10 General Managers Across Pro Sports on the Hot Seat Right Now

General managers are among the most scrutinized contributors when a team succeeds or fails and the decisions they make are amplified and can have a massive impact on the progress of a franchise.

Just to use the NFL as an example, the Ozzie Newsomes of the world keep their teams at contender status nearly every season, while the Matt Millens set their franchises years back.

Here's a look at some general managers who are feeling, or are about to feel the heat across the four major American pro sports.

Howie Roseman: Philadelphia Eagles

After Tom Heckert was hired by the Browns in 2010, Roseman was bumped up to general manager.

This is somewhat of a unique situation. Andy Reid commands the most control over football decisions, and Roseman is tied to Reid as an adviser of sorts. It's hard to forget the flurry of moves the Eagles made last year during the shortened offseason, only to fall short of the playoffs.

The Eagles have had a lot of success for a long stretch, but if they suffer another season like 2011, it's likely that both Reid and Roseman could be sent packing.

John Hammond: Milwaukee Bucks

After winning NBA Executive of the Year in 2010, Hammond hasn't given Milwaukee much to look forward to.

The Brandon Jennings pick and trade for John Salmons helped the Bucks get to the playoffs for the first time since 2006.

Since then, Hammond hasn't helped the team much, especially in trades. Acquiring Corey Maggette proved to be pointless, as he was eventually dealt for Stephen Jackson. Jackson, along with Andrew Bogut, was again dealt back to the Warriors for Monta Ellis.

Hammond has a year remaining on his contract, and there's no telling whether Ellis is committed to playing long-term in Milwaukee. The Bucks seem to be in limbo, and Hammond may not have enough time to pull them out of the rut and make another run at the playoffs.

Jack Zduriencik: Seattle Mariners

Initially, Zduriencik made strides in Seattle. Cutting payroll by around $20 million and helping improve the team with an 85-win season.

Things were looking up for the Mariners. Then, Zduriencik got trigger-happy in an attempt to take the Mariners back to the postseason.

The signing of Chone Figgins hasn't worked out. Figgins hasn't done much since arriving in Seattle. The trade for Milton Bradley didn't pan out, either.

Zduriencik doesn't have much time left, with his contract only running through this season and next.

A.J. Smith: San Diego Chargers

Underachieving. That's the first word that comes to mind when looking at the Chargers' accomplishments under Smith.

After the fallout with Marty Schottenheimer, Smith brought in trusted head coach Norv Turner to run the show, who made a splash by getting to the AFC Championship game in his first year.

Since then, Turner has made the playoffs two out of four seasons.

Smith and Turner seem like they're on their ninth life and could be gone soon if the Chargers can't make it back. The Chargers had a solid draft in 2012. Perhaps that class will have an impact on the field; but as is the case with any draft, only time will tell.

It'll only get harder with the arrival of Peyton Manning in Denver, and improving situations in Kansas City and Oakland.

Rich Cho: Charlotte Bobcats

It really should be Michael Jordan, but he's the owner. He's brought pain and suffering to every team he's been an executive on. 

Cho has experienced decent success as an assistant with the Sonics/Thunder in the past, and became general manager with the Portland Trail Blazers in 2010, where he was fired less than a year later.

Jordan has been the focal point in the disaster that was the Bobcats' latest season. Though Cho may not be the one to blame, being historically bad isn't something that keeps anyone around for very long, whether you're responsible for it or not.

According to Mitch Lawrence of the New York Daily News, Jordan passed the buck to Cho and told him to begin a rebuilding campaign; but patience could be tested, as Jordan has also expressed some willingness to sell the team. 

Hiring a new coach and possibly picking at the top in the draft could help turn the wheels in Charlotte, but the franchise has a short history of missing every year in the draft. If the trend continues,  it's hard to imagine anyone sticking around.

Joe Dumars: Detroit Pistons

Dumars has had an exceptional run as the team's general manager throughout the last decade, but the last several years have been a letdown.

Perhaps the only bad move he made during his successful stretch was drafting Darko Milicic. He should get a lot of credit for putting together a roster that went to six straight Eastern Conference finals (2003-2008) and won a championship. All without an immediately recognizable megastar.

The Pistons have struggled recently with a couple failed coaching hires in Michael Curry and John Kuester, and finishing at, or near last in their division the last two seasons. The move to bring Allen Iverson was a massive failure, as he eventually left the team.

Dumars is among the most revered in Detroit basketball history, but it could be time to go if there is nothing to look forward to soon.

Gene Smith: Jacksonville Jaguars

After officially becoming general manager in 2009, Smith has yet to push the Jaguars over .500, with their best season coming in 2010 at 8-8.

With a poor showing for rookie Blaine Gabbert and a struggle to sell tickets, new owner Shahid Khan made a push for Tim Tebow. But Smith subsequently made moves to surround Gabbert with more talent. One of those moves was jumping up a few spots in the first round of this year's draft to pick receiver Justin Blackmon.

While Smith worked wonders by bringing in free agents in last year's shortened offseason to field a top-10 defense, the offense still needs a lot of work.

Also, Maurice Jones-Drew is reportedly missing OTAs because he's unhappy with his current contract, according to Pro Football Weekly. Though it's still far off from being addressed, this is something Smith will eventually have to deal with.

Only time will tell if new ownership, a new coaching staff and developing young offensive talent can keep Smith in Jacksonville.

Tom Heckert: Cleveland Browns

It still may be early to put Heckert on the hot seat, but he could be headed there very soon. He was brought in under newly appointed team president Mike Holmgren, similar to the situation in Miami with Parcells and Jeff Ireland.

One of Heckert's most visible moves was drafting Colt McCoy to be the eventual starter. Though, according to Nate Ulrich of the Akron Beacon-Journal, Heckert expects newly drafted first-rounder Brandon Weeden to take over. It's fair to question Weeden's age and how long he can be effective in the league.  

The Browns' latest draft will go a long way in deciding how successful Heckert can be. Both Weeden and Richardson will be crucial in determining whether they can kick start their anemic offense and begin competing again.

Daryl Morey: Houston Rockets

After becoming general manager in 2007, Morey experienced only a little step up in success from what the Rockets had before. They've have made two playoff appearances and won one series during his tenure, while finishing the next three seasons with sub-.500 records.

Morey has made some good decisions for the team in the past. Both Aaron Brooks and Carl Landry are prospects he drafted, but neither remained with the team.

His activity during the trade deadline and the offseason with player movement hasn't done much to drastically improve the team's position. Bringing in players like Kyle Lowry and Kevin Martin certainly kept the team afloat; but this year, both were unhealthy and unable to perform for part of the season, and are now unhappy with the current coaching situation.

It's fair to say Morey has been hamstrung with the contracts of Yao Ming and Tracy McGrady.

It took years to shed both contracts and now Morey finally has a significant amount of cap space and a number of picks to work with. But the Rockets can only wallow in mediocrity for so long. Making lateral moves to acquire assets for future deals won't do anything to bring them back in contention, and owner Les Alexander hasn't shown any willingness to "tank" to land a high pick to draft a potential superstar.

The upcoming offseason is crucial for Morey. What he's able to pull off now will determine whether the Rockets can pull themselves out of mediocrity, or ultimately implode. 

Jeff Ireland: Miami Dolphins

Since the departure of Bill Parcells in 2010, Ireland lost some grip, and the Dolphins slipped back a little from the progress they made.

The Dolphins couldn't lure Jim Harbaugh to Miami in the offseason and turned around and gave then current head coach Tony Sparano an extension, only to fire him the following season. Then, Jeff Fisher was the latest big-name coach on the market to reject their offer.

He also failed in signing a free-agent quarterback after making very public efforts to go after Peyton Manning, Matt Flynn and Alex Smith.

The Dez Bryant combine incident, when he asked him if his mother was a prostitute, didn't do anything to help Ireland's image.

Players didn't have nice things to say about him either. After congratulating Matt Flynn on signing with Seattle through Twitter, Ryan Clark tweeted in reference to Ireland, "It's my honest opinion. Not a good guy making decisions." Channing Crowder also put Ireland on blast during last season's Super Bowl, when he expressed his lack of confidence in Ireland during an interview on Radio Row.

Despite being mired in controversy, dealing with players and failed bids for free agents, Ireland seemingly has a new lease on life after using some core picks at key positions like quarterback and center, and bringing in new head coach Joe Philbin.

The competition won't make it any easier.

Buffalo made a big splash in the offseason, the Jets are doing whatever they can to stay relevant and New England is coming off of another season in which they won the AFC; but the Dolphins have a good defense and the re-emergence of Reggie Bush to build on for next season.

Though some of what has transpired the last several seasons can be pinned on owner Stephen Ross, he won't be the one ultimately held responsible. 

Pressure has been added by their recent decision to bring HBO's "Hard Knocks" to Miami this offseason. The magnifying glass is on them now and if they don't begin progressing soon, Ireland could be the fall guy.