NFL Rumors: NFLPA Executive Director Search Described as 'So Secretive' by Insider

As DeMaurice Smith enters his final term as executive director of the NFL Players Association, the union has been in the midst of a quiet search for his successor.

However, Mark Maske of the Washington Post reports that some close to the process feel that the search has been too quiet.

"It's so secretive," a person connected to one candidate told Maske recently. "It's hard to get any information."

A prominent agent also told Maske he had heard "absolutely nothing" about whom the NFLPA plans to hire as Smith's successor.

Smith has served in his role as NFLPA executive director since 2009. As part of his most recent election to stay in his position, his final term would last for anywhere from one to five years under the NFLPA's election rules.

At the time of his most recent election, Smith said in a statement that he "shared with the players that I wanted this to be my last term as their Executive Director and that I wanted to stay to ensure that we have a succession plan which puts the NFLPA in the strongest possible position after I leave."

Maske noted that former players Domonique Foxworth, Kellen Winslow Sr. and Matt Schaub were once under consideration to be Smith's successor, but they are no longer candidates and it's unclear whether any of them would be reconsidered.

While The Athletic's Jim Trotter reported last month that none of the internal candidates were among the finalists for the position, Maske stated that Don Davis has "reemerged as a prospective candidate" as of last week, according to someone connected to the process. Davis is a former NFL player who is now the union's senior director of player affairs and a senior adviser to Smith. David Feher, an outside attorney for the NFLPA, has also been named as a possible contender, but he's said not to be pursuing the job.

There was also speculation that the process could end with the players unable to agree on a successor and Smith remaining in his position if he's willing to stick around for a few more years.

"I don't think the job is going to leave the building," one person connected to the search told Maske.