager, and in addition, the magazine ranked Smith fourth overall among his counterparts in the four major professional sports leagues in the U.S. and Canada (NFL, NBA, NHL and MLB). In 2009, USA Today ranked Smith sixth on their list of the Top 20 Personnel Executives in the NFL, and Forbes recognized Smith once again in 2010, ranking him fifth on its list of the Top 10 NFL GMs.

Smith has worked in pro football since 1977, including three years in the United States Football League in the early 1980s. His NFL experience – detailed below – includes stints with the New York Giants, New England Patriots, Houston Oilers and Buffalo Bills in addition to his tenure with the Chargers. Smith served in multiple roles with the Bills during a four-year stretch in which the team won four consecutive AFC championships.

Smith is a graduate of Bishop Hendricken H.S. in Warwick, R.I., where he was inducted into the school’s hall of fame in 2003. He earned a degree in health and physical education from Kentucky Wesleyan College in 1971. In February 2013, Smith was inducted into Kentucky Wesleyan’s Athletics Hall of Fame as part of its inaugural class.

In Washington, Smith now joins his son, Kyle, who has served as one of the Redskins’ area scouts for the past two seasons.

A.J. SMITH FOOTBALL TIMELINE
1971-76 — Assistant Coach, Cranston West High School
1976 — Head Coach, Rhode Island Kings (EFL)
1977 — Part-Time Scout, New York Giants
1978 — Assistant Coach, University of Rhode Island
1978-80 — Part-Time Scout, New England Patriots
1981 — Part-Time Scout, Houston Oilers
1982-83 — Scout, Chicago Blitz (USFL)
1984 — Scout, Pittsburgh Maulers (USFL)
1985-86 — Pro Personnel Director, San Diego Chargers
1987-88 — Area Scout, Buffalo Bills
1989-92 — Assistant Director of College Scouting, Buffalo Bills
1993-00 — Director of Pro Personnel, Buffalo Bills
2001-02 — Assistant General Manager/Director of Pro Personnel, San Diego Chargers
2003-12 — Executive Vice President/General Manager, San Diego Chargers
2013 — Senior Executive, Washington Redskins
 
As long as he understands he is like 4th man on the totem pole, everything will be just fine. I guess that means there is no chance of Marty Shottenheimer coming in to be an executive when Brian gets the HC...oh wait, that was 3 years ago! :laugh:
 
Im getting so much **** out here for this move.
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:stop: He's now a glorified ****ing scout. Its what he's good at.

I hope.


I remember Mike Lombardi crushing Snyder for not having the best scouting department that money could buy last year. Well looks like he's taking a step towards that.

Smith is gonna have to work hard to get another GM gig, so this gives him a place to work hard and keep his nose clean while he waits for that next GM opening.
 
I wonder-is the title simply part of the compensation package to finalize the deal or is their actual "power" that goes with it?
 
Wonder if he'll have a autographed picture from Norval on his wall.

It's a ****ing plague!!!
 
My how times have changed.

A few years ago, our personnel Brain Trust consisted of Vinny Cerrato, Dan Snyder and Jim Zorn. Today we add to Mike Shanahan and Bruce Allen one AJ Smith (bio repeated for emphasis, to an apparently rapidly maturing scouting/personnel machine.

Smith was named the NFL’s 2004 Executive of the Year by Pro Football Weekly, the Professional Football Writers of America (PFWA), FoxSports.com and CBSSportsline.com. In 2006, Forbes named him its top NFL General Manager, and in addition, the magazine ranked Smith fourth overall among his counterparts in the four major professional sports leagues in the U.S. and Canada (NFL, NBA, NHL and MLB). In 2009, USA Today ranked Smith sixth on their list of the Top 20 Personnel Executives in the NFL, and Forbes recognized Smith once again in 2010, ranking him fifth on its list of the Top 10 NFL GMs.

Smith has worked in pro football since 1977, including three years in the United States Football League in the early 1980s. His NFL experience – detailed below – includes stints with the New York Giants, New England Patriots, Houston Oilers and Buffalo Bills in addition to his tenure with the Chargers. Smith served in multiple roles with the Bills during a four-year stretch in which the team won four consecutive AFC championships.

I'm over my intial "omg he hired norv" knee jerk reaction and am very quickly making peace with the idea that Dan Snyder is finally doing what each and every one of us has been begging him to do for 10 years. Grow up, hire football people, and invest in the front office and scouting departments like the other top clubs do.
 
My how times have changed.

A few years ago, our personnel Brain Trust consisted of Vinny Cerrato, Dan Snyder and Jim Zorn. Today we add to Mike Shanahan and Bruce Allen one AJ Smith (bio repeated for emphasis, to an apparently rapidly maturing scouting/personnel machine.



I'm over my intial "omg he hired norv" knee jerk reaction and am very quickly making peace with the idea that Dan Snyder is finally doing what each and every one of us has been begging him to do for 10 years. Grow up, hire football people, and invest in the front office and scouting departments like the other top clubs do.


:claps: Well said.
 
I'm unimpressed.

http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2012/dec/31/norv-turner-fired-early-drafts-failed-ex-coach/
A.J. Smith, former Chargers general manager, ran the draft room during Norv Turner's six seasons as head coach.

It was a slow beginning.

The first three drafts produced one Pro Bowler in Eric Weddle. The previous three years produced 11.

The draft drop-off mixed poorly with the loss of productive players via free agency. While the roster talent waned, injuries exposed its decreasing depth, together helping explain the downward trend in results that leave both men unemployed today.
Hell, Vinny did as much.
 
Aj was a huge reason for the decline here and everyone knows it.

The list is endless...the fans all know why hes gone and they were begging for it for years before this.
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LET ME FIX SOME OF THIS SINCE HE'S NOT THE GM HERE AND I THINK YOU'VE LOST SIGHT OF HIS ACCOMPLISHMENTS:

Let Jackson go with no real wrDRAFTED VINCENT JACKSON
Run gates in to tje ground and get him no help DRAFTED ANTONIO GATES
let LT go WAS SENIOR SCOUT WHEN THEY DRAFTED LADANIAN TOMLINSON
let Neal go SIGNED LORENZO NEAL AS A FREE AGENT
Let Brees go and waste a top 2 pick on rivers WAS SENIOR SCOUT WHEN THEY DRAFTED DREW BREES /
david boston I GOT NUTHIN. :beam:

In 2003, he inherited a team that was 13–35 in its previous three seasons, and had not made the playoffs since 1995. Smith directed the Chargers to five AFC West division titles and eight consecutive seasons without a losing record.[3] San Diego's 7–9 record in in 2012 was their first losing season since Smith's first season in 2003
wiki

AS FOR RIVERS? WELL FIRST OFF THEY WERE IN A PICKLE BECAUSE OF SHE_LIE BUT....
Notable accomplishments
Former NFL records
  • Most passing yards through first 8 games of a season - 2,649 yards (2010)[24][note 1]
  • Chargers franchise records
  • Most passing touchdowns in a single season: 34 (2008)[55]
  • Most consecutive seasons with at least 25 touchdown passes: 5 (2008–2012)
  • Most regular season wins in a single season: 14 (2006)[55]
  • Most pass completions in a single season: 366 (2011)[55]
  • Most game winning drives in a single season: 5 (2008) (tied with Stan Humphries)[55]
  • Most consecutive seasons with 4,000 passing yards: 4 (2008–2011)
  • Most consecutive seasons with 3,000 passing yards: 7 (2006–2012)
  • Most seasons with 4,000+ passing yards: 4 [55]
  • Most seasons with 3,000+ passing yards: 7
  • Most passing yards in a game: 455 (9/26/10 vs. Seattle Seahawks)
  • Highest completion percentage, career: 63.6 (2004-2012)
  • Highest completion percentage, season: 66.0 (2010) (16 starts)[55]
  • Highest completion percentage, game (min. 20 attempts): 90.0 (18/20) (11/1/12 vs. Kansas City Chiefs)
  • Highest passer rating, career: 94.5 (2004-2012)
  • Highest passer rating, season: 105.5 (2008) (16 starts)[55]
  • Awards and honors
  • 4× Pro Bowl (2006, 2009, 2010, 2011)
  • 2008 Pro Bowl Alternate (Declined because of injury)
  • 2010 NFL Alumni Players of the Year[29]
  • 3× AFC Offensive Player of the Month (December - 2008 & 2009, October - 2010)
wiki

I don't think Rivers turned out to be too bad a pick considering the circumstances. We would had gladly given up 2 firsts for him anytime since he was drafted if he had become available. And there were SEVERAL teams that didn't snap up Brees when he was available including us. He was a huge question mark and they had already drafted his replacement because as you remember he sucked his first few years.


Don't get me wrong Mike, I know he's an asshat when it comes to contracts and dealing with the personnel as the authority figure. He also obviously has problems with choosing coaches, but step away from all the bitching and moaning from San Diegans. You have to admit that he put together some pretty friggin impressive squads that should have done better if not for all that Norvousness.
 
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Yeah, Rivers has been pretty great in his pro career, definitely worthy of the number 4 overall pick.
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I know he's an asshat when it comes to contracts and dealing with the personnel as the authority figure. He also obviously has problems with choosing coaches, but step away from all the bitching and moaning from San Diegans. You have to admit that he put together some pretty friggin impressive squads that should have done better if not for all that Norvousness.

O.K., zooming in on the part in bold.

Bruce is the contract/financial numbers guy. Covered.

Mike chooses the coaches. Covered.

Being an asshat dealing with players.

Mike's had that covered too on occasion. Nobody's perfect.

Scouting it is then-he's apparently made some pretty good player selections and then eff'd em up once they got to San Diego-which seems to be the main gripe SD fans have with the guy.

Oh, he's an abrasive asshat to deal with.

That part could be interesting. (I'd love to be a fly on the wall in some of the upcoming staff meetings.)

Cautiously optimistic is where I am on this I guess. Willing to give him a chance and see how it works out.
 
What Serv said - and VERY cautiously optimistic about it. Stick to scouting and we might be ok.
 
Might add, the policies advocated by the ownership in San Diego and what effects they had on the team is also a consideration.

The group we have here might just end up being a very workable situation for the betterment of the team.

Perhaps we'll end up with one of the most dynamic and successful FO's since the Beathard years.... let's hope so and see how it plays out.
 
Yep, Om, Serv & Tom nailed it. Not too much else to say, except that this is a vastly different situation than what they had in San Diego...
 
I sure hope it is..but his past track record in the front office is not one that is any good.

The thing is, Mike, with Allen and Shanahan running the show I don't see Smith having the amount of power he had in San Diego which should make it less likely for the kind of screw-ups that happened there to happen here.
 
Keep in mind that AJ was a big part of them getting to 14-2. Did his decisions directly or indirectly lead to their downfall? Sure...but I don't think he'll be making the same decisions with the Redskins. That's the main point.

To me, this smells like some old school favoritism, to be honest. AJ and his son have a history with the Allens...maybe they're just giving a buddy a cushy job? :)
 
I didn't mean to offend you with the red text Mike. I just posted a lot and felt that what was mine should be separate. You can be a dick its ok I get where ur coming from. But you have repeatedly dogged anyone out for not being 100 percent on board with some homeriffic views in some threads and now your just being negative. so just trying to keep his move in a positive light.

I get where your coming from and I'm cautious about Smith being too involved too. Truly. I just see a lot of positives in what he CAN bring to he table.

Fans in San Diego are pissed that they wasted all that talent. Ur surrounded by that I get it. But he brought that talent in the first place I think that's lost in a lot of this... He has a senior executives title.. Big deal, he's a frigging scout and they appeased him with a title. He won't have the authority to do any of the harm he did in SD... Will he mesh with Shanny? I that's the biggest concern I have.

If this goes right, I think it can be great... If it doesn't I think he's cast off. I just don't see it in such a gruesome light.

Sent from my SGH-T999 using Tapatalk 2
 
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Bottom line is, no one (whether you know everything there is to know about Smith, or next to nothing) knows if this move will be wildly successful, set the franchise back 10 years, or somewhere in between.

It's why we wait and see :)

I do have to believe that if the team didn't think Smith fills some critical gap in the organization, they wouldn't have made the move.
 

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