Super Bowl MVP Doug Williams gets promotion, but there’s still no GM in Washington

Washington fired general manager Scot McCloughan in March. On Tuesday, the team came as close as it likely will to filling the role this season when it promoted Doug Williams, Super Bowl XXII MVP, to senior vice president of player personnel.

Team president Doug Allen has been in charge of roster decisions, but now those decisions will be a collaboration between Allen, head coach Jay Gruden, and Williams.

The plan Williams presented to the team did not include the general manager title.

Williams was the first black quarterback to play in a Super Bowl when he led Washington to a win in Super Bowl XXII. Washington beat the Denver Broncos 42-10, and Williams earned MVP honors. He is entering his fourth season with the team’s front office. Before that, he was the head coach at his alma mater, Grambling State, and spent time with the Buccaneers as a personnel executive. He also served as the general manager for the Virginia Destroyers in the UFL.

“My job is to get Jay (Gruden) football players, and that’s what we’re going to do,” Williams said of his promotion via the team’s Twitter account.

After McCloughan’s contentious firing, Washington never conducted a regular search for a general manager. Director of college scouting Scott Campbell, director of pro personnel Alex Santos, and Williams each took on more responsibility, however.

The team is currently working toward a long-term deal with quarterback Kirk Cousins. Allen said in May that the negotiations with Cousins are ongoing and that the league’s July 15 deadline to sign franchise-tagged players to long-term deals is “the driving point,” via the Washington Post’s Master Tesfatsion.