5 NFL Front Offices That Have Run Their Franchises into the Ground

As the better teams in the league start to think about the playoffs, these five franchises are wondering what went wrong.

The dregs of the NFL are merely bidding their time until the 2012 draft. Many of these teams' owners are planning to make coaching changes in order to try to improve next season. Others are reconsidering the direction set by their front offices and may shake up their executive teams.

Let's take a look at how these five futile front offices are driving their teams into the ground.

Poor Drafting Has Left the Colts Bereft of Talent

Despite the Indianapolis Colts' surprising victory over the Tennessee Titans this past Sunday, the Colts are still an absolutely wretched team with only one win in 14 tries.

Even with Peyton Manning under center this season, it's doubtful that this squad would be anything better than mediocre.

Whether it's Manning or Andrew Luck at quarterback next year, the Colts will certainly still have a number of holes on their roster.

They can thank their father and son front office duo of Bill and Chris Polian for the predicament that they find themselves in.

Many of their early draft picks have failed to pan out. Jerry Hughes, Anthony Gonzalez and Tony Ugoh were all either first or early second-round picks who have been huge disappointments.

Bill Polian was once known for excellent drafting, but he and his son have had more misses than hits in the past five years.

In addition, Jim Caldwell is a head coach with questionable effectiveness. Their defensive coordinator Larry Coyer was fired a few weeks ago as well.

All of this points to a front office that has lost its elan and is sending the Colts spiraling toward awfulness.

Holmgren and Heckert Have Done Little To Improve a Disappointing Browns Team

Cleveland Browns' team president Mike Holmgren and general manager Tom Heckert have failed to improve their team in any significant ways.

The Browns are still anemic on offense, inconsistent on defense and utterly forgettable in most ways.

After a promising 5-11 season in 2010, the Browns have seemed to regress this season. While they still may equal (or exceed) their record from last year (they have a 4-10 record right now), Browns fans expected more out of this team heading into 2011.

Colt McCoy may not be the long-term answer at quarterback and outside of Joshua Cribbs and Peyton Hillis (when he's healthy), the Browns really don't have any dynamic playmakers.

Their defense is fair, but they need better pass-rushers to become a more effective unit.

Perhaps, the front offices' biggest fault has been failing to sign any top-tier free agents. Recent free-agent wide receivers like Sidney Rice, Santonio Holmes or Vincent Jackson could have been great additions to the Browns, but the front office couldn't make those moves happen.

Most damning for the front office is that the Browns are in virtually the same situation as they were before Mike Holmgren took over as president in late 2009.

Tampa Bay Has Regressed after a Solid 2010 Due to Their Front Office

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers' GM Mark Dominik and the Glazer family have their team headed in the wrong direction.

Many people thought that the Bucs' 10-6 record in 2010 was a harbinger of good things to come. Instead, 2011 has shown that the Buccaneers are still a work in progress.

Head coach Raheem Morris described his team as "youngry" (a mash-up of the words "young" and "hungry") in the offseason. The Bucs have a small payroll, and their youth and inexperience is showing itself this year.

The Bucs' defense only has 22 sacks on the year so far, and their tackles are easily pushed off the line of scrimmage.

Tampa Bay also lacks a consistent running game and quarterback Josh Freeman has been less than stellar this season.

The front office needs to focus on building up their defense in order to make a push for the playoffs. While their drafts have been mostly decent, the front office needs to pony up for some better defensive players in the offseason.

The Redskins Have Been Rebuilding Since 2004

The Washington Redskins under team owner Daniel Snyder have been a mess. Bruce Allen has only been general manager since 2009, and Mike Shanahan has not yet completed two years as head coach, but even so, the Redskins have the look of a sliding team.

The 'Skins' defense has some nice pieces, but their offense is in shambles. While they've been able to win a few surprising games this year, their lack of a respectable quarterback is glaring, and their running game has been virtually non-existent.

It appears that the window could be open for the Redskins with the Giants, Cowboys and Eagles all continuing to underachieve. But their front office has continued to make crucial mistakes that have hamstrung the team.

Promising young players like rookie linebacker Ryan Kerrigan and strong safety LaRon Landry are an excellent defensive foundation. Adding a good quarterback and some key pieces on offense could move this team quickly into contention. 

The Vikings' Front Office Has a Team without an Identity

While rookie quarterback Christian Ponder has showed some promise this season, the Vikings had higher hopes for a team only two years removed from the NFC championship game.

Not least among the errors made by the front office is the sudden aging of the Vikings defense. They have too many players on the downward slope of their careers and not enough new talent coming up through the ranks.

In addition, the disastrous signing of Donovan McNabb and the failure to find a replacement for the departed Sidney Rice also have to be held against the Vikings' front office.

The Vikings' offensive line is porous, and their draftees and free-agent signings (notably ex-Colt Charlie Johnson) have been mediocre.

The Vikings' front office should bear the brunt of the blame for their 2-12 season. They haven't been able to assemble enough talent around guys like Jared Allen, Percy Harvin and Adrian Peterson to make the team competitive.

Quick Addendum: Although the St. Louis Rams have been one of the worst teams in the NFL this year, I am going to give them a pass because of the huge number of injuries they've had to deal with. I think they'll be better in 2012 and will show that this season was an anomaly.