Hiring opportunities for top NFL executives aren't rare per se, but they happen on a much smaller scale than the coaching carousel. For instance, during the last hiring cycle, 10 head coaches were either fired or resigned from their jobs by the end of the season. In contrast, only three general manager jobs became available.
Newsweek talked to various sources in and around the NFL about up-and-coming GMs in the league, seeking advice for who would make great candidates in the next or future hiring cycle and what those duties entail. Many of the names included in this article have extensive experience coming from the cap side. Almost exclusively, league owners pick general managers who come from the scouting side.
There's nothing inherently wrong with that at all, but there is something to be said for intelligent people who have a keen eye for data and numbers, which is becoming ever more valuable in the league in an AI world. Scouting is an important feature of the front office and shouldn't be discarded, but that becomes a fraction of the duties a general manager is tasked with. They have to set a vision for the organization and weather the storm when adversity hits.
Drafting is one of the most essential duties of a front office, but that can only get a team so far, even with a superb scouting department. The success rate in the league for a first-round pick is about 67% and decreases significantly for each round. Most new general managers will inherit a situation with bad contracts that need to be dealt with in order to make the team competitive quickly.
After all, that's probably why the guy before got fired. General managers who understand the true value of players can sign players at the appropriate cost, allowing the team to put more talent on its roster rather than overpay a player who might have slightly more talent, but would come at a price that prohibits other quality players from joining its roster. As salaries increase at faster rates than the salary cap, it's worth taking another look at the people who have made their expertise in data.
Two-time Super Bowl champion general manager Howie Roseman of the Philadelphia Eagles, who often gets credit as a cap guy (though he went on the road as a college scout and was put in charge of pro scouting), understands the importance of having a diverse background in any leadership position. Understanding the cap makes it much easier to build a team's foundation. More News: 4 QBs Generating Serious Trade Buzz Weeks Before NFL Regular Season Starts More News: ESPN Analyst: Lamar Jackson, Ravens Could Be Heading for Divorce "When you're managing the cap and dealing with contract negotiations, you're seeing the big picture and the vision of how to build a team, resource allocation," Roseman told Newsweek.
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