NFL Insiders Talk Best and Worst of Multiple GM Job Openings

Last offseason, one NFL general manager was hired. This offseason, it will be at least four, replacing those who have been fired since the 2020 season began: Houston's Bill O'Brien, Atlanta's Thomas Dimitroff, Jacksonville's Dave Caldwell and Detroit's Bob Quinn.

"It's a pattern now," says one scouting director. "This is unheard of, the way they have done it so far this year even with the pandemic. People weren't expecting that because of the changes people had to adapt to. But it happened to four teams, and there are still teams [to go]." 

And there was already one preexisting opening: Washington, which does not have a general manager in title.

As for any firings to come, all the sources interviewed for this story agreed that Chicago's general manager job is likely to become available. "The Bears could come open," says one NFC personnel executive. "Which they should, because anyone who picked Mitch Trubisky over [Deshaun] Watson and [Patrick] Mahomes ... I still can't believe that." 

Sources also agreed Giants general manager Dave Gettleman's job looks safe this year. The Eagles came up as another spot as they speculated either general manager Howie Roseman or head coach Doug Pederson might be fired after the season. 

The current general manager openings feature a range of pros and cons. There are expensive veteran quarterbacks, a young franchise quarterback and no quarterbacks of note at all. There's great cap space and great cap debt—particularly notable this time around with the salary cap expected to decrease by 11.2 percent, according to Over the Cap's estimate.  

Of the four new openings, three also feature the ability to have a say in the hiring of the head coach.

Bleacher Report asked around the league to find out what those on the difficult path to a coveted general manager position might think about each of the openings. Which job is the most attractive? Five sources opted to rank them, while others chose to simply list pros and cons.

The following is a compilation of those sources' rankings and commentary for the Falcons, Jaguars, Lions and Texans. 

We're sticking with the new openings and leaving out Washington, where several sources expect vice president of player personnel Kyle Smith to be promoted to general manager. (But if that doesn't happen? Then most of the sources would put the Football Team at the bottom of the list.)

Eric Christian Smith/Associated Press/Associated Press

1. HOUSTON TEXANS

Owner: Cal McNair

Head coach: TBD; Romeo Crennel is interim

QB: Deshaun Watson

2020 W-L: 4-8

Projected 2021 cap space, per Over the Cap: $11,050,834 over the cap

2021 draft note: No first- or second-round picks but seven picks in Rounds 3-7. 

Houston received three first-place votes, so the Texans claim the top spot.

Franchise quarterback Deshaun Watson, age 25, is the reason voters picked Houston as the most inviting opportunity. With a proven young quarterback in place, the job is a lot easier. 

"To have a guy in place, that means you are just adding pieces around him," says the NFC personnel executive. "That alleviates a lot of headaches; you are ready to win right now with a QB."

The downsides in Houston include a glaring lack of high draft capital in 2021 and a small, five-member 2020 rookie class that hasn't had much impact on the field this season. Former head coach and general manager Bill O'Brien hamstrung his successor by trading away top 2021 picks and assembling the league's most expensive 2020 roster. 

"You literally have nothing, and you have just chaos, it seems like," says one executive who ranked Houston third behind Jacksonville and Atlanta. "Not saying that is a bad job, but you really don't have much."

The chaos this executive references is the recent turnover in the personnel department and confusion as to the role of Jack Easterby, Houston's executive vice president of football operations.

Easterby's rise to that role is a mysterious one. He doesn't have a background in personnel and began his NFL career in a chaplain role for the Chiefs. He then spent six seasons as New England's character coach before joining Houston in 2019 as the team's executive vice president of team development. He was promoted to executive vice president of football operations in January and continues to gain power.

John McClain of the Houston Chronicle reported in October that Easterby is Houston's interim general manager until a new one is hired. McNair has since reiterated that he'll make the final decision on the next general manager, that it won't be Easterby and that the general manager will be involved in hiring the head coach. 

"The biggest question mark in Houston is the Easterby factor," says another NFC executive. "My experience with these team chaplains: Almost every one I have met is shady and has other aspirations, and his has just become public." 

Sources agreed that Houston has the most confusing power structure of the current openings and any candidate interviewing there will need to ask a lot of questions to determine Easterby's main role and what that working relationship will look like. 

Sources also pointed out that in regard to the financial finagling that will need to be done, some tough decisions need to be made with big veteran contracts. Watson's $160 million extension goes into effect after the 2021 season, and that's a huge future cap hit to plan around.  

But whatever the price, you've got a quarterback.

"He's really, really good, and he's gotten better," says the personnel executive. "So that's the biggest selling point." 

Wade Payne/Associated Press/Associated Press

2. JACKSONVILLE

Owner: Shahid Khan

Head coach: Doug Marrone, for now

QB: TBD

2020 W-L: 1-11

Cap space: $79,676,992, the most in the league

2021 draft notes: Likely top-three pick in the first round (second overall if the season ended today) and another first-round pick from a trade with the Rams (currently 26th)

The Jaguars received one first-place vote and four second-place votes.

"As crazy as it sounds, it might be Jacksonville [as the best opportunity]," says the executive who ranked Houston third. "They have an owner who actually wants to win, no state income tax. You have a bunch of cap space, and you have a lot of picks." 

The most enticing positive is the possibility of drafting Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence at No. 1. If the Jets keep hold of that first overall pick, Jacksonville will still have a high enough pick to land the next-best rookie quarterback. 

"It has the best blank slate," says one personnel executive. "You have a lot of money, draft capital and some good young players, so from that perspective, you have the chance to make it your own. From a purely scouting standpoint, it's great." 

That executive also says the Jaguars have the least talented roster of the bunch, so the ample cap space will be put to use. And during a year in which cap space will likely be reduced, scouts agreed that's a huge draw for Jacksonville.

"Three years ago, they had a lot of big names, particularly on defense, and those guys are no longer there," the scouting director says. "The previous regime tried to rebuild young, which allowed them to have a little bit more money in their cap." 

"The coach has to go, and offensive talent is sparse," says a veteran scout. 

A draw for Jacksonville is owner Shahid Khan, who sources say is hands-off and willing to go all-in to win.

"You can't be Jerry Jones. You can't be Dan Snyder early in his career. You got to let people do their jobs," says the NFC personnel executive. "That's what is interesting about Jax." 

Khan has a reputation for giving general managers time to build. All sources for this story say he is patient, which is a huge key to success. Fired general manager Dave Caldwell had seven-plus seasons in the role. 

One question is Khan's son, Tony Khan, senior vice president of football administration and technology, as well as a part-owner. Last offseason, he got into a public Twitter feud with then-Jaguars defensive end Yannick Ngakoue over a trade demand, and some sources wondered what his involvement would be going forward. He also has roles with Fulham FC and All Elite Wrestling.

Charles Rex Arbogast/Associated Press/Associated Press

3. DETROIT 

Owner: Sheila Ford Hamp

Head coach: TBD; interim is Darrell Bevell

QB: Matthew Stafford

2020 W-L: 5-7

Cap room: $14,611,410

2021 draft note: 12th pick right now

The lone first-place vote for Detroit came from a veteran evaluator who likes Matthew Stafford. He ranked the Lions above the Jaguars because of Detroit's longer franchise history and above Houston because of the draft capital and the Houston "wild card" of Easterby. 

"The foundational organizations give some psychological benefit, so I think [the most attractive] is Detroit," he said. "From a pure 'analytical' standpoint, yes, Jacksonville is quite attractive." 

Similar to Jacksonville ownership, Detroit's Ford family has a hands-off reputation. Controlling owner Sheila Ford Hamp took the reins from her mother, Martha Firestone Ford, in June, and she's already established a reputation as level-headed. 

Detroit's biggest draw and question is Stafford. There were mixed reviews on the question of keeping the quarterback or trading him. All sources agreed the 32-year-old is talented and would generate a ton of trade interest and possible compensation. 

The veteran scout said the Lions should start over and trade Stafford, an expensive veteran, because there are too many needs on the rest of the roster.

"I think the majority of people would want to keep him," says the personnel executive. "It just depends on what the options are in the draft. If you didn't like him, it's a very tradable contract, and I think you would have a lot of takers." 

The NFC personnel executive cautions against the trade option: "You need to put good pieces around him, so Matt Stafford can say this isn't the same old Detroit. Where are you going to go at quarterback? Where do you go? If you get rid of him, what do you do?" 

The job may be best suited for an experienced candidate since the pressure will be high to turn around a franchise that hasn't won a playoff game since 1991 and is coming off a Bob Quinn and Matt Patricia regime that was roundly criticized by former players.

Patricia and Quinn, both former Patriots employees, tried and failed to install the Patriot Way in Detroit. Patricia butted heads with many talented veterans who didn't respond to his harsh coaching style and long list of rules. 

"It's tough to walk in where there has been public issues and discord," says the veteran scout. "That means s--t is even worse once you get there."

"They have had no excitement in that city. They need somebody to come in with some pizazz. They need somebody the community looks at and says, 'This is our guy,'" says the NFC personnel executive. "There are a whole bunch of things you have to be in Detroit in order to succeed there, and it's going to take somebody with a big personality, willing to roll up his sleeves, get out into the community and bring the whole city of Detroit back to football." 

Danny Karnik/Associated Press

4. ATLANTA 

Owner: Arthur Blank

Head coach: TBD; interim is Raheem Morris

QB: Matt Ryan

2020 W-L: 4-8

Cap room: $25,254,296 over the cap, third-worst in the league

2021 draft note: Eighth pick if the season ended today

The Falcons didn't receive any first-place votes, and they got just one second place and a mix of third and fourth places.

"It's almost the opposite [of Jacksonville] in that you're kind of in a salary-cap hell," says the personnel executive.

A big part of the job will be cutting, trading and moving on from big contracts. Receiver Julio Jones and quarterback Matt Ryan are the two biggest cap hits this season and next season, when Ryan is due to carry a $40.9 million hit and Jones a $23.1 million hit. 

"You have some great players; you just can't move on from those great players if you wanted to, which I don't think you'd want to anyways," the personnel executive says. "There are some moves you have to make to get down to the cap, and neither of those moves is Matt Ryan or Julio Jones. ... Their contracts, you can't get out of them." 

The veteran scout ranked Atlanta over Detroit because of the previous regimes. "It's a similar situation with older and expensive QBs," he says. "But Atlanta is the more attractive situation because you would be actually following up good guys instead of a culture vulture like in Detroit." 

Several sources view Atlanta as a win-now option. That's partly because of Ryan, but Atlanta is also a spot where the next general manager needs to think about drafting a quarterback soon.

"You have a veteran QB [Ryan is 35] who is still a proven winner in this league," the scouting director says. "Maybe you can bring in a young quarterback through the draft and train them, similar to what Green Bay normally does." 

Kalyn Kahler covers the NFL for Bleacher Report. Follow her on Twitter for NFL musings and thoughts: @KalynKahler.