Loudoun County business news and announcements

The Washington Redskins announced today that they have hired Kyle Smith as the team’s area scout for the Southwest region. Smith will take over for Chip Flanagan, who is moving to the Southeast region. The Redskins’ previous Southeast area scout, Bill Baker, is retiring after 22 seasons in the National Football League.
Smith entered the NFL as a scouting intern with the Redskins in 2010. He graduated from Youngstown State, where he was twice named honorable mention all-conference while playing wide receiver and punt returner from 2002-05. He ranks 11th in program history in career receptions (101) and receiving yards (1,534), third in punt returns (56) and fourth in punt return yards (377). Smith also owns the school record for consecutive games with a reception (30).
As a senior, Smith was elected a team captain and earned the team’s Most Valuable Player Award. Following the season he was invited to play in the 2006 Hula Bowl All-Star Game. Smith signed as a college free agent with the Minnesota Vikings, where he spent part of the 2006 offseason. In January of 2007, he was signed by Tampa Bay , which allocated him to NFL Europa’s Berlin Thunder. He later had practice squad stints in the Arena Football League and Canadian Football League.
Smith was born in Warwick , R.I. , and raised in Buffalo , N.Y. He currently resides in Dallas .
Flanagan has spent the last seven seasons with the Redskins, including the past four as an area scout.
Baker was with the Redskins the past two seasons as an area scout.
“We want to thank Bill for all he has done for us over the past two years and across the National Football League for more than two decades,” Redskins Executive Vice President/General Manager Bruce Allen said. “He is a highly-respected man and has always handled himself as a true professional. We are proud he could finish his distinguished career with the Redskins and we wish him and his wife, Paula, the best in retirement.”