President Bruce Allen

Opening remarks:
"Well, good morning, good afternoon. Welcome to Redskins Park. Today's an exciting day for the franchise because we really feel today the Redskins are going to get better. Before we go forward, I want to just give you a little bit of the history with this young man to my left. I was fortunate to have worked with his brother and his father for a number of years with the Raiders. About 10 years ago, I was one of the people who called the 49ers to recommend him for his general manager job with the 49ers.

"Last offseason, Scot developed a scouting service and I'm sure we're one of the first teams to sign up for that service. At the end of this year, in conversations with Scot, [I] found out that he was interested in getting back into the saddle, getting back to what's in his blood and what he really wants to make his life work. And from that conversation, we're able to come to an agreement and bring Scot to the Washington Redskins. He's going to be in charge of all the personnel department and the personnel on this team.

"We picked Scot because of his great track record, but really, the way he describes a football player – the intangibles that he's looking for in a football player, the winning traits he has helped other teams acquire. With that, I'd like to introduce our new general manager, Scot McCloughan." 

General Manager Scot McCloughan

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Opening remarks:

"Thank you very much, everyone, for coming out, ladies and gentleman. First and foremost, I want to thank Mr. Snyder for the opportunity to come to a storied organization like this – five World Championships, many Hall of Fame football players, a really special fans base. I'd like to thank Bruce Allen as well for giving me this opportunity. I'm very excited about it. We've got some work to go ahead of us but that's why we do this. That's what the NFL is all about. If it was easy, everybody would be successful, and it's not.

"I felt very good coming in during the interview process last week. I, of course, have known Bruce for a while, but sitting down with Mr. Snyder for about five, six hours face-to-face and just seeing the passion he had in his eyes – the passion for the fanbase, the passion for winning, and if he said it one time he said it 20 times, that's all that matters [is] winning games here. And that really intrigues me because I've been lucky to be with two to three organizations, been to a couple World Championships, won a couple World Championships and seen how it's been done right.

"It's not just about me, it's about the individuals around this building from the personnel standpoint and from the coaches standpoint. I'm very excited, looking forward to it. There's a lot of work ahead of us but I strive for that. I'm going to outwork the next guy no matter what. I'm going to have great communication with everybody in the building that matters in personnel and in coaching, and when we make decisions, we'll make them as a group. We'll take ownership for the players and we're going to get better. I can't promise you it's in two weeks but I can promise you this – starting today, I'll do everything in my power to make this organization as strong as it can possibly be."

Q&A Session

On what drew him to the Redskins at this time:

McCLOUGHAN: "Like I said, I've known Bruce for a long time, and my father's worked with him. I respect my father tremendously. The one thing about Bruce is his entire life's been football. My entire life has been football because of our family members. Knowing his character, knowing his importance in winning and him being around winners as well, we go hand-in-hand. Me doing some personnel stuff, him doing the President-side stuff, I think it'll be a great marriage. I'm looking very forward to working with Jay [Gruden]. I've known Jay's family for a long time – quality people, quality football people. So, we're getting football people in the building and that's what Mr. Snyder wants. I think you get enough good opinions together and you work hard enough together, you're going to make more hits than misses. The organization is just going to get stronger and stronger each year."

On the timeline of his hire:

McCLOUGHAN: "Well, Bruce kind of mentioned it. Prior to the season when I started my Instinctive Scouting, LLC, he was the first one to jump on board. He said 'I'd love to have it, another guy here, another good opinion would make us better.' Like I said, I've known Bruce. I see him at All-Star games, we'd talk. When we got through the season, we started getting in contact again and he started pushing the envelope a little bit harder. So did I. He thought it would be worthwhile for me to come out here and sit in front of Dan, which I did. Like I said, it's the first time I ever met Dan face-to-face, and I didn't know what to expect. I left there saying, 'This owner has it. He knows what he wants and he's not going to waver.' The resources are there, and from my standpoint just being the Redskins growing up and just seeing all the tradition, seeing the World Championships, seeing the Hall of Fame football players and seeing the stadium sold out and just rabid fans, it all fell into place for me right now. I'm very excited to be here. I feel lucky to be here."

On how much roster change is needed to achieve his goals for the franchise:

McCLOUGHAN: "You know, as of right now, I've been here less than 24 hours. I have not done enough tape-work yet. I have a good idea about the roster and the players that are here. But for me, my style is very, very thorough. I'm not just going to make judgments right away, watch one game and say, 'OK, I think this guy can do this or that or that.' It's a work in progress right now, but I've got the East-West Shrine game, the Senior Bowl coming up in the next two weeks. Then, I'll jump back here, and I'm just going to grind the tape from last season. When I get a good feeling, I'll meet with Jay and meet with the coaches, and we'll start going from there. But as of right now, it would be way too premature for me to say anything about the roster."

On when he felt comfortable returning to pro football:

McCLOUGHAN: "You know, the thing wasn't ever about being uncomfortable. Like I said, my entire life – I've been in the NFL for 20 years, I grew up with my father who spent 40-something years with the Raiders, my older brother played and he works for the Raiders. It wasn't the fact of that. I've been thinking about the scouting service for probably five years. Getting through with Seattle, winning a Super Bowl – I thought John Schneider, who was the GM, I thought this was the time to give it a shot, see what happens. A lot of people thought I was crazy about it. I really enjoyed it. The good thing about it was, I wasn't as involved in the pro side with UFAs and RFAs [unrestricted and restricted free agents] this year, but I did a lot of college tape at my place back in the state of Washington. I have a pretty good feel for that now. I have a ways to go. I'm very excited about meeting the personnel guys here. I don't know a lot of them personally, but I come in here with positive feelings about them and we're going to go through the whole process of free agency, the whole process of the draft and then make decisions after that if decisions need to be made. But, I'm hoping to come in here, be around a lot of good people in this whole building. I can already feel the passion yesterday just walking through and meeting people. I can see smiles, I can see… there's no reason why this team can't win. There's no reason at all."

On his personal issues:

McCLOUGHAN: "You know, I don't live in the past, I really don't – even with my successes or my failures. I went through a family matter that was very tough, and I learned a lot from it both professionally and personally. It made me a better father, it's going to make me a better personnel guy because I've been through it. Some people in here have been through adversity. Mine was adversity. Honestly, I'm kind of glad I went through it to realize who I am and what I have to be. For me to be the best I can be, it's not living in the past. It's living in the future and going forward."

On his vision for the team schmatically:

McCLOUGHAN: "The bottom line from my standpoint being the lead personnel guy is football players. Everybody says, 'Well you need this, this, this and this,' which I understand. You know, a lot of times in pro free agency, you can address those needs a little bit, but I learned from Ron Wolf early on, I learned from Ted Thompson early on, I learned from John Schneider, you can never have enough good football players on your team. If you keep adding that, you're going to have your couple of two, three superstars that are going come out and become stars. The core of your team is built from probably five to 35. Those are the guys that are passionate, intelligent, consistent, competitive as all get-out, and all they want to do is win."

On saying football is "a big man's game" and if he'd consider making the team bigger:

McCLOUGHAN: "Definitely. I think at any position, all the sudden you get to February and January and stuff – especially playing in this kind of climate – you need big guys up front. There's going to be bad weather games where you have to run the ball 30-35 times. The places I have been, we've had success with big men up front, both sides of the ball. But, also it was Seattle – our big receiver, our big DBs in press. We'll get into all the schematics after I sit down with the coaches and go through that, but I think it is a big man's game, but I think it's a football player's game. It's not about the height, weight and speed. It's about consistency and being a football player every day."

On how McCloughan's hire helps the franchise:

ALLEN: "Last year when Dan made me President of the team, we were looking for ways to improve the Washington Redskins. It really was my responsibility to find any way we can improve the organization. What I did say last week was we were looking to add someone. We're looking for ways to add and change what we've been doing. When Scot became available and said he was ready to get into the saddle, that was really a no-brainer for us to pursue someone who has that type of talent. We believe strongly that with Scot's vision and leadership, it's going to help the Redskins win. That is our responsibility."

On who made the decision to hire McCloughan:

ALLEN: "As I said at the beginning, I've known Scot for a long time. It's absolutely my recommendation to bring him in. I think he's the right person for this organization right now to help us win. I did want him to meet Dan. I thought it was important not only for Scot to meet Dan, but for Dan to meet somebody who is going to have a critical role in the organization. Dan said, 'Do what you need to do in order to help this team win.'"

On his assessment of quarterbacks Robert Griffin III and Kirk Cousins prior to the 2012 NFL Draft:

McCLOUGHAN: "I don't want to get into any past grades, I really don't. I thought they were both productive college football players. They both had a lot of wins in programs that were good programs. But I'll leave it at that. Like I said, I need to get on this tape for now because that's three or four years ago. But I thought they're both high-character individuals that had a chance to be good NFL football players."

On his philosophy of give-and-take with coaches:

McCLOUGHAN: "Like I said, I've been around from Mike Holmgren to Mike Nolan to Mike Singletary to Pete Carroll. When we've had success, it's communication on a daily basis. It's not about the one individual; it's about the sum of the parts. That's not just dealing with Jay, but dealing with coordinators, dealing with position coaches, sitting with Bruce and talking contract-wise and all that. So it's a whole process that takes time but the one thing I do know – the one thing I'm going to strive for – is communication on a daily basis, whatever we can do to make this organization stronger. There's going to be disagreements and that's part of it. There's strong enough people in this building with enough backbone to say, 'Listen. OK, let's watch some more tape. I see this, you don't see that. Let's do it because that's what we're here to do.'"

On finding offensive linemen deep in the draft:

McCLOUGHAN: "What I know with our success in the past, especially interior linemen – not only that but tackles – there's good football players. Every time we make a pick in each round, one through seven, there's going to be a football player on that board that's going to be a good NFL football player. It could be a safety, it could be a backup center, it could be a special teams standout. Again, it's a process, but it's more a mentality. When you're talking up front, D-line [and] O-line, it's tough. You've got to get in there and get dirty, want to do the dirty work, you've got to be strong, you've got to stay durable and you've got to be smart. They're out there. As you're well aware, all these Division I schools, Division II schools, there's good football players out there. You've just got to find them."

On his relationship with the Gruden family:

McCLOUGHAN: "I've known [ESPN NFL Analyst] Jon [Gruden] a lot longer. I knew Jim [father of Jay and Jon] just from my standpoint of my dad being in personnel for a long time and meeting him before, both quality guys. My first time face-to-face with Jay was yesterday but you see the same tendencies – you see the passion, you see the intelligence, you see the fact that he wants to win and win now. It's impressive. It's an impressive family. That's why they've had so much success in their life."

On how Allen's role will change:

ALLEN: "Well, my new role is my old role and I'm the President of the football team. I'm responsible for everyone with the Redskins and it's my job to help improve this franchise and do everything I can to help everyone here be successful."

On what assurances he was given that he'd have the time and resources to succeed:

McCLOUGHAN: "Like I said, knowing Bruce as long as I have and the high character he is, and then sitting down with Dan for six hours at his house and going to face-to-face… We talked football the entire time, a little bit about food, but mainly football. I think one of the gifts that I kind of have is being able to read people pretty quick, read through the B.S., read through being serious. To see the passion in his eyes and the excitement he gets to talk about the organization and the fans and winning, it was an easy sell."

On his involvement in the search for a new defensive coordinator:

McCLOUGHAN: "It's Jay's call. The head coach hires the coaches. If he needs a sounding board at all, I'll be there, but the head coach hires his coaches. They work for him."

On the importance of the head coach and general manager being on the same page:

McCLOUGHAN: "It's very important. It's very important. Like I said, too, there's going to be disagreements and that's part of the process. One day I'm having a good day, he's having a bad day, and then all of a sudden we see something different, the next day could be the opposite. That's why the communication is so important. Understand, we're in this together. This is a family. We're going to win, we're going to lose together. It's not going to be me standing up there saying, 'I get to make the pick.' It's not going Jay standing up there saying, 'I make the pick,' or Bruce. It's going to be us. The more good opinions you get around yourself, the better chance you have of being successful."

On juggling expectations and patience in building a roster:

McCLOUGHAN: "Coming in here, this roster, from what I know about right now, was much more improved than the 49ers. We went through five coordinators in five years on the offensive side with a young quarterback. Things just weren't meshing but you could see each year we were adding good football players and you could see it in the offseason how hard they worked and how important it was for them to be a family and grow together. All of a sudden, they hit the peak and Coach [Jim] Harbaugh came in there and they took off."

On what he learned from Ted Thompson and Ron Wolf in Green Bay:

McCLOUGHAN: "The first thing I learned from both of them is to not dabble in free agency. It's always the draft. I'm a little different – I'm a little more aggressive than that. The thing about Ron and Ted both is [they're] just so organized, so structured and they knew exactly what they wanted in a football player. And you know what, every now and then they take a chance on a height/weight/speed guy and it wouldn't pan out. But all of a sudden, we're taking guys – five, six, seven interior linemen coming in – five- to eight-year starters going to a couple of Pro Bowls. So I think it's very methodical. You don't do knee-jerk reactions. You're very, very thorough, not just from the standpoint of how they play on tape but how they're wired. What's the strength coach say? What's the trainer say? What do other teammates who played with them the year before say? I think once you get the whole portfolio kind of together, then you realize, you know what, this is the kind of guy we want. This is the kind of guy we know is going to be consistent every day on the practice field. And you might not be the best athlete or the fastest athlete, but you know what, you get enough of those guys together, you're going to win more than you lose."

On how long it will take him to mold things the way he wants within the organization:

McCLOUGHAN: "I don't think there's an exact answer for that exact date. I just promise you this – starting this morning, I'm already doing everything in my power individually to make this organization stronger. The scouts are in there working right now, the coaches are out working, we're getting ready for All-Star games, we're getting ready for free agency, getting ready for the combine. You can't put an exact date on it but I know this, if you get the right people in place, it's going to be quicker than later."

On where he strikes the balance between the draft and free agency acquisitions:

McCLOUGHAN: "I honestly think the draft is the lifeline of your organization, but also you've got to understand with free agency that's a tool that you can use and you can use it in a positive manner. You know, you start dabbling too much in free agency sometimes, you're getting older guys; you're getting medical history. The thing I liked about what we did in San Fran, what we did in Seattle, we drafted our own, molded our own and re-signed the ones we wanted to re-sign. So all of a sudden now, you train them how you want to train them. See, in Washington, we're going to draft these guys and we are going to draft them and mold them as Redskins. We're not going to have to go out to other organizations and bring in 32 and 33 year olds who have different plans. I think the best case scenario is you draft and mold your own and re-sign your own. But free agency is still there to be used to make your roster stronger too. You can't lose sight of that."

On questions asked by Snyder and Allen in interview process to see if he was ready to return to the NFL:

McCLOUGHAN: "That's a good question. Again my past relationship with Bruce, I think he understands my track record, and again it's not all about me, it's about me being able to surround myself with good people to help me in personnel. The one thing with Dan which is incredible was just the fact that whatever it takes to win, let's do it, let's do it no matter what. They deserve it – the fans deserve it, the players deserve it, he deserves it. You know, just to see – when you see a guy's eyes light up like that and just see not aggression but you see him just get excited like a little kid, it was cool as crud, you know?"

On if he was asked any hard questions about his past and if he would like to share them:

McCLOUGHAN: "Certainly. I would rather not, that's a private conversation but no, he grilled me pretty good. I was expecting it and I'm glad he did because I want him to know who he's getting as well."

On his top priorities:

McCLOUGHAN: "Well, first and foremost, like I said for the next two weeks I will be at all-star games and then getting back here and getting to know this roster – going through the whole '14 season, meeting with the coaches as much as possible and just seeing what we think have and don't have. Now, when we approach this draft, you know right now we have the fifth pick. Again, I'm never under the assumption that you draft for need. You draft the best available football player on the board. You know people say, 'Well, if you have this and this, why would you do that?' Because, you know, in the long run, they are the ones who will help you win the most games."

On the culture in Washington:

McCLOUGHAN: "You know, I haven't been around this culture a lot but I do understand football, and the one thing about it is every year just one team is going to win the Lombardi. And with the salary cap, there is going to be parity. So the better personnel moves you can make in free agency and in the draft, the quicker you are going to be moving forward. And as you've seen every year, we got to Seattle and everybody was like 'Nah, a team from that region, they can't do it.' You know, it's a process, but again it's football players, it's communication and it's having a vision and having a coach in place that is going to stand in front of the players and say, 'Listen, this is what we are going to do, this is how we are going to do it and there's no ifs, ands or buts about it.'"

On if there is a particular draft pick in his career of which he is most proud:

McCLOUGHAN: "I would say it but he is under contract right now, so I can't."

On his message to young players aspiring to be Pro Bowlers:

McCLOUGHAN: "You know, same thing I've already mentioned a couple times, just the passion for the game, the passion to get better, to do the extra. There's a lot of tremendous athletes out there in college football, some of them that are so tremendous that they don't make it. Well, how come? And I'm lucky enough to be in this business long enough to realize, 'Well, this is this and this,' and others ones that weren't as talented who are still playing after 10-plus years. It's intelligence, it's toughness, it's competitiveness and it's just the fact to understand this is what I do for a living, I want to be the best."

On his message to the fans despite the "turmoil" of previous seasons:

McCLOUGHAN: "Well, if you're not winning games, there's turmoil everywhere, you know? That's just common knowledge. Just the fact that me being an outsider coming in – like I said, I knew Bruce – but to just sit down with Dan and to sit down with Jay yesterday, this place is right. This is my fourth organization, and like I said, I have been around a couple of good ones, this place is right. It is set to go the right direction."

On if he has any immediate plans to make changes to personnel department staff:

McCLOUGHAN: "Well, see, that's what I'm saying, I've been here less than 24 hours. Anywhere from the personnel standpoint I will go through free agency and through the draft with them, give them the benefit of the doubt and hopefully they can prove it. Talking to Bruce, he's got some guys he likes. Hopefully that pans out. From the coaches standpoint, I've just met with Jay, like I said, less than 24 hours [ago]. They're doing their stuff, but I plan on meeting with them and let them know that same thing I am saying here – it's about us. It's about us. I've got an open door policy. If we've got a disagreement, let's talk about it. No one says I'm right. No one says you're wrong. Let's get together and make sure we make the right decision for the organization."

On A.J. Smith's role:

ALLEN: "Well, I've had conversations with A.J. and I think A.J. might have an opportunity with some of the openings and we'll continue to have that dialogue, and Scot and I will see him at probably the Senior Bowl."

On what he learned about himself over the last year:

McCLOUGHAN: "You know what, the thing I learned the most is I still like to watch college tape and write reports but I miss the competitiveness on Sunday. I miss the one team you're with, you know what I'm saying? You get out there and the national anthem is playing, now it's ready to go play ball, I miss that. I'm 43, maybe when I get a little bit older in the 50s I can do the scouting service again but I want to get back in it. I love the competitiveness juice, love it."

ALLEN: "50s isn't that old."

* *

On how difficult it will be to infuse his philosophy into the organization:

McCLOUGHAN: "Well again, the past is the past. When I met with Bruce and I met with Dan, I laid my vision out. This is this, and not saying that it's right or wrong, it's the vision I know, it's the vision I have been around for 20 years. Again, there is no right or wrong way but they understand where I am coming from and they understand how important the draft is to me."

On how he looks at the NFL Combine as compared to a player's game tape:

McCLOUGHAN: "I think game tape is the DNA. That's it. You don't play in T-shirts and shorts. All these kids nowadays get these speed trainers and nutritionists prior to the combine and I don't blame them, if it gets them more money it gets them more money. I always go back to the tape. I have to. That's the way I was taught. You're going to see all of a sudden – Georgia is playing Alabama, it's fourth quarter, it's fourth and three, who wins on that line of scrimmage? That guard come off and get the play? T-shirt and shorts, you can't see that. They might be able to bench press 25 times, 40 times, you watch him on tape, the guy has no strength. So I think the tape to me is very important."

On if he can provide examples when there were disagreements about draft picks:

McCLOUGHAN: "Quite a few of them, and I wasn't always right either, I promise you."

On how the team complied with Rooney Rule and if there is still place in the league for the rule today:

ALLEN: "Yeah, I have supported the Rooney Rule for a number of years before it was the Rooney Rule and we did comply with it. You know, this was a different type of search. We considered a lot of people and wasn't sure what type of role it would be. We interviewed a very, very qualified candidate and another actually excellent candidate and the league says we've – what's the word you're using, qualified with the rule – as did John Wooten."

On where he stood on the quarterback debate in Seattle in the 2012 offseason:

McCLOUGHAN: "Again I don't want get into guys under contract with other teams. I can't do that. It's not legal."

On his history with coaches in San Francisco:

McCLOUGHAN: "I walked in, Mike Nolan had been hired two weeks prior to me being named Vice President Player Personnel and then we had a split after two – well, my second year that they named me GM and that following year I had to let Mike go and then Mike Singletary took over."

On the quarterback position:

McCLOUGHAN : "Well, from my standpoint right now, not seeing all the tape, any option is open right now. Again if we are going to draft somebody in the draft it's going to be a good football player that we agree upon."

On A.J. Smith:

ALLEN: "I think I addressed it earlier. We are going to talk to A.J. down at the Senior Bowl. I think A.J. has some opportunities with some of the other openings right now."

On the nature of his work with his scouting service:

McCLOUGHAN: "I cannot give the teams because it was confidential in the contract. I was going through the top 150 players, they had the bill to send 150 player any school any position, so that's what I did."

* *

On if training camp is under his authority and if his philosophy differs from the team's philosophy in holding it in Richmond, Va.:

McCLOUGHAN: "I just know talking with Bruce that he thinks it's a really excellent place to go to Richmond. That's all I know."

* *

On if he asked Snyder about his patience:

McCLOUGHAN: "It was brought up as a matter of fact – not by me, but by Bruce. And the answer was right, like I anticipated. It's very important to him, I'm just going to say that."

On complying with the Rooney Rule:

ALLEN: "We complied with all the league rules. That's why the league said it. When you're interviewing people for the general manager or head coaching position, it's a notification. We did notify them, and I talked to the team president of the New York Jets, Neil Glat."

On if the complaint was resolved with the league and the Fritz Pollard Alliance:

ALLEN: "I believe so, and the league came out with a statement that said we complied."

On if he understands the public's concerns following an ESPN The Magazine article detailing his personal history:

McCLOUGHAN: "Certainly. Again, I did that piece because Seth [Wickersham] I've known for a long time and people have been reaching out. I thought it was good to get the truth out there. I'm not ashamed about it. I went through a tough phase in my life with my family. I'll just tell you this, I grew professionally and personally and it's got me to the spot where I am today to be able to do this job. If I didn't think I could do it, I would not put Bruce or Dan in this situation whatsoever."

On if Allen was aware of McCloughan's personal struggles:

ALLEN: "I was aware when Scot was going through his situation. I did talk to him about it, and we had a very forthright conversation. We're here to support him, and he would not be taking this job if he thought that was going to be a concern."

On if he was in serious talks with other teams about their openings:

McCLOUGHAN: "Yes. I'm not going to go into what teams. The last two years I've gotten reached out to quite a bit."

* *

On if leadership and character contribute to team success:

McCLOUGHAN: "Oh yeah, no doubt about it. Even in pro free agency, you're always doing [scouting] that. The majority of people in here could sit here and watch a college game or NFL game and you could say, 'OK, those two guys played really well.' That's the easy part to figure out is the physical skills. It's this and this [gesturing to his heart and head] that you really have to get into. That's why the personnel department is so involved – especially on the college side because they're out at the campuses. They are talking to coaches, they are talking to trainers and all that. You're never going to know them 100 percent, but you can see things on tape – their aggressiveness on tape or their strength on tape – then all the sudden you get the area scouts coming in for our meetings and they're saying, 'Yeah, he's the No. 1 worker in the weight room. No one messes with him.' So, it starts coming together."

On if he wants to bring elements of the 49ers' and Seahawks' cultures to the Redskins:

McCLOUGHAN: "Green Bay was pretty successful, too, but yeah. From my own personal [experience], yeah. For the standpoint of X's and O's with coaches, no. I'll bring my philosophies that worked. Again, I've been very lucky to be around a lot of successful GMs, personnel guys that I learned a lot from. The one thing I understand the most is that you can't go into each year, 'OK, let's go in this direction this time.' That's what we did in San Fran and everybody was like, 'You have this talent. How come you can't win?' I said we're going to stick to this vision and things will get right and they did. But it's my own philosophy, and again it's right or wrong. I just know communication is huge. I know hard work is huge and I know getting high character, tough football players is huge.'

On what he looks for in scouts:

McCLOUGHAN: "Well, you want a guy with a good eye. But you also want a guy that, he's bought in to listen. I'm a Washington Redskin and this is who I work for. I'm going to do everything every day – even on the road because they're out of sight, they're out of mind – I'm going to do the extra to make sure I get this organization as strong as possible. Character is very important to me, honesty is very important to me, loyalty is very important to me. But it doesn't matter if it's a 4-foot-2 scout or an 8-foot-7 scout. If they can get the job done and make us better, that's what I want. "

On if he employed any 8-foot-7 scouts in his previous stops:

McCLOUGHAN: "No, if we did, they'd be playing."

On the ideal size of a scouting staff:

McCLOUGHAN: "We had when I first started six area guys, the director and over the top guy in Green Bay, and then when I went out to San Fran, I made sure I kept it the same just because that's what I knew from Ron Wolf. But then in Seattle we had seven and a director, so I don't think it's about the amount of numbers. You've got to make sure you don't spread them too thin. It's just about getting good people. It's about getting guys that are intelligent and they live for it. Their passion is the NFL, their passion is the Washington Redskins. I like disagreements with them. I like their opinions, especially young guys. I want them to feel like they're doing their job right."

On if there are any coaches in the playoffs the team might consider hiring:

McCLOUGHAN: "That's Jay's answer, that's not me."

On under whose jurisdiction facilities would fall:

ALLEN: "That would come under mine."

On how difficult it is to determine football IQ before drafting a player:

McCLOUGHAN: "From the standpoint of being instinctual, a lot of it is just off the tape and then from the standpoint of having football intelligence, a lot of that is the area scout going to the same school twice a year, three times a year, talking to his contacts or coaches on the staff and that's how you get that thing going. From the standpoint of instincts, you get a pretty good feel off of tape. You watch four, five, six games and the guy keeps making the same mistakes, you get a little worried. But all of a sudden you see a linebacker having 15-20 tackles a game, something's going right instinctually."

On the future of mobile quarterbacks and the zone read in the NFL:

McCLOUGHAN: "You know what, that's a great question. I go back and forth on that. I really don't know. The thing I do know, I've being around one that's lights out. But it wasn't so much from the standpoint of athleticism, it's more the 'it' factor – the instincts for the position, the intelligence. It's going to be the scheme that Jay wants to run and the coaches want to run. Everybody wants to go because now all these high schools are doing the spread, of course colleges are doing the spread, so they walk into the NFL knowing that as their base offense. It's proven to work some but also I think you realize with the injuries, they're considered running backs most of the time now. You've got to be careful because if you have one, you better have two."

On if there was a time when he wondered if he would get another high profile job in the NFL:

McCLOUGHAN: "No, no there wasn't. I just had to make sure it was right, for myself, for my children, that that's first and foremost for me. I didn't want to jump back in something if I wasn't ready for it. So I went through my process, I went through my scouting service and realized it's time."

On who will have final say with the roster:

"I have final say, but again, it's not going to be all about me. It's going to be a whole process. We'll come to a conclusion 99 percent of the time on the same person."