General Managers Archives - Head Coach Ranking

Jason Licht, GM Of Year Candidate

By HCR Staff | January 19, 2021

No matter how good Tom Brady has been since joining the Bucs, and how well head coach Bruce Arians has led the team, you still need to have players to win.

And generally speaking, picking the players is the job of the General Manager.

Scouting is an all-year round endeavor, and its one reason why it’s so difficult for any head coach to also serve in the general manager role as well. The scouting operation has to be actively managed on a day-to-day basis, and the lifeblood of any organization is the successful replenishment of talent through the Draft.

Jason Licht is the Bucs General Manager, and in Sunday’s divisional playoff victory over the Saints, his value as a talent administrator was on full display. His NFL Draft selections directly contributed to the Bucs’ victory.

Left tackle Tristan Wirfs, wide receiver Tyler Johnson and safety Antoine Winfield, Jr. all were drafted this year by Licht, and all played key roles in the Bucs’ win.

Wirfs shut down the Saints’ star defensive end Cameron Jordan. Jordan’s stellar play led to the Saints’ regular season domination of the Bucs, but on Sunday, Wirfs held the upper hand when it mattered.

Johnson is a receiver from the University of Minnesota. He was a fifth round selection, and within the Bucs’ talented wide receiver group, it’s been hard for him to find the field. But on Sunday, with wide receiver Antonio Brown out, Johnson was forced into action, and he delivered. Johnson made a critical – and difficult – catch on 3^rd-&-11 that kept a drive alive, and which ultimately led to a late 23-20 Bucs lead.

Winfield, drafted in the second round, has played at a high level all year. On Sunday, he caused a key turnover when he punched the ball away from Saints tight end Jared Cook. The Saints appeared to be on their way to a ten-point, and perhaps seemingly insurmountable lead, but Winfield’s headiness reversed the momentum.

Licht’s judgment in selecting all Wirfs, Johnson and Winfield was stellar. Given the pandemic, every rookie had to have the discipline to make the adjustment to the NFL without any kind of traditional off-season or pre-season. Licht found young players who were able to make the adjustment, and elevate their play in the most critical moment, the playoffs.

Like any General Manager, Licht’s had his share of misses too, but to be fair, it’s a tough job as every move you make is in the open, and open to careful scrutiny and examination. On Sunday, Licht had his hits, and for that, we’re sure he’s a solid candidate for Executive of the Year.

HCR’S – Subjective – Ranking Of All NFL GMs

By HCR Staff | May 12, 2020

Recently, rookie Browns GM Andrew Berry claimed that in his view, Eagles GM Howie Roseman was the best GM in the NFL. Berry is an avowed ‘analytics’ guy, but his opinion clearly was subjective.

Notwithstanding that, he expressed to the NFL Network’s Good Morning Football show that “[w]ith Howie, I’ve said it before: I think he’s the best general manager, currently, in the sport. Very well-rounded skillset. I’ve taken a lot from in him, in terms of my approach to free agency, trades, general aggression with roster building, contract management, and then just overall people management and philosophy.”

That’s a strong recommendation for sure, but also revealing as to how Berry views the most important parts of his job – free agency, trades, roster building, contracts, etc.

We see the job encompassing those aspects, and more. But do we view Roseman as #1?

Here’s our current ranking (emphasis on current), based on our own subjective algorithm (which includes a panoply of factors beyond those listed by Berry):

Tier 1: Chris Ballard (Colts), Bill Belichick (Patriots), Kevin Colbert (Steelers), Howie Roseman (Eagles), John Schneider (Seahawks).

Tier 2: Brandon Beane (Bills), Eric DeCosta (Ravens), Mickey Loomis (Saints), Jon Robinson (Titans).

Tier 3: Thomas Dimitroff (Falcons), Chris Grier (Dolphins), Jerry Jones (Cowboys), Jason Licht (Bucs), John Lynch (49ers), Ryan Pace (Bears), Rick Spielman (Vikings), Tom Telesco (Chargers), Brett Veach (Chiefs).

Tier 4: Joe Douglas (Jets), John Elway (Broncos), Dave Gettleman (Giants), Brian Gutekunst (Packers), Marty Hurney (Panthers), Steve Keim (Cardinals), Mike Mayock (Raiders), Bob Quinn (Lions), Les Snead (Rams).

Tier 5: Dave Caldwell (Jags), Bill O’Brien (Texans), Duke Tobin (Bengals).

Unrated: Andrew Berry (Browns), Kyle Smith (Redskins).

The Post-Draft Undrafted Free Agent Process Needs More Honor

By HCR Staff | April 28, 2020

Once the draft ends, another process begins that is just as important, and that’s the recruitment of undrafted free agents. More undrafted free agents have made the NFL Hall of Fame than first rounders, so it’s not an insignificant process.

For the players that weren’t drafted, the 30 minutes or so right after the draft literally is the only real window of opportunity for NFL employment until the regular season starts. That’s the next material open window for an opportunity because that’s when most teams will hold tryouts.

So if you’re undrafted, and you miss getting employed right after the draft, you’ll have to wait a minimum of 4 months just to get another look, and that’s under the best of circumstances.

Every team goes into every draft with a process for signing undrafted free agents, although this year was slightly complicated by COVID. The recruiting of projected undrafted players and their agents can start as early as Round 5, and it really begins getting heated in Round 7.

During this time period, information is flowing fast and heavy. An undrafted player and his agent have to process all of it – what’s the depth chart look like, who is the position coach, what’s the scheme, how many players did they draft at the position, etc.

For a player who is undrafted, getting over the disappointment of not being selected is tough enough; now he has to sort out offers and choosing the wrong one can mean the difference between having a career or not.

Irrespective of when the recruiting begins and the commitments are made, mutual trust between the undrafted player, agent and team is critical to the process. This cannot be emphasized enough.

Why is trust important?

First, since paperwork isn’t consummated until well after the draft, everything plays out verbally.

Second, and most importantly, the undrafted player and the team are making plans for the immediate future. If each gives their word to each other – the team makes an offer that the player commits to – then the player can tell other potential suitors he’s made a choice, and the team can stop recruiting other players at the same position.

This is why trust is critical to the process, particularly to the undrafted player. He doesn’t want to go into the entire spring and summer being unattached – otherwise known as a “street free agent.”

But trust has been eroding in this process, and that hurts a lot of players.

Every draft year there are stories of deceit by a team or a player involving the undrafted free agent process. This year, however, we’ve heard that teams were particularly underhanded about it, so much so that agent Mike McCartney tweeted about it.

Teams apparently were much bolder with their deceit, and were pulling offers they had committed to, leaving players stranded, since they already had spurned other offers. In our view, fairly despicable behavior. We’re sure NFL GMs and head coaches wouldn’t want potential employers treating their sons or daughters in the same fashion.

To the general public, a spurned aspiring NFL player generally isn’t a sympathetic figure. But in the industry, they’re young men who’ve worked a long time to achieve a dream. They’ve just dealt with the disappointment of not being selected, and then to have endure further disappointment by a lack of honor by an NFL GM or scout or coach is just piling on.

There are better ways to conduct this process for NFL teams and their personnel. One fundamental starting point is to get into the habit of having actual behavior match the words coming out of your mouth.

NFL Head Coaches With The Most Authority On Draft Day

By HCR Staff | April 23, 2020

Draft day dynamics differ from team to team, and from a business perspective, it’s fascinating to watch how differently each organization operates.

Winning formulas have differed over the years; we’ve had dynasties where the general manager makes every decision (e.g., Al Davis and the Raiders), and we’ve had dynasties where the head coach makes every decision (e.g., Bill Walsh and the 49ers).

And we’ve had other successful organizations where the head coach and general manager shared decision-making responsibilities. (e.g., Tony Dungy & Bill Polian with the Indianapolis Colts).

No one has a monopoly on good ideas when it comes to operational structure, and in our view, it all comes down to the talent and personality (and ego) of the individuals involved.

Team owner preference plays an important role in determining the organizational and decision-making structure of a team. In the old NFL, owners were expected to simply write the checks and stay out of the way. It’s not that way anymore as the modern owner, with greater frequency, comes from the corporate world, and they often bring their own bag of tricks and beliefs regarding organizational structure.

So as we analyze the input of head coaches on draft day, imagine a spectrum. On the left end is a GM-centric model where the head coach has little to no input. On the right end is a Head Coach-centric model where his decisions are final.

Most teams are in the middle of the spectrum, but they definitely lean more toward one end or the other.

Going into this Draft, here are the head coaches with the most authority, in our view (and in no particular order):

Bill Belichick, Patriots. Full, undiluted authority. The NFL’s version of a combo King-Pope, rolled into one. Perceived ultimate power and infallibility (emphasis on ‘perceived’).

Bill O’Brien, Texans. The last season was Shakespearean; O’Brien somehow purged anyone with any power and left himself standing. Of course, he learned some tricks from the King-Pope in New England, so this isn’t surprising.

Jon Gruden, Raiders. Yes, GM Mike Mayock is a strong personality who knows players, but make no mistake, it’s all Gruden’s show. Gruden has a very specific vision, and no one is going to get in his way as he tries to implement it.

Sean Payton, Saints. The Saints have a GM in Mickey Loomis, but Payton has the juice to come up with the vision and the pull to get the pieces he wants. It was Payton that picked up Taysom Hill, and it was his vision to turn Hill into a valuable asset in all phases of the game.

Matt Rhule, Panthers. Rhule would not have taken the job unless he was given full authority, and notwithstanding GM Marty Hurney’s title, Rhule is going to call every shot from here on out. He’s a proven program builder, and that’s the reason successful hedge fund trader and Panthers owner David Tepper wanted Rhule in the first place. Tepper’s a Wall Street expert when it comes to assessing financial risk, and he’s putting his chips on Rhule. Rhule’s got a smidgen of NFL experience, but his virgin tour as an NFL head coach is starting in the league’s toughest division.

The NFL Draft Brand Protection Game That’s Played By General Managers

By HCR Staff | April 16, 2020

The NFL Draft is the league’s biggest offseason production and it commences next week. NFL fans have shown an increasing appetite for the ‘entertainment’…even though that entertainment, at its essence, is about someone’s name simply getting called.

Nevertheless, absent COVID-19, we’re sure that if the live event were held this year in Las Vegas, attendance would have been incredible.

One of the aspects we like about the draft is all the “branding” the General Managers practice. It’s a forum perfectly suited to present themselves as winners and the smartest guy in the room.

Every selection, and the reasoning behind it, must be presented as a “win.” On Draft day, we obviously don’t know how productive the drafted player will be, but nevertheless, the selection will be presented as a victory for the organization.

Why? It helps the General Manager look good. They’re branding, and they’re immunizing right then and there, because if the drafted player doesn’t pan out, it’s on the player, or the coach.

It’s not going to be the fault of the General Manager, whose primary day job is avoiding accountability.

Yes, this sounds harsh, but it’s how most – not all – General Managers operate in our view.

Consider this: how often during an NFL Draft post-selection interview with a General Manager do you hear the General Manager say “we can’t believe this player fell to us”?

Or, “I have to credit my staff; we had a plan, and the plan worked perfectly, and the Draft broke exactly the way we planned.”

No one, and we mean no one, ever says “hey, it’s a crap shoot, and we have no idea if he’ll be a great player for us or not.”

You’ll also never hear a General Manager tell an owner “hey, I cost you 30 million dollars with a bad choice. I’m accountable. I’ll fire myself, and you don’t have to pay me the rest of my contract.”

They’d never say that because it strips away the thin veneer of an appearance of special, guru-level football acumen.

So as you enjoy the Draft, you might as well make it more fun by making a drinking game out of these branding phrases (which others might call “CYA”). Just make sure you have more than a six pack on hand. You’ll need it.

Opinions expressed are solely of the author and do not express the views or opinions of Headcoachranking.com.