Former Washington G.M. Scot McCloughan recently was asked on Twitter to describe team president Bruce Allen in one word. McCloughan said, “Politician.”
Another word could now apply: Defendant.
McCloughan tells Liz Clarke of the Washington Post that a grievance has been filed for the 22 months of pay remaining on his contract, which Allen and the team terminated in March for cause. McCloughan will try to show that the team did not have just cause for firing him, primarily by poking holes in the reasons given for the move.
It’s widely believed that the team officially cited drinking as the reason for firing McCloughan.
“I know who I am and what I did there,” McCloughan said. “Did I build a Super Bowl champion? No. But I did a good job, along with other people there, of making the roster better. I did a good job, with [head coach] Jay [Gruden], in making the quarterback change” from Robert Griffin III to Kirk Cousins in 2015. “If it comes down to my past, it’s their choice, But I’m in a good place, back in my home town. I’ve got a great wife, great kids. We’re going forward. The past is the past.”
The grievance, however, makes the past a key part of the future, with the Commissioner eventually deciding whether Washington owes McCloughan the balance of his contract. And since the Commissioner’s contract is set by Washington and the other 31 NFL franchises, McCloughan is facing a stacked deck.