A read that should make you more informed.
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2018 NFL General Manager Candidate Study
December 28, 2017Leave a commentFront Office,
Long-Form & EditorialBy Dan Hatman
Recently, Albert Breer of MMQB released his
annual list of GM candidates. He (or maybe the editors) labeled it “the definitive list of future NFL GMs”, which led a few people to ask me who my top candidates are.
I love studying the process of how owners decide who they want to lead their football operations, but I say again (
in my annual tradition), I do not speak with owners (or agents for that matter) regarding the list below. This is NOT “my list.” This is the outcome of years of studying which candidates have actually interviewed for the position and my attempt to highlight what I have learned in that process. I have dear friends that I believe should be in consideration for GM opportunities that will be on the list below and others that will not. This is because this study is not about who I believe in, but who seems to have the attention of ownership groups.
I still believe we do not put enough time and attention into understanding all the things that can end up on the desk of the General Manager and the variations in organizational design that can allow for delegation of these tasks. The organizational structure of Ted Thompson and the Green Bay Packers does not look like the organizational structure of Bill Belichick and the New England Patriots and the same would be said for Pittsburgh, Baltimore, Denver, Seattle, New Orleans, or
any other team that has won the Super Bowl in the last 15 years.
If you want to learn more about what the duties and responsibilities of the General Manager position include, or what the backgrounds have been of those who have held the role, I wrote my Masters thesis on the topics and that work can be found in the
Villanova Law Journal.
What have I learned since we published last year’s list:
- General Manager hiring cycles are shifting. While historically most teams fire their GMs immediately after the season (see San Francisco last year), we’ve seen Indianapolis, Washington, Buffalo, Kansas City, Carolina, the New York Giants, and Cleveland all relieve their GMs of their duties in a different part of the calendar. Indianapolis and Washington made their moves prior to the draft, forcing their new decision makers to operate with even less time. Buffalo announced their move immediately after the draft, giving their new GM the entire calendar year to prepare for his first draft. Kansas City and Carolina made their moves during the summer and New York and Cleveland made their moves in-season. The conclusion: owners are not waiting until the end of Week 17 to make a move.
- The two biggest paths to GM are internal promotion or executive from a successful team with a college area scouting background. Those with a pro scouting background need not apply; dating back to 2010 only Dave Gettleman and Bob Quinn had a primarily pro scouting background. So, sorry Trent Kirchner, George Paton, and Louis Riddick. To try to understand this better, I offer the thoughts of former Seahawks and Panthers area scout Bucky Brooks:
- There are more candidates labeled as a “good candidate for GM,” than there will ever be spots. In asking friends in the business and reading pieces from reporters like Breer, a few common names come up, but everyone has three or four names that do not overlap. These differences account for the great variance in the hiring process. Much like no two teams have the same draft boards, no two owners have the same top five list of GM candidates.
So, without further ado, I present a list of General Manager candidates, clustered by background, and ordered alphabetically. There are links to their bios and quick one-liners on them below:
The guys on everyone’s list that no one thinks will move:
- Nick Caserio – director of player personnel – New England Patriots
- Eric DeCosta – assistant general manager – Baltimore Ravens
- Will McClay – vice president of player personnel – Dallas Cowboys
- Duke Tobin – director of player personnel – Cincinnati Bengals
The only name you hear might actually listen is Nick Caserio, who has interviewed for a GM position once (Miami – 2014) and
pulled his name out of the mix. There are rumors of a Caserio/Josh McDaniels pairing as they share an agent.
The guys on everyone’s list that have been taking interviews:
- Brian Gaine – vice president of player personnel – Buffalo Bills
- Known interviews: 2012: STL / 2013: NYJ / 2014: MIA / 2015: CHI, PHI / 2017: BUF
- Brian Gutekunst – director of player personnel – Green Bay Packers
- Known interviews: 2017: SF, BUF
- Trent Kirchner – co-director of player personnel – Seattle Seahawks
- Known interviews: 2015: NYJ / 2016: DET / 2017:SF, IND
- Terry McDonough – vice president of player personnel – Arizona Cardinals
- Known interviews: 2017: SF
- George Paton – assistant general manager – Minnesota Vikings
- Known interviews: 2012: STL / 2013: CAR / 2017: SF, IND
- Eliot Wolf – director of football operations – Green Bay Packers
- Known interviews: 2017: SF, IND
Last year, Paton and Wolf made the list of those who people did not expect to move on, but both were involved in the GM searches in SF and IND. The candidates above have worked the GM circuit, which only
increases their chances.
The guys on everyone’s list who have yet to interview for a GM position:
- Joe Douglas – vice president of player personnel – Philadelphia Eagles
- Alonzo Highsmith – senior personnel executive – Green Bay Packers
The rise of the Eagles this year has made Joe Douglas a very popular name in connection with GM positions after his tenures in Chicago (where he worked as college scouting director) and Baltimore (where he was an area scout and then national scout). Alonzo Highsmith has an extensive playing and scouting career and made the finalist list for the
Fritz Pollard Alliance, which promotes diversity and equality in hiring.
The guys who have been taking interviews and clearly have ownership attention:
- Kevin Abrams – interim general manager – New York Giants
- Known interviews: 2007: NYG / 2016: DET / 2017: NYG
- Joey Clinkscales – director of player personnel – Oakland Raiders
- Known interviews: 2012: STL
- Scott Fitterer – co-director of player personnel – Seattle Seahawks
- Known interviews: 2017: SF / IND / KC
- Chris Grier – general manager – Miami Dolphins
- Known interviews: 2015: NYJ, PHI / 2016: MIA*
- Louis Riddick – nfl analyst – ESPN
- Known interviews: 2010: PHI / 2017: SF, NYG
- Marc Ross – vice president of player evaluation – New York Giants
- Known interviews: 2010: SEA / 2012: IND, CHI / 2013: JAX, NYJ, SD, CAR / 2014: MIA, TB / 2016: TEN / 2017: NYG
This is not a group to dismiss offhand. They all have strong advocates and extensive interview histories. Chris Grier makes the list, despite the GM title,
as he does not have final say over the roster and from reports, is very much a candidate for a full GM position elsewhere.
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