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Come Fan with UsTuesday, August 4, 2026

A.J. Smith hired by Redskins as senior executive

Smith joins the Redskins after getting fired by the Chargers earlier this year.

Kent Horner

The Washington Redskins announced Wednesday they have hired A.J. Smith as a senior executive, according to the team's official Twitter account.

It was reported last week that Smith and the Redskins had reached a deal. Smith had other offers on the table, reportedly, and had interest from the New England Patriots and Kansas City Chiefs, too.

Smith is the former general manager of the San Diego Chargers. He was fired after the 2012 season after spending 10 years as the team's GM.

Under Smith’s guidance, the Chargers went to the playoffs five times in his 10 seasons. The Chargers made all five playoff appearances in a stretch of six seasons between 2004 and 2009. The team only failed to make the playoffs in 2005 in that stretch when they went 9-7.

In 2012, the Chargers went 7-9 and missed the playoffs for the third-straight season.

Smith joins his son Kyle, who has been an area scout the last two seasons for the Redskins.

The Chargers hired Tom Telesco to replace Smith earlier this year.

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