ASHBURN, Va. -- Washington Redskins safety DeAngelo Hall said team president Bruce Allen pulled him aside one day last week and then brought over newly-promoted Doug Williams. He told Williams that Hall was “his guy.”
“He always jokes that I’m the assistant GM,” Hall said of Allen.
Someday, that could actually be the case. And, perhaps, without the assistant part of the title. Hall isn’t yet ready to retire -- he accepted a paycut earlier this month and, if he recovers well from last season’s torn ACL, he could end up playing a 14th season. His cap hit went from $5.06 million to $3.1 million (his base salary is now $2.3 million).
But he also has eyes on post-career plans.
“I see myself in a suit doing something,” Hall said. “I don’t see myself on the field coaching. I see myself in the front office....I feel I can see talent."
Hall could easily slide into some sort of broadcasting role as well; he’s smart, insightful and willing to deliver strong opinions. But those same qualities would transfer to a front office role as well. Williams, now the senior vice president of player personnel, is considered a shrewd person willing to give strong opinions as well. That’s not true of everyone in a front office, but it is a quality that former general managers say is necessary.
For Hall, helping build a team would be appealing.
“I’m not saying I’m a mastermind or Bill Belichick,” Hall said. “But when you play the game, or you’re asked to do other things, like Doug, you have a little more feel than the guy who has been in the office his whole life. I wish it was the NBA where you could stop and go be a head coach or GM like that. I understand it’s a process, but it’s definitely something I want to get involved in.”
As Hall has grown in the game, he’s gone from being a corner nicknamed 'MeAngelo' to a captain and now a safety. He’s had to learn the game from another perspective, giving him a wider range of insight. It takes a lot more than that to be a general manager, but it does provide Hall a solid base. Fellow safety Will Blackmon could be placed in the same category, someone who could go either the broadcast or front office route.
“I tell young guys this is my 14th year, and I’ve still got a pen and paper in meetings,” Hall said. “I’m still trying to pick other guys brains and see why they play things a certain way. The moment you stop learning is the moment you stop getting better.”
Hall, who tore his ACL in Week 3 last season, said he’s still not sure if he’ll be ready at the start of training camp. Because he’s 33 and has missed 31 of the past 48 games due to injuries, it’s fair to wonder what Hall has left. But the Redskins still like what he adds, assuming he’s healthy.
“He’s kind of been a mainstay here, and he kind of keeps the boat from sinking from time to time,” Redskins coach Jay Gruden said. “There’s some volatile people in that defensive back room, and he’s a calming guy, if you can believe that. He’s been great. He’s been a great leader for us. Unfortunately for him, injuries have shortened his season. Hopefully we’ll be able to get him back at a later date, but if we don’t have him back when we want to, at least he’ll be in the room and still have a major influence on the team and the defense.”
The Redskins signed safety D.J. Swearinger and moved Su’a Cravens from linebacker to safety. They also have Blackmon, who moved to safety last offseason and Deshazor Everett, who did the same. They drafted Montae Nicholson in the spring. Typically, the Redskins would keep five safeties.
“If he comes back at full-strength, we’ll see what he can do and where we are at the safety position,” Gruden said.
Hall understands the situation he’s now in, needing to prove he can still play.
“I’ve always been a guy who felt when it was my time to go, it’s my time to go,” he said. “If I can’t make a play, they won’t keep me around for my smile. When I can’t do what they ask me to do, I will be out of here. They still feel I can play; I feel I can play.”
And when those playing days end, Hall knows what he hopes comes next.