After 11 years in the Washington organization, vice president of gambling personnel, Kyle Smith, stepped down to take a similar position at the Atlanta Falcons, becoming the second largest personnel executive, behind new general manager Terry Fontenot.
Smith’s departure comes a year after he was promoted to his current position and helped lead a successful recruitment and free agency period for Washington. There were rumors for several months about his possible departure.
Smith now joins a franchise that has fourth choice in the draft, a new general manager at Fontenot and a new coach at Arthur Smith.
His future in Washington became clear when the franchise recently hired Martin Mayhew as its general manager and Marty Hurney as the executive vice president of gambling personnel. Both have extensive experience in the NFL.
Smith was not interviewed for the position of general manager; the only internal candidate interviewed by coach Ron Rivera was professional personnel director Eric Stokes, who joined the team last summer.
One of the reasons Rivera said he was interested in coming to Washington was because of the projects the team carried out under Smith.
Smith, 36, the son of former Chargers general manager AJ Smith, has attracted the interest of several teams, a source said, although none were in the position of general manager.
Smith started out as an intern in Washington and, before his promotion in 2020, spent three years as a director of university scouting. He was an area scout for six years.
Washington also went from three scouts, according to sources: professional personnel director / advance coordinator Jeff Scott, who was promoted to this post at the end of the season; national scout Cole Spencer; and staff coordinator / professional scout Brian Zeches.
In the last off-season, Washington not only summoned Chase Young with the second choice, but also received solid contributions from other newbies, like running back Antonio Gibson of the third round and safety Kam Curl of the seventh. Among the free-agent hires were Logan Thomas, who established a career high with 72 receptions, and running back JD McKissic, who received 80 passes as the best career mark.
Washington finished 7-9 and won NFC East.