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Fromer Buccanners GM Bruce Allen Press Conference Transcript

Posted Dec 17, 2009 by Anwar S. Richardson

Updated Dec 17, 2009 at 07:14 PM

Here is the transcript of former Tampa Bay Buccaneers GM Bruce Allen as he was introduced as Washington’s Executive Vice President/General Manager. The transcript comes courtesy of the Washington Redskins.

Anwar

Executive Vice President/General Manager Bruce Allen Introductory Press Conference

Owner Daniel M. Snyder

“Good afternoon. First, I’d like to, on behalf of the Redskins organization, send our heartfelt condolences to the Cincinnati Bengals, to Chris Henry’s family, and to my dear friend Marvin Lewis. As an organization that went through a tragedy two years ago, our hearts and our prayers and our wishes go to them. We understand. And our prayers go out to the organization.

Thanks for being here. I’m very, very proud to announce our new Executive Vice President and General Manager, Bruce Allen. Here’s what you need to know about Bruce. Number one, he’s a proven winner. Over the last decade, this decade, he’s been with teams that have won five division championships. And he has a great passion for the game, passion for winning, he’s a great communicator, he’s a man who absolutely has a tireless work ethic. He’s a man that works around the clock. Yes, you’ll all recognize his name, the Allen family. So he understands the great tradition, it’s an added bonus, that he understands the tradition, the heritage of the Washington Redskins. Ladies and gentlemen, our new General Manager, Bruce Allen.”

Bruce Allen

“Obviously, this is an exciting day for me and my family. If you told me 35 years ago, I would be standing here at new Redskins Park, I do think I would have bet on that. It’s exciting because of the history, the tradition, the comfort about coming home. Everybody who knows me, and hopefully you will get to know me better, knows that the principles of football in my mind are simple, it’s a team. It’s 53 men, the entire staff, everybody in the building going in the same direction for one common goal, and that’s to win. So, I’m excited to be here and let’s open it up to anyone that has a question.”

Owner Daniel M. Snyder

On why he felt change was needed at the executive level:

“Obviously this has been a very difficult season, one where we have disappointed everyone-the fans, ourselves. We understand that. It’s been difficult. When it gets to the point where you’re looking at what we need to do for the future, you look at change. And that’s what I decided to do.”

On the level of autonomy Bruce Allen will have in decision-making:

“Obviously Bruce has the authority. When we make a decision, when he makes a decision, when the club makes a decision, it’s a Redskins decision.”

On what attracted him to Bruce Allen:

“In terms of the past, I’ve not been as involved as people may have thought. In terms of the future, obviously we’re going to be counting on Bruce to help lead the way and we’re excited about having a seasoned NFL executive with this much experience.”

On if head coach Jim Zorn has been able to do a good job given the circumstances:

“Right now I think it’s up to Bruce, over the next three weeks, to evaluate and get his hands on the organization and feel comfortable. Right now, he’s just arrived.”

On how many people were interviewed for the position:

“Several different candidates. Obviously we’d like to keep them confidential for appropriate reasons.”

On whether or not Vinny Cerrato was offered a chance to stay with the organization in some capacity:

“We wish Vinny well and appreciate his efforts very much. He worked awful hard. I think the best way to put it is it was time for a change.”

On when he decided that a change had to be made:

“I think over the disappointment of the season I started to realize it was time for a change. Had conversations with Vinny about the direction and it came together rather quickly at the end.”

On how his responsibilities will be different from other front office employee interactions in the past:

“Bruce with his track record obviously attracted me. I have been thinking about this for quite some time. He is a seasoned, experienced NFL football executive and was really appropriate for the title.”

On how difficult of a decision it was to have Vinny Cerrato leave and why the decision was made now:

“This is obviously the right time for a change. Difficult decision, he’s still a friend. I appreciate the work he did for us throughout the years. I think Joe Gibbs appreciates that in a big way. Joe called this morning and really supports the move with Bruce and understands where we’re going and it is time for a change so that is really where we’re going.”

Executive Vice President/General Manager Bruce Allen

On the status of the head coaching position and any potential moves that may be made in the future:

“I met today with Jim Zorn and, other than that, I think a couple brief encounters at a combine a few years ago. We just sat down and told him what I am going to try and do in the next few weeks because this is a unique opportunity to get a start on the 2010 season and the season is upcoming and in that conversation we’re going to have some more meetings and discuss the future.”

On why this position is a good fit for him as opposed to waiting to see what was available at the end of season:

“What makes it a good fit is I want to be with a place with tradition. The fact that I can recite most of the media guide to you probably made it even more exciting. The dedication and the passion of the ownership here to win, I embrace. I like urgency. I like doing things sooner than later and that made it the most attractive position that could possibly have been available.”

On his impression of the talent currently on the team:

“From a far, as an opponent, I like their talent. They have a nice core of talent here. That’s attractive. There are some young players whose futures are extremely bright. I think if we can add to this team, we can accomplish our goals.”

On his impressions of quarterback Jason Campbell:

“The only time I really talked to him was before the draft and I liked him as a young man. I will get to see him and I look forward to talking to him. We have a great opportunity Monday night. We have these two NFC East teams coming up and performance in the NFC East is going to be key for our organization.”

On how his responsibilities will be different from other front office employees in the past:

“We discussed my responsibilities. I really can’t speak for what has occurred in the past. I am very comfortable with it. The Redskins will have a common goal. The Redskins will make decisions based on what is going to help this franchise win. Our ultimate goal is to get good teammates. A good teammate is someone you’re going to be able to count on and we share the same vision on that.”

On his impressions of what may have happened this season:

“I have seen the games but I haven’t obviously felt the pain that has been associated with 4-9. Starting today, I feel the pain and I look forward to talking to the coaches, the personnel people having them explain to me their thoughts on what occurred. You can watch the Saints game and you can pick out plays, you can pick out any of that. I am more interested in a program that doesn’t have a good week here or there. We had a good practice today. I am interested in 52 weeks of good practice, 52 weeks of work ethic because that is what is going to turn into a good season.”

On when he started to discuss the position with Daniel Snyder:

“We’ve talked in the last several weeks on different issues other than this. Obviously, he and Vinny have had conversations. Dan had said that he could be going in a different direction. When he made the phone call this week and offered me the job, I didn’t need long to check out the flight schedules to come up here.”

On how he would evaluate his player evaluation:

“The players who have performed well, I’m pretty good. The players who didn’t, I wasn’t so hot. We’re going to utilize everybody’s skills here. I am interested in hearing the opinions of the people. The great opportunity here by coming in at this point of the season is to build a plan and get a head start on 2010, identify what can help us win in 2010 and beyond with never losing sight of the upcoming games. I am going to work hard. I have made some draft mistakes, I have made some free agent mistakes, but as a team, our teams did pretty well.”

On his role with three games remaining:

“I’m here to learn what’s been going on. It gives me an opportunity that you usually don’t get to see players play under the lights of Monday night and Sunday night against the [New York Giants] and the Dallas Cowboys. I’ll get to see how the coaches interact and see how we run as an operation so there are no surprises for the offseason. And it gives me a wonderful opportunity to evaluate everything I’m watching.”

On his favorite memory from his father George Allen’s time as head coach of the Redskins:

“There’s not just one single favorite memory, there’s hundreds.”

On his plans for the cap situation given the labor situation:

“The salary cap and the collective bargaining agreement, it’s a wonderful time of opportunity as I see it. We’ll have a plan that is based on whatever the Commissioner and the NFL Players Association agree on. We’ll be prepared for a capped season or an uncapped season. I think the key to any salary cap - and I see Mike Lombardi back there, he understands this answer – are the players you have on the team. If you have some players that are good players, you can work around the salary cap to make sure you can acquire some others.”

On if he would like to work with Jon Gruden again:

“Well, we don’t have an opening at that position. And I have a close relationship with hundreds of coaches in this league, but Jim Zorn is our coach. I met him two hours before meeting you here, so give us some time to see how our relationship develops.”

On the lessons he learned from his father:

“The greatest thing is the passion – love what you’re doing. I worked at a gas station on Route 7 by Tyson’s Corner and my father wasn’t a good driver, but a car pulled up and it was him. He didn’t like the way I came out to the gas station. Whatever you’re doing, have a passion for it. The players he accumulated and the staff he had here, it was a special bond of people all fighting for one common goal. Other than that the great friendships that remain. Still see all the guys and talk to all the guys in the offseason. It’s all those bonds with the people.”

On if it’s been good for him to get away from the game and get a look from the outside in:

“It’s been educational. I’ve been given access to teams in the NFL that you can’t get if you work for another team because you’re a competitor. I have seen some good ideas and heard some good thoughts by various front office people and coaches that I’ve talked to. I’m not big on relaxing though. Part of that was a burning desire to get better when I was doing that. I’m very happy at the timing of this because I don’t have to put up the Christmas lights. I don’t have to go Christmas shopping. I have an excuse. I’m working. I’ve pretty much spent a lot of my time trying to learn what was happening in the league.”

On his philosophy of how to build a successful football team:

“It’s get as many good football players and great leadership from coaching and you’ll be successful. It’s a real simple formula.”

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