Bruce Allen is Redskins GM

Bruce Allen, the first person to hold the title of general manager under Redskins owner Daniel Snyder, brings with him a record of building Super Bowl-caliber rosters and a direct link to the team's prouder days when his father, George, was the coach.

The Washington Redskins brought back a familiar name and dusted off a long-unused title Thursday in a major front office shake-up, the first of many anticipated changes resulting from a losing season.

"It's exciting because of the history, the tradition, the comfort about coming home," said Allen, whose father coached the Redskins from 1971-77 and whose brother has served Virginia as both governor and U.S. senator.

Out the door goes Cerrato, Snyder's right-hand confidant for most of the past decade and the executive vice president of football operations for the last two seasons.

It was said he resigned, but, "I think the best way to put it," Snyder said, "is it was time for a change."