With the acquisition of longtime scouting executive Scot McCloughan as the Redskins new general manager, team President Bruce Allen says he is optimistic about the future of the organization. 

"Today's an exciting day for the franchise, because we really feel today the Redskins are going to get better," Allen said at the press conference Friday introducing McCloughan at the team facility in Loudoun County, Va.

Allen and McCloughan, both of whom have found success at several different NFL teams, have also known each other for years, giving Allen even more confidence that they picked the right man for the job this week.

"I was fortunate to have worked with his brother and his father for a number of years with the Raiders," Allen said. "About 10 years ago, I was one of the people who called the 49ers to recommend him for his general manager job."

In 20-plus seasons between the Green Bay Packers, Seattle Seahawks and San Francisco 49ers, McCloughan was instrumental in constructing some of the strongest rosters and drafting several perennial Pro Bowlers.

With that understanding, McCloughan has a firm grasp on how he wants to structure a team.

"We picked Scot because of his great track record, but really the way he describes a football player," Allen said. "The intangibles that he's looking for in a football player, and the winning traits he has helped other teams acquire."

During the 2014 season, though, McCloughan started his own scouting business, Instinctive Scouting, LLC, picking up the Redskins as one of his clients.

In talks back and forth about future prospects, Allen gauged his interest in a return to the team side of things, and when he realized McCloughan was a legitimate candidate, the Redskins got the ball rolling on his eventual hiring.

"When we hired his scouting service last summer, obviously I was interested in his talents and I trusted his opinion on players," he said. "The reason you sign up for a brand new company [and] scouting service is you trust the source. I trusted Scot's opinion for a number of years, and I really thought it would help us if he had stayed in that business. …His scouting service was going to give us like a national scout who has a valuable opinion to help [director of player personnel] Scott Campbell."

Last May when Allen added President to his title, team owner Dan Snyder told him that he needed to find "the best you can for this organization everywhere in this organization."

While the Redskins were looking to do whatever it took to help the team improve on the field, Allen admitted they weren't "really interested in adding someone just to add someone;" rather, they wanted to find a member of the football realm who knows what it takes to win.

In steps McCloughan. 

Earlier this week, Snyder, Allen and McCloughan met for about six hours, a successful gathering in which they discussed the direction and vision of the Redskins moving forward.

"Anybody you have talked to who has worked with Scot or for Scot will tell you about his intensity – they call him a grinder," he said. "The fact that he wants to watch an extra game, an extra game, an extra game to make sure his decision is sound. …I haven't found anyone who's worked with him who didn't appreciate his work ethic.

"At the end of the day, [we] just thought Scot was the right man."

RELATED LINKS:
-- Reskins Name Scot McCloughan General Manager
-- Scot McCloughan Brings Success To Washington

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