2011 NFL Draft: Power Ranking the NFL's GMs
The NFL regular season is over and many teams already have their front office personnel looking towards the offseason, whether it involves which free agents to sign or which players to draft. The general managers in particular are hoping to land great talent through the draft and are making sure not to ask any questions that they shouldn't be asking this year.
Most of us know who the good and bad players are on each of the 32 teams, as well as who the good and bad coaches are in the league. What may be harder to figure out is the good and bad general managers. Most of the good ones quietly build great teams and they are not really noted unless they're especially good or especially bad (Matt Millen).
The following are the 32 general managers ranked from worst to best. I expect many to find their own GM to be too high or too low, but it's not easy to determine the best and worst GMs when I'm sure many do not know who half the general managers are in the NFL.
32. Mike Brown, Cincinnati Bengals
1 of 32
The Bengals are never going to be a good team so long as Brown is the owner and the GM. For starters, he keeps Marvin Lewis around despite multiple bad seasons and a terrible off-the-field track record with his players. And for that matter, he continues to bring these loose cannons on this team.
Not only that, but you can look at the Bengals' season track record and probably pinpoint exactly where he took over. Yup, 1991. He's been GM 20 years and has two Wild Card losses to show for it.
31. Al Davis, Oakland Raiders
2 of 32
Congrats Al Davis, you're not last. Clearly, the owners trying to be the GM themselves works out horribly. We all know of Al Davis' antics, the worst of which was the entire Tom Cable situation. Davis made him head coach in a move that caused a riot among writers when he didn't seem to be qualified. We shut up after he brought the Raiders to an 8-8 season and the brink of being great again.
So what does Davis do? He gets rid of Cable and refuses to let us say he made a good call apparently. The Raiders will never be good again until Davis is gone from the team.
30. Jerry Angelo, Chicago Bears
3 of 32
The Bears have been, on and off, a very good team the past decade. This is entirely in spite of their GM since 2001, Jerry Angelo. Aside from keeping Lovie Smith the lowest-paid head coach in the NFL after a Super Bowl appearance, he also had running backs Thomas Jones and Cedric Benson, yet traded Jones and a year later was left with no good running backs while the Bengals and Jets were set.
Not to mention the Rex Grossman/Kyle Orton quarterback battle, which ended when he traded to get Jay Cutler, which hasn't been terrible but hasn't been great either. With the defense and special teams the Bears have, they should not be having any problems making the playoffs and staying there year in and year out. The blame only lies in one spot.
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29. Jeff Ireland, Miami Dolphins
4 of 32
Once you take Bill Parcells out of the Dolphins' equation, suddenly this team isn't all that good. What Ireland is known for at this point is the Dez Bryant situation, when he asked the draft pick if his mother was a prostitute. Now 2008 suddenly seems like a distant memory.
28. Trent Baalke, San Francisco 49ers
5 of 32
Baalke was just named the 49ers GM officially this week, so there's no track record just yet. He's got a big ceiling and could end up being very good, so here's hoping. The talent's certainly there in San Francisco.
27. John Schneider, Seattle Seahawks
6 of 32
The Seahawks have made nearly 300 roster transactions since Pete Carroll and Schneider took over this past year. Are they laying a framework for success or destroying this team? It's too soon to tell, but Schneider is someone to keep a close eye on. He could skyrocket up this list or end up stuck here depending how Seattle does the next couple years.
Yes, the above pic is Pete Carroll rather than Schneider.
26. Bruce Allen, Washington Redskins
7 of 32
Allen is a big improvement over Vinny Cerrato, but that's not saying much. He seems to be splitting duties with Mike Shanahan and Allen has the final say in football operations. Either way, this franchise is in disarray in the front office and Allen's caught in the middle of it whether he wants to be or not.
25. Gene Smith, Jacksonville Jaguars
8 of 32
Keeping a head coach who hasn't won much of anything in eight years is definitely the best move for a franchise, right? There's a fine line between loyalty/patience and wanting to win. You can't be overly patient in the NFL. It doesn't work.
24. Brian Xanders, Denver Broncos
9 of 32
Xanders seemed to allow Josh McDaniels to have too much power on matters he should have handled himself. With the latter gone from the equation, Xanders will be exposed as either a good or bad GM in 2011. For now, he should just be happy. I could easily have him far lower.
23. Tom Heckert, Cleveland Browns
10 of 32
He's only been the GM for a year, so it's too early to tell how good he'll be. If he's the one that had the final say on draft day (I feel like Holmgren has most of the decision making on players, though), then that gives him a lot of brownie points, as Joe Haden, T.J. Ward and Colt McCoy are all the future of Cleveland.
22. Rod Graves, Arizona Cardinals
11 of 32
Which is the real Rod Graves? Is it the GM who orchestrated the Cardinals' only Super Bowl run or is it the GM who got rid of the quarterbacks to bring in a guy who couldn't last one year and had to finish the season with Richard Bartel? Certainly the Cardinals are improved since 2002, so the rating may be harsh, but it's tough to trust any NFC West GM right now.
21. Howie Roseman, Philadelphia Eagles
12 of 32
This one may be unfair, as it's more of a gut feeling. The Eagles remain a great team despite all the changes and in his first year, Roseman seemed to do a good job. However, Andy Reid has the final say on a lot of football matters, so I wonder: Is Roseman a puppet and Reid's really the one running the show, or is Roseman fooling me into underestimating him?
If it's the latter, he'll jump into the top 10, even top five, in due time.
20. Rick Smith, Houston Texans
13 of 32
Houston's GM is getting a worse rep than he deserves. Many times he's proved those issues wrong, as drafting Mario Williams has worked out wonderfully. That and Smith's a big improvement over Charley Casserly. He became GM after the 2006 draft, though, otherwise he'd be in the top half.
19. Buddy Nix, Buffalo Bills
14 of 32
Two years into the job, Bussy Nix hasn't done anything particularly bad, but he hasn't really done anything to gain confidence either. He's making the best of what was a pretty shoddy situation he inherited, though it doesn't help that he has to play the Patriots and Jets twice.
18. Mike Reinfeldt, Tennessee Titans
15 of 32
Reinfeldt is stuck between a rock and a hard place. The Titans are coming apart at the seams with the Vince Young/Jeff Fisher war and the owner will have to make a choice, though I know he'd rather not. As a result Reinfeldt may have to lead a coaching search and do damage control this offseason,
Unfortunately, Reinfeldt will have to pick a side sooner rather than later, and it will alienate many no matter which way he goes. On the plus side of his tenure, he did draft Chris Johnson.
17. Marty Hurney, Carolina Panthers
16 of 32
This offseason will define Hurney's tenure as GM. Was this 2-14 season a fluke or have they just had the right talent in years prior? I think it's a mix of both and that Hurney is a decent GM. He's not great, but he's good enough to make the Panthers competitive again.
16. Jerry Jones, Dallas Cowboys
17 of 32
It seems like, for every genius move Jones makes, there's a terrible move that goes along with it. Keeping Jason Garrett was smart, though this was the guy who fired Tom Landry. He is the best owner/GM out there, but given how the other two run their teams, that's saying very little. His first draft choice in 1990? Emmitt Smith, so he can hit the jackpot in drafts.
15. A.J. Smith, San Diego Chargers
18 of 32
Like Jones, Smith has made a lot of great moves, but has also made a lot of bad moves. He found a diamond in the rough in Antonio Gates. Philip Rivers and Antonio Cromartie have been great first-round successes for the team. They got rid of Michael Turner, though, when he could have filled right in when they released LaDainian Tomlinson.
14. Martin Mayhew, Detroit Lions
19 of 32
If I were succeeding Matt Millen as GM, I would look pretty competent too. Nonetheless, from what we've seen so far, Mayhew seems to know what he's doing. They drafted Stafford and are building around him and the Lions went 6-10 last year and could end up even better next year. The Roy Williams trade ended up being very smart, as they got Brandon Pettigrew in return, who's been a viable target for Stafford et al.
If you want to rate him higher then go right ahead. I'm just waiting until the Lions start winning.
13. Rick Spielman, Minnesota Vikings
20 of 32
The Brett Favre fiasco aside, Spielman has been doing mostly a good job, though this season turned out badly. He has brought in Adrian Peterson, Sidney Rice, Percy Harvin and Jared Allen, to name a few, which would be a great foundation for any team.
12. Mike Tannenbaum, New York Jets
21 of 32
The Jets seem to be a tough team over the past few seasons under GM Tannenbaum. Having Santonio Holmes and Braylon Edwards sounds like a recipe for disaster, but the Jets pulled it off and they combine that with a very good running duo. If the Jets struggle in the playoffs again, it's not this guy's fault.
11. Chris Polian, Indianapolis Colts
22 of 32
Chris took over as GM for his father, Bill. He hasn't done anything to distinguish himself, but hasn't done anything stupid either. In his position, he hasn't needed to do any drastic changes anyway.
10. Billy Devaney, St. Louis Rams
23 of 32
I like what I see in his three years in St. Louis. Not saying too much, but he's the best GM in the NFC West. The team's up to 7-9 under Sam Bradford and now he needs to put the pieces in place this offseason to get them over the .500 mark, or else he may just be another no-name GM like 7-10 other ones on here.
9. Jerry Reese, New York Giants
24 of 32
Reese has stumbled a bit in the rankings since the Giants won the Super Bowl, but I absolutely believe he's a top 10 GM despite not making the playoffs this year. However, most of the problems seemed to lie with Eli Manning, an older defense and Tom Coughlin, all of which were already there before Reese took over. Another great playoff run can bring him back into the top five.
8. Mark Dominik, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
25 of 32
In only two years as GM, I love what I see. Josh Freeman is developing into a franchise quarterback very quickly and the Dominik/Raheem Morris combo is bringing a youthful energy to a team which I only expect to get better.
7. Scott Pioli, Kansas City Chiefs
26 of 32
There's a reason the Chiefs tried as hard as they did to get Pioli; he's good at what he does. There are many that have him as a possible Executive of the Year candidate, though he gets points off for hiring a coordinator who bolted after one season (Charlie Weis). Still, Todd Haley, Jamaal Charles and others look to be great moves so far.
6. Thomas Dimitroff, Atlanta Falcons
27 of 32
The best short-tenure GM (under five years), Dimitroff, in three years, has drafted Matt Ryan, brought in Michael Turner and turned the Falcons into an elite NFC power. I don't see the Falcons slowing down either.
5. Bill Belichick, New England Patriots
28 of 32
When Scott Pioli left the Patriots to become GM of the Chiefs, many thought the Patriots might lose a step with Bill Belichick now pulling double duty as head coach and de facto GM. Instead the Patriots are as good as ever, bringing in the right guys for Tom Brady and letting him continue to turn no-names into stars.
4. Kevin Colbert, Pittsburgh Steelers
29 of 32
The only reason he's not in the top three is that I'm sure a lot of what he does is influenced by Dan Rooney and, until he left, Bill Cowher. Nonetheless, you can't discount his track record, especially in the draft. One of the best in the business.
3. Ted Thompson, Green Bay Packers
30 of 32
When Ted Thompson came in and got rid of Brett Favre, letting Aaron Rodgers take over, there was chaos. Now Favre is "retired" again and Rodgers is one of the best QBs in the NFL. Clay Matthews has been a beast on defense and the only reason they haven't been better is due to injuries, which Thompson can't exactly control.
2. Mickey Loomis, New Orleans Saints
31 of 32
Remember the New Orleans Aints? Mickey Loomis has turned that into an afterthought, bringing in Drew Brees and a myriad of players that work very well together as a team. Not many can find a talent like Marques Colston in the seventh round. He's been amazing for the Saints. All he needs now is a number so that the Saints can retire it when he's done.
1. Ozzie Newsome, Baltimore Ravens
32 of 32
As a Browns fan, I'm hard-wired to hate the Ravens. When you have an all-time great Browns player that's the reason the Ravens' franchise is so great, it makes it hard to know whether to cheer or boo him. Whether you love or hate him, though, you have to have the utmost respect for him.
The only GM the Ravens have had, he's kept them consistently good and has brought them a Super Bowl. The defense has never really been bad and recently the offense has been able to match the defense in quality. If he could only learn how to evaluate quarterbacks, he'd be an all-time great GM. Luckily, he seems to have figured it out with Joe Flacco, so he is the best one right now.
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