Alex Santos - Pro Football Rumors

15 Former Female Redskins Employees Allege Sexual Harassment

July 16th, 2020 at 5:20pm CST by Ben Levine

15 former female Redskins employees told Will Hobson and Liz Clarke of the Washington Post that they were sexually harassed during their tenure with the organization. This follows news from earlier today that the team had hired DC-based attorney Beth Wilkinson in anticipation of the story.

“The Washington Redskins football team takes issues of employee conduct seriously … While we do not speak to specific employee situations publicly, when new allegations of conduct are brought forward that are contrary to these policies, we address them promptly,” the team said in a statement.

14 of the women spoke on condition of anonymity, fearing litigation after signing nondisclosure agreements that prevented them from speaking negatively about the organization. The Redskins declined a request from the Washington Post to release those individuals from those agreements. Owner Dan Snyder also declined “several requests” for an interview.

Notably, three team employees have abruptly left the organization in recent weeks. Director of pro personnel Alex Santos and assistant director of pro personnel Richard Mann II were fired from their positions, while longtime radio personality Larry Michael left his position earlier this week.

As the article details, the allegations stem from 2006 to 2019, and the allegations include “unwelcome overtures or comments of a sexual nature, and exhortations to wear revealing clothing and flirt with clients to close sales deals.” Among those accused of harassment are “three former members of Snyder’s inner circle and two longtime members of the personnel department.” Besides the aforementioned individuals, the Post identifies former president of business operations Dennis Greene and former COO Mitch Gershman as harassers.

While none of the women accused Snyder nor former team president Bruce Allen of harassment, the women “expressed skepticism the men were unaware of the behavior they allege.” The women also cited Snyder’s “understaffed human resources department” and a “sophomoric culture of verbal abuse among top executives.”

The article is filled with anecdotes, text messages, and internal company documents that seem to substantiate the claims. As Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk.com notes, this certainly won’t be the end of the story. While Snyder refused to be interviewed for the Washington Post story, he can’t stay silent forever, and there will surely be increased calls for him to sell the team.

Redskins To Fire Two Front Office Execs

July 12th, 2020 at 3:52pm CST by Sam Robinson

Despite previous reports indicating Washington was planning to hire a GM after the draft, the franchise remains without one. The Ron Rivera-led team did move further away from previous regimes Sunday, however.

The Redskins are firing their top two executives in the pro personnel department, moving on from director of pro personnel Alex Santos and assistant pro personnel director Richard Mann II, Les Carpenter of the Washington Post reports.

Santos joined the franchise in 2006, before since-fired team president Bruce Allen‘s arrival, and had held the pro personnel director position since 2014. Mann resided in his post since 2017, having previously been a Redskins scout for seven years.

This will leave Washington shorthanded, for the time being, in terms of evaluating potential free agency additions going into training camp. Santos and Mann played a key role for recent Redskins teams, given the injury trouble they have run into — especially on offense.

Redskins Announce Front Office Changes

June 13th, 2017 at 9:54am CST by Zachary Links

The Redskins are reshuffling things in the front office. On Tuesday morning, the team announced a number of moves, including the promotion of Doug Williams to the title of senior vice president of player personnel.

In related news, Eric Schaffer has been named vice president of football operations and Scott Campbell will become senior personnel executive. The most notable element here, however, is perhaps the move that wasn’t made by Washington. The team did not announce a new general manager, giving the impression that team president Bruce Allen will once again call the shots and have final say over the roster.

Williams, of course, is a Redskins legend for his Super Bowl XXII MVP performance following the 1987 season. In that game, the former first round pick helped the Redskins put up 42 points as they downed John Elway and the Broncos. Williams, who has spent eleven years in various scouting and personnel roles with the Buccaneers and Redskins, says that he is excited for the new challenge.

“You want this day to come. You hope it comes. It’s here today,” Williams said at a presser on Tuesday morning. “I’m blessed and I’m going to embrace it.”

At least for this year, the expectation is that Williams & Co. will report to Allen, Tom Pelissero of USA Today tweets. More tweaks could be on the way, however. Redskins’ Director of Pro Personnel director Alex Santos is one of the execs that could be primed for a bigger role, per Pelissero.

Redskins Likely To Hire GM From Within?

May 2nd, 2017 at 5:39pm CST by Dallas Robinson

The Redskins have now tackled both free agency and the draft without a formal general manager in place, as Scot McCloughan‘s departure left a vacancy atop Washington’s decision-making structure. Having maneuvered the two primary avenues of player acquisition sans GM, the “most likely course” for the Redskins is to promote incumbent executive Doug Williams into a more critical position that supervises football operations, according to Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com.

Williams, who has worked for the Redskins since 2014 and also has experience with the Buccaneers and Jaguars, has been linked to a possible ascension in the nation’s capital previously, as Mike Jones of the Washington Post indicated earlier in March that Williams could be a candidate to take over as general manager. Other known quantities such as former Tampa Bay GM Mark Dominik, ex-Chargers GM A.J. Smith, and NFL Network analyst Mike Mayock have also been linked to the job, but La Canfora reports Washington “never really wanted” to make an external hire.

Even if Williams is promoted to general manager, team president Bruce Allen would effectively remain in charge, per La Canfora. But new roles could also be in store for employees such as scout Alex Santos and or contract negotiator Eric Schaffer, according to the CBS scribe.

Redskins, McCloughan Likely To Part Ways

March 8th, 2017 at 6:23pm CST by Zachary Links

It sure sounds like Scot McCloughan will be ousted in D.C. The Redskins have been “entertaining” new general manager options for “quite some time,” numerous league sources tell Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com. Apparently, the team has internally discussed names and La Canfora writes says they have “essentially have begun the process.” Unsurprisingly, then, a parting of ways is “inevitable” – perhaps in the form of a buyout – multiple sources tell Mike Jones of the Washington Post.

If team president Bruce Allen looks for a successor to McCloughan, one name that has surfaced is former Buccaneers GM Mark Dominik, who has a history with Allen. La Canfora also suggests a possible promotion for executive Alex Santos, though the team has never promoted from within to fill the GM role, while Jones adds that ex-Redskins quarterback Doug Williams and former Chargers GM A.J. Smith are possibilities.

As for McCloughan himself, La Canfora hears the GM is not in rehab (he has dealt with alcohol-related issues) and has not been in rehab during his hiatus from the team. However, he has not stopped drinking since joining the Redskins in 2015, per Jones, who writes that McCloughan’s peers don’t believe that has negatively affected his work. McCloughan and Allen have been at loggerheads over several matters, details Jones, and it looks as if their inability to coexist will lead to a divorce.

Reportedly, the chaos in Washington is making the representatives of free agents question the team’s stability.

49ers Prepared To Restart GM Search

January 23rd, 2017 at 9:08am CST by Sam Robinson

The 49ers’ GM search enters its fourth week, and the team’s finalist contingent is unclear after two prospective members — since-re-signed Packers execs Eliot Wolf and Brian Gutekunst — dropped out of the running recently. The team is prepared to reopen its search if necessary at this point, Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com tweets.

Although a report hinted at this on Sunday, this runs counter to the 49ers’ initial plan of sticking with their list of initial candidates. Vikings assistant GM George Paton and Cardinals VP of player personnel Terry McDonough continue to reside as the de facto finalists after the Jed York-led nine-man search. New candidates could include Falcons director of football operations Nick Polk or Jaguars director of player personnel Chris Polian. La Canfora mentions former Browns executive Morocco Brown, who worked with Kyle Shanahan in Cleveland, and Redskins exec Alex Santos as options if the 49ers indeed reopen this search.

In addition to York’s involvement in the search, outside trepidation regarding executive Paraag Marathe‘s influence has served as a factor during this lengthy process as well, La Canfora notes.

La Canfora also passes along that Shanahan would likely receive control over the team’s 53-man roster if he’s hired to become the next head coach as expected, describing the upcoming scenario as the new GM essentially reporting to the coach. This also contradicts a previous San Francisco direction, with word coming out the Atlanta OC was comfortable working alongside a GM and didn’t need control over the roster.

The 49ers are now potentially competing for executives with the Colts, who fired GM Ryan Grigson over the weekend. Indianapolis is eyeing internal candidate Jimmy Raye III, whom the 49ers interviewed but didn’t categorize as a finalist, as an early frontrunner for the job.