McCloughan described himself as a scout obsessed with finding and nurturing talent, not a mean cuss who craves a throne. He told Gruden that he wasn't interested in flaunting a hierarchy in the football operations department. McCloughan wanted a partnership, and though he had been given full authority, he told Gruden to operate as if they were equals.
"It's the only way this is going to work," McCloughan said that January day. "We're going to fight together through it."
If this all-for-one approach sounds too hopeful for a team often burdened by its owner's destructive whims, well, the skepticism line extends around the block. But it would be irrational to simply disregard this reinvention effort because, several years from now, the success or failure of McCloughan's tenure will be tied to how well he managed up and down the franchise.
The focus is on reconstructing the roster and changing the culture of a team that has finished last in the NFC East division in eight of the past 11 seasons. To do that with speed and efficiency, a similar change must occur within a front office notorious for its politics and disjointed leadership. The effort to alter that culture will make for fascinating theater.
Consider how McCloughan grew up in the NFL. He is a disciple of Ron Wolf, who is celebrating his Hall of Fame induction this weekend. In 1994, Wolf hired McCloughan as a regional scout in Green Bay, just as the Packers were about to hit their stride under the leadership of Wolf and head coach Mike Holmgren.
The way those two worked brilliantly together, with Wolf allowing Holmgren to share in his power and creating an unrivaled collaborative atmosphere throughout the entire front office, influenced every current GM who worked in the Packers' scouting department then. It's a sensational list that includes McCloughan, Ted Thompson (Green Bay), John Schneider (Seattle), Reggie McKenzie (Oakland) and John Dorsey (Kansas City).
A smile creased McCloughan's sunburned face last Monday as he referenced Wolf while discussing what he has learned about the structure of a winning organization.
"I was very lucky to start with Ron Wolf," said McCloughan, who planned to be in Canton, Ohio, on Saturday for Wolf's induction. "I'm still applying his lessons. The biggest thing is, you're only as strong as the sum of your parts. It's not about the GM, the quarterback, the head coach, the punter, the secretaries. It's about all of us. It's about working together. It's such a big game, and there are so many things that happen every day. It's such a vast business, and it's not about the individual talent of one person or two or three.
"I've learned that through some best practices. I've learned that the hard way, too."
At every previous stop, McCloughan has contributed to the building of a Super Bowl team. At every previous stop, there was dysfunction prior to arrival. He has yet to be the sitting general manager of one of those Super Bowl teams, but he has as much experience as anyone thriving in organizations that have chosen to flatten the organizational structure of their football operations.
His four seasons in Seattle, which culminated with the Seahawks winning Super Bowl XLVIII, represent the most dramatic example. Pete Carroll, as the head coach and executive vice president, has the final say on all personnel matters. But Schneider runs the show without much bickering because he and Carroll trust and understand each other. They're aligned in a mission to let young players compete for jobs, and the commitment focuses their draft preparation and ensures there are pathways for fresh talent to succeed.
Their collaboration has produced such amazing results that Paul Allen, the owner, doesn't feel the need to interfere. Neither does Peter McLoughlin, the team president.
Of course, there are differences with the Redskins' situation. Carroll and Schneider were hired in the same offseason, and they entered their partnership knowing it was a good fit. McCloughan arrived at Redskins Park a year after Gruden. And the man McCloughan replaced as the GM, team president Bruce Allen, is still in the building.
Allen reiterated last week that McCloughan is running the show, making the final decision on all football matters. Allen says he's there as an overseer and a sounding board, not a meddler. He has known the McCloughan family for about 20 years, working with Scot's father, Kent, and his brother, Dave, in the Raiders' front office.
"I've always known we'd get along because I got along with his family so well," Allen said. "The upbringing and the values are the same. It's really been seamless. We're all working together to get it done."
The beginning has been promising for Allen, McCloughan and Gruden. The team had a good offseason of making sensible, under-the-radar decisions. It upgraded the roster's overall talent while also focusing on becoming a bigger, tougher team. The moves weren't just a reflection of what McCloughan values. They fit Gruden's vision, too.
"It's a collaboration, no question about it," Gruden said. "That's the one thing I really feel comfortable with Scot moving forward. He takes input from everybody. Obviously, ultimately, he has the final call on who he wants to select, but it never really came down to, 'I want this' or 'No, but I want this.' Together, we always came up with a choice that we felt good about for the team."
Gruden's job security is an obvious question because Daniel Snyder has changed head coaches every two years, on average, since he has been the owner. But before McCloughan, Snyder hadn't hired a traditional GM who specializes in evaluating talent since firing Charley Casserly in 1999. As a second-year head coach coming off a 4-12 rookie season, Gruden has plenty to prove before he's anointed a full-fledged partner in this rebuilding firm. However, if they continue working well together, McCloughan figures to use his influence to champion patient evaluation.
McCloughan isn't afraid to have difficult conversations. McCloughan isn't desperate to have a job because, with his reputation, he could work in any NFL front office. He left the league for a year to start a scouting service, and he was able to charge each team $75,000 for his work. Employment isn't an issue. Building properly is the lone objective.
"I've been in this business long enough, and when I first got to San Fran and was running the draft and free agent stuff, we wouldn't have those difficult discussions because I didn't want it to feel like this young guy's coming in and trying to take over," said McCloughan, who is now 44. "But I realized, too, that we made mistakes not having those conversations. You can have big-time disagreements, but they're quality disagreements. And they might be heated. They might be hard. But have them because, when it's all said and done, it makes the organization better."
If you're worn down from this franchise's constant pursuit of rock bottom, you'll swear off this notion of collaboration. You'll sneer at the suggestion that a GM who has a history of alcohol abuse, a coach considered the other Gruden and a president mocked for saying his team is "winning off the field" can work together to build a winner. The motley trio isn't exactly Bobby Beathard, Joe Gibbs and Jack Kent Cooke.
But this building model is the same one that Beathard, Gibbs and Cooke used during their early years together to create a championship organization. Collaboration is in this franchise's blood.
"It's not about me," McCloughan said. "It's about we."
It sounds like some hokey line worthy of Saturday-morning television. Yet it's the most important factor in helping McCloughan's talent-evaluating genius translate to victories.
McCloughan isn't the savior of a lost franchise. He's good, but sorry, he's not that good. He can be its connector, though. He has a texturized understanding and appreciation of talent, including an underrated aspect.
"In the hunt for talent, you're never going to feel like you have enough," McCloughan said. "That's why you need everybody, on and off the field, to play a role. I'm probably going to make more bad picks than good ones; that's just the nature of the job. How do you overcome that? You have to create an organization that's sound in every phase of team building. And you have to let good people have the freedom to make the whole team better. It's an immense task. You can't do a thorough job without a philosophy centered around working together."
If McCloughan fails, you'll know to seek out divisiveness for clues why. If he succeeds, you'll start hugging and walking arm in arm with random people to mimic the synergy.
Or you'll lift your arms and rejoice that, finally, after so many mistakes born of ego and idiocy, the franchise has committed to mastering a seemingly simple, yet vital, art of team building.
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