WASHINGTON — It was a bad day at the office for the Redskins. As NFL free agency opened on Thursday, the Redskins announced the firing of general manager Scot McCloughan and lost three key players to other teams.

While DeSean Jackson and Chris Baker signed with the Buccaneers, and Pierre Garcon left for the 49ers, fans were also forced to digest the quick end of McCloughan’s brief tenure in charge of the Redskins football decisions.

Fans are steamed. When hired in January 2015, McCloughan was viewed by the Burgundy and Gold faithful as a franchise savior and, in essence, he was sold that way. At McCloughan’s introductory news conference, Redskins president Bruce Allen called it the day the Redskins “are going to get better.”

Allen was right. After two dreadful seasons in 2013 and 2014, the Redskins won the NFC East. While the team’s bid for consecutive playoff appearances for the first time since 1992 came up short this past season, another winning record was produced, and with it hope for the future.

Now there is concern for the future of the Redskins on the field. McCloughan, who had success in the front offices of the 49ers and Seahawks, seemed like the man with the plan, the master architect just beginning construction of something that would last.

It is curious, then, that McCloughan’s run in Washington has come to an abrupt end.

The Washington Post cited an anonymous official with direct knowledge of the situation who said McCloughan’s problems with alcohol played a role in his firing. The Redskins said they would have no further comment on McCloughan’s departure.

Instead, the comments will continue to come mostly from angry fans starting to wonder why they bother to care so much.