Bruce Allen (American football)

Last updated

Bruce Allen
Bruce Allen.jpg
Allen in 2015
Personal information
Born: (1956-10-26) October 26, 1956 (age 67)
Career information
High school: Langley (McLean, Virginia)
College: Richmond
Career history
As a coach:
As an executive:
Career highlights and awards
Executive profile at PFR

Bruce Allen (born October 26, 1956) is an American former football executive. He served as general manager in the National Football League (NFL) for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers from 2004 to 2008 and the Washington Redskins from 2010 to 2019. He first joined the NFL as a senior executive with the Oakland Raiders in 1995.

Contents

Allen played college football at the University of Richmond and was selected by the Baltimore Colts in the 1978 NFL draft, but never played. Allen is the son of Pro Football Hall of Fame coach George Allen and brother of former Virginia governor and U.S. Senator George Allen.

Early life

Allen was born on October 26, 1956. [1] He is the son of Pro Football Hall of Fame coach George Allen and brother of former Virginia governor and Senator George Allen. Allen attended high school at Langley High School in McLean, Virginia in the early 1970s, and attended the University of Richmond, where he played college football for the Spiders from 1974 to 1977. In his junior season, he ranked 16th nationally and broke the school record for punting, averaging 42.9 yards a kick; those numbers resulted in him being named to that year's All-ECAC and All-South Independent teams. He was drafted by the Baltimore Colts in the 12th round of the 1978 NFL draft, but did not play for the team. [2]

Coaching career

Allen began his coaching career in 1978 when was hired as a graduate assistant at Arizona State University to serve on the football coaching staff under head coach Frank Kush. [3] [4] In 1979, Allen was the head football coach at Occidental College, a small NCAA Division III school in Los Angeles, where he led them to a 2–6–1 record before resigning after the season to coach the Los Angeles Thunderbolts of the California Football League in 1980. [5] [6] [7]

Executive career

USFL

Allen was the general manager of the Chicago Blitz in 1983 and Arizona Wranglers in 1984. [8]

Oakland Raiders

Allen founded GBA Sportsworld in 1985, an athlete representation and marketing company. He joined the Oakland Raiders organization as a senior executive in 1995, specializing in salary cap management and free agency negotiations. [9] He won the George Young Executive of the Year award with the club during their AFC Championship year in 2002.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Following the 2003 season, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers gave general manager Rich McKay permission to leave the team as his relationship with Super Bowl XXXVII-winning coach Jon Gruden had deteriorated. [10] The Glazer family, which owned and oversaw the Buccaneers, hired Allen to replace McKay, as Allen had previously worked with Gruden in Oakland. Allen immediately began looking for a more youthful team. This included releasing long-time Buccaneer John Lynch and allowing Warren Sapp to leave for free agency, along with drafting Auburn running back Cadillac Williams in the 2005 NFL draft.

The Buccaneers performance during Allen's tenure was mixed. His first year there, the team went 5–11. The next year however, they were 11–5 and won the NFC South division in 2005, but went 4–12 in 2006. The team rebounded to a 9–7 record and another NFC South title in 2007, after which Allen had his contract extended to 2011. Following a second 9–7 record in 2008 and missing the playoffs after four consecutive losses in December, however, both Allen and Gruden were fired.

Washington Redskins

On December 17, 2009, Allen was hired as the general manager of the Washington Redskins. [11] [12] Allen's father coached the Redskins to its first Super Bowl appearance in 1972. Shortly after Allen joined the Redskins, Jim Zorn and his staff were fired, allowing Mike Shanahan to be hired as head coach and executive vice president of football operations. While Shanahan had the final say in football decisions, he and Allen split the duties of general manager, working in an arrangement similar to how Bill Belichick and Scott Pioli operated with the New England Patriots at the time. For the uncapped season in 2010, the League had advised all teams to not explicitly use it as a method to create cap room in the future when the salary cap would return. Allen and the team failed to heed the warnings of the league and did so anyway. As a result, Washington suffered a US$36 million salary cap penalty split between the 2012 and 2013 seasons. [13]

After Shanahan was fired following the 2013 season, Allen had final say on football operations, hiring Cincinnati Bengals offensive coordinator Jay Gruden to replace Shanahan as head coach. [14] [15] While general manager, Allen attempted to bridge the connection between the modern Redskins and the glory years of past, include hosting golf tournaments with former players and coaches, to bringing back the gold pants that his father's team had used in the 1970s. [16]

In 2014, Allen was additionally given the title of team president. [17] Allen abdicated his title of general manager after the Redskins hired Scot McCloughan to be their new one on January 7, 2015, [18] later becoming the de facto general manager again upon the firing of McCloughan after the 2016 season. [19] Allen's tenure with the team was met with heavy criticism and disapproval, with a popular "FireBruceAllen" hashtag campaign being used on social media throughout the latter half of the 2010s, before he was fired following a 3–13 season in 2019. [20] [21] The team had only made two postseason appearances under Allen, winning neither of them.

In October 2021, emails between Allen and football coach and commentator Jon Gruden were leaked to The New York Times . According to the emails, Gruden sent several sexist, racist, and homophobic remarks to Allen throughout the 2010s. The two also exchanged topless photos of Washington cheerleaders. Gruden resigned as head coach of the Las Vegas Raiders following the report. [22]

Head coaching record

YearTeamOverallConferenceStandingBowl/playoffs
Occidental Tigers (Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference)(1979)
1979 Occidental2–6–11–46th
Total:2–6–1

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Las Vegas Raiders</span> National Football League franchise in Paradise, Nevada

The Las Vegas Raiders are a professional American football team based in the Las Vegas metropolitan area. The Raiders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The team plays home games at Allegiant Stadium in Paradise, Nevada, and is headquartered in Henderson, Nevada.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tampa Bay Buccaneers</span> National Football League franchise in Tampa, Florida

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. The club joined the NFL in 1976 as an expansion team, along with the Seattle Seahawks, and played its first season in the American Football Conference (AFC) West division.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Washington Commanders</span> National Football League franchise based in the Washington, DC, area

The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) East division. The team plays its home games at Northwest Stadium in Landover, Maryland; its headquarters and training facility are in Ashburn, Virginia. The Commanders have played more than 1,300 games and have won more than 600. Washington was among the first NFL franchises with a fight song, "Hail to the Commanders", which is played by their marching band after every home game touchdown. The Commanders are owned by a group managed by Josh Harris, who acquired the franchise from Daniel Snyder in 2023 for $6.05 billion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jon Gruden</span> American football coach (born 1963)

Jon David Gruden is an American professional football coach who is an advisor for the Milano Seamen of the European League of Football. He held his first head coaching position with the Raiders franchise during their Oakland tenure from 1998 to 2001, where he won two consecutive division titles and made an AFC Championship Game appearance. Gruden was traded to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2002, which he led to their first Super Bowl title in Super Bowl XXXVII the same season. At age 39, he was the then-youngest head coach to win the Super Bowl. He served as Tampa Bay's head coach through 2008, setting the franchise record for wins, but made only two further playoff runs. After his firing from the Buccaneers, Gruden was featured as an analyst for ESPN's Monday Night Football broadcasts from the 2009 to the 2017 seasons.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mike Shanahan</span> American football coach (born 1952)

Michael Edward Shanahan is an American football coach, best known as the head coach of the Denver Broncos of the National Football League (NFL) from 1995 to 2008. During his fourteen seasons with the Broncos, he led the team to two consecutive Super Bowl victories in XXXII and XXXIII; along with being the first Super Bowl championships in team history, they were the seventh team to win consecutive Super Bowls in NFL history. His head coaching career spanned a total of twenty seasons and also included stints with the Los Angeles Raiders and Washington Redskins. He is the father of San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jim Haslett</span> American football player and coach (born 1955)

James Donald Haslett is an American football coach and former linebacker who was most recently the head coach of the Seattle Sea Dragons of the XFL. He played college football for the IUP Crimson Hawks before being drafted by the Buffalo Bills in the second round of the 1979 NFL draft; he went on to be named NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year.

The 2004 NFL season was the 85th regular season of the National Football League (NFL).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jim Zorn</span> American football player and coach (born 1953)

James Arthur Zorn is an American former professional football player and coach. Zorn was a left-handed quarterback, and is best known as the starting quarterback of the Seattle Seahawks for their first eight seasons. He was the quarterback coach for the Seattle Seahawks from 2001 until the 2007 season. Before the 2008 season Zorn was originally hired by the Washington Redskins to serve as offensive coordinator. Two weeks after being hired, he was promoted as the team's head coach.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Lynch (American football)</span> American football player and executive (born 1971)

John Terrence Lynch Jr. is an American professional football executive and former safety who is the general manager of the San Francisco 49ers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Stanford Cardinal and was selected by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the third round of the 1993 NFL draft, later winning Super Bowl XXXVII with them. Lynch also spent four seasons with the Denver Broncos before retiring in 2008 and working as a color commentator for NFL on Fox games until being named general manager of the 49ers in 2017. He made nine Pro Bowls during his career and was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2021.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kyle Shanahan</span> American football coach (born 1979)

Kyle Michael Shanahan is an American professional football coach who is the head coach of the San Francisco 49ers of the National Football League (NFL). He came to prominence as the offensive coordinator for the Atlanta Falcons, whose offense in 2016 led the league in points scored and helped the team reach Super Bowl LI. Shanahan became the head coach of the 49ers the following season, whom he has led to three division titles, four postseason appearances, four NFC Championship Game appearances, and two Super Bowl appearances.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of the Washington Commanders</span> Sports team history

The Washington Commanders are a professional American football franchise based in the Washington metropolitan area. They are members of the East division in the National Football Conference (NFC) of the National Football League (NFL). The Commanders were founded in 1932 as the Boston Braves, named after the local baseball franchise. The franchise changed its name the following year to the Redskins and moved to Washington, D.C. in 1937. In 2020, the team retired the Redskins name after longstanding controversies surrounding it and briefly became the Washington Football Team, before choosing the Washington Commanders as their permanent name in 2022.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joe Barry</span> American football coach (born 1970)

Joe Barry is an American football coach who is the linebackers coach and run game coordinator for the Miami Dolphins of the National Football League (NFL). His career includes having served as the assistant head coach and linebackers coach for the Los Angeles Rams, as well as serving as the defensive coordinator for the Washington Redskins, Detroit Lions, and Green Bay Packers. Barry also previously served as an assistant coach for the San Diego Chargers, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the San Francisco 49ers. Barry is the son of former coach Mike Barry.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oakland Raiders</span> Former professional American football team

The Oakland Raiders were a professional American football team that played in Oakland from its founding in 1960 to 1981 and again from 1995 to 2019 before relocating to the Las Vegas metropolitan area where they now play as the Las Vegas Raiders. Between 1982 and 1994, the team played in Los Angeles as the Los Angeles Raiders.

This article details the history of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers American football franchise.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jay Gruden</span> American football coach and player (born 1967)

Jay Michael Gruden is an American football coach and former quarterback. He previously served as the head coach of the Washington Redskins from 2014 to 2019 and as offensive coordinator for the Cincinnati Bengals and Jacksonville Jaguars. During his time in the Arena Football League (AFL), he won four ArenaBowls as a player and two more as a head coach. Gruden is the younger brother of former NFL head coach Jon Gruden and was an assistant coach of the 2002 Buccaneers team that won Super Bowl XXXVII.

Gregor Alan Olson is an American football coach who is the former quarterbacks coach for the Seattle Seahawks of the National Football League (NFL). He has been an offensive coordinator for the Detroit Lions, St. Louis Rams, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Oakland Raiders, Jacksonville Jaguars, and the Oakland / Las Vegas Raiders.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Scot McCloughan</span> American football executive (born 1971)

Scot G. McCloughan is an American football executive. He was formerly the general manager of the San Francisco 49ers and Washington Redskins, as well as a senior personnel executive for the Seattle Seahawks. McCloughan played a key role in assembling rosters that both led the 49ers and Seahawks to the Super Bowl in the 2010s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sean McVay</span> American football coach (born 1986)

Sean McVay is an American professional football coach who is the head coach of the Los Angeles Rams of the National Football League (NFL). He became the youngest NFL head coach in the modern era when he was hired by the Rams in 2017 at the age of 30. McVay is also the youngest head coach to win a Super Bowl and be named NFL Coach of the Year. Prior to becoming Rams head coach, he served as a tight ends coach and offensive coordinator for the Washington Redskins.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2017 Washington Redskins season</span> Washington Redskins 86th season in the National Football League

The 2017 Washington Redskins season was the franchise's 86th season in the National Football League (NFL) and the fourth under head coach Jay Gruden. The Redskins ended the season losing eight of the final 13 games after a 2–1 start, failing to improve on their 8–7–1 record from the previous season, and were mathematically eliminated from playoff contention with a loss to the Chargers. This was likely due to the abundance of injuries at key positions and one of the league's toughest schedules.

References

  1. "Bruce Allen, 23, Older and Wiser as a Head Coach". The Los Angeles Times. November 10, 1979. p. 9. Retrieved September 5, 2020.
  2. Svrluga, Barry (December 17, 2009). "Redskins Insider - Bruce Allen on board; is Jon Gruden next?". Voices.washingtonpost.com. Archived from the original on September 16, 2012. Retrieved March 9, 2017.
  3. Boatner, Verne (August 23, 1978). "Allen's son Bruce can't figure firing". The Arizona Republic . Phoenix, Arizona. p. 29. Retrieved November 29, 2020 via Newspapers.com Open Access logo PLoS transparent.svg .
  4. Boatner, Verne (July 26, 1979). "Bruce Allen duplicates father's start with Occidental job". The Arizona Republic . Phoenix, Arizona. p. 73. Retrieved November 29, 2020 via Newspapers.com Open Access logo PLoS transparent.svg .
  5. "Bruce Allen named Occidental coach". St. Petersburg Times. July 11, 1979. Retrieved December 1, 2014.
  6. "Allen severs ties with Oxy football". cdnc.ucr.edu. Eastside Journal. March 12, 1980. Retrieved November 29, 2020.
  7. Green, Ted (March 25, 1980). "There's a New Team in Town". Los Angeles Times . Los Angeles, California. p. 27. Retrieved November 29, 2020 via Newspapers.com Open Access logo PLoS transparent.svg .
  8. "Finally, The Bruce Allen Era Ends". Sports Illustrated . December 29, 2019.
  9. "Bucs Name Bruce Allen General Manager".
  10. "Bucs give McKay permission to leave".
  11. "Cerrato resigns; Redskins hire Allen". ESPN. December 17, 2009. Retrieved June 12, 2024.
  12. Svrluga, Barry (December 17, 2009). "Redskins Insider - Bruce Allen replaces Vinny Cerrato with Redskins (updated)". Voices.washingtonpost.com. Archived from the original on September 16, 2012. Retrieved March 9, 2017.
  13. Fitzgerald, Jason (December 10, 2013). "The Redskins, Bruce Allen, and Mike Shanahan…". Over the Cap.
  14. Boyer, Zac (January 9, 2014). "Jay Gruden hired as Redskins coach". The Washington Times . Retrieved January 9, 2014.
  15. Keim, John (January 9, 2014). "Jay Gruden to coach Redskins". ESPN.com. Retrieved October 14, 2021.
  16. Steinberg, Dan (September 12, 2010). "Redskins wearing gold pants". The Washington Post . Archived from the original on October 6, 2012. Retrieved January 16, 2014.
  17. Florio, Mike (May 26, 2014). "Redskins name Bruce Allen president and G.M." Pro Football Talk. Retrieved May 26, 2014.
  18. Orr, Conor (January 7, 2015). "Washington Redskins make Scot McCloughan GM". NFL.com. Retrieved January 7, 2015.
  19. Keim, John (March 9, 2017). "Scot McCloughan fired as Redskins' general manager after two years". ESPN. Retrieved March 10, 2017.
  20. Gaydos, Ryan (December 30, 2019). "Washington Redskins fire Bruce Allen after years of mediocrity". Fox News. Retrieved December 30, 2019.
  21. Allen, Scott (December 30, 2019). "For some Redskins fans, Bruce Allen's firing was 'the best day ever'". The Washington Post. Retrieved January 5, 2020.
  22. Belson, Ken; Rosman, Katherine (October 11, 2021). "Raiders Coach Resigns After Homophobic and Misogynistic Emails". The New York Times. Retrieved October 12, 2021.