Former Redskins general manager Scot McCloughan emerged Tuesday to finally speak about his rocky tenure in Washington, which ended on a bizarre note with his firing in March.
Instead of railing against the club, McCloughan was "remarkably upbeat and positive," as desribed by The Washington Post, during an exclusive radio interview with local WJFK-AM.
"There's good players there, and there's good character there, there's good chemistry there," McCloughan told the station. "And that's what I tried to build and build and build. I wish I could have been here longer to see it come to fruition, but I can't, so it is what it is. But still, I'm gonna pull for them. I don't have any grudge. It is what it is. Again, it's a marriage that didn't work."
Said McCloughan: "You know, it's too bad what happened here, but it was mutual. And there's a lot of good people in this organization, from the ownership down throughout the whole building. Players, coaches and [owner] Dan [Snyder] [were] nothing but great to us. It just didn't work out. And as you guys are well aware, it's a big business and it just didn't work out. I hate leaving there because I've got so many close friends, not just guys that I drafted but there's a lot of good people."
McCloughan's exit from Washington was bizarre from the start, as the talented player-evaluator was blocked from speaking with the press, absent from the NFL Scouting Combine and ultimately fired just as free agency launched. Reports emerged that McCloughan's alcohol abuse contributed to his release.
On the day McCloughan was let go, one player told The Post: "I don't know what their issue is with him, but all the players love Scot."
Having since reopened his scouting service, McCloughan still sees promise in the Redskins, calling the fans "incredible" and singing the praises of starting quarterback Kirk Cousins.
"And you know what, it's going to be a good team. Kirk's going to play his tail off like he always does, and hopefully they get something done long term, but there's guys around him that are just as special," McCloughan said. "It was so good to see in the weight room, in the training room, in the equipment room, the secretaries, the front office, the coaches. It's a good organization. It's a really good organization. It just wasn't meant to be."