GM Candidates: The List

[adam]

38 minutes ago, Alaskan Grizzly said:

Joe Schoen to Giants.  
 

 

I hope Daboll doesnt follow. 

[Alaskan Grizzly]

5 hours ago, adam said:

I hope Daboll doesnt follow. 

Yup…that is a thought being circulated. 

While watching NFL this Morning one of the hosts said there was a connection between Daboll and Polian but didn’t say what it was.  Maybe this? 
 

 

[Pixote]

Heard a possible HC option for NYG was Quinn. He comes from that area, grew up a Giants fan. 

I'm like the rest of you, praying for Daboll as our next HC

I read one article saying Caldwell was a popular option for the Bears???????

Popular with who? I thought he did a bad job in Detroit, which I appreciated,  but certainly don't want him as our HC.

[Alaskan Grizzly]

28 minutes ago, Pixote said:

Heard a possible HC option for NYG was Quinn. He comes from that area, grew up a Giants fan. 

I'm like the rest of you, praying for Daboll as our next HC

I read one article saying Caldwell was a popular option for the Bears???????

Popular with who? I thought he did a bad job in Detroit, which I appreciated,  but certainly don't want him as our HC.

Had heard the same thing about Quinn.  Same about Flores, something about him being from the Bronx(?) area?  
 

I was reading up on Caldwell as I recall him doing better in Indy when he took over for Dungy…at least for a few years.  Guess who was the GM at Indy when Caldwell was HC?  Polian.  

[Pixote]

38 minutes ago, Alaskan Grizzly said:

I was reading up on Caldwell as I recall him doing better in Indy when he took over for Dungy…at least for a few years.  Guess who was the GM at Indy when Caldwell was HC?  Polian.  

Crap, forgot about that! 

[AZ54]

37 minutes ago, Alaskan Grizzly said:

Had heard the same thing about Quinn.  Same about Flores, something about him being from the Bronx(?) area?  
 

I was reading up on Caldwell as I recall him doing better in Indy when he took over for Dungy…at least for a few years.  Guess who was the GM at Indy when Caldwell was HC?  Polian.  

Seems like a favor from Polian to bring in Caldwell moreso than him being a top candidate.  IIRC Caldwell took over for Dungy with expectation things would stay the same for the most part.  That could just be me making $*&* up.    

[adam]

Ryan Poles is interesting. I didn't know he was a UDFA for the Bears in 2008. Seems like he got hurt or just stopped playing football after that. He joined the Chiefs as a scout in 2009 and worked his way up to Director of College Scouting in 2017. In a way, if I had to pick between a college scout and a pro scout, I would rather have a guy with college scout experience as those are harder to project. The NFL guys are much easier in my opinion. 

Poles was in KC the same year Daboll was OC there. So there is a connection there.

Maybe a Poles-Daboll duo?

[AZ54]

5 hours ago, adam said:

I hope Daboll doesnt follow. 

At the moment he has the same restrictions we have on conducting interviews.  In any case Daboll likely has enough street cred to be in the driver seat for the most part.  His resume is at least attractive enough for him to be on any team's list of candidates.  

[AZ54]

1 hour ago, adam said:

Ryan Poles is interesting. I didn't know he was a UDFA for the Bears in 2008. Seems like he got hurt or just stopped playing football after that. He joined the Chiefs as a scout in 2009 and worked his way up to Director of College Scouting in 2017. In a way, if I had to pick between a college scout and a pro scout, I would rather have a guy with college scout experience as those are harder to project. The NFL guys are much easier in my opinion. 

Poles was in KC the same year Daboll was OC there. So there is a connection there.

Maybe a Poles-Daboll duo?

That's a thin resume IMO.  Was he responsible for the defense or the offense on that roster?   Everything about KC is always on the offense but their defense has been a real achilles heel for that team.  

[ASHKUM BEAR]

1 hour ago, AZ54 said:

Seems like a favor from Polian to bring in Caldwell moreso than him being a top candidate.  IIRC Caldwell took over for Dungy with expectation things would stay the same for the most part.  That could just be me making $*&* up.    

Rumor is Caldwell is canceling his remaining interviews and it is believed because he thinks he has the job in Chicago or Jax.  He was one of the only coaches to bring winning seasons to Detroit. 

[DABEARSDABOMB]

4 hours ago, Pixote said:

Crap, forgot about that! 

He actually was pretty good with Lions. I believe he made the playoffs 3 out of 4 years and got fired after they were in the playoffs. If you think about that for a second that ain’t bad for the Lions. I think if Bears go with one of the defensive guys Caldwell ends up as the OC. 

[DABEARSDABOMB]

2 hours ago, AZ54 said:

At the moment he has the same restrictions we have on conducting interviews.  In any case Daboll likely has enough street cred to be in the driver seat for the most part.  His resume is at least attractive enough for him to be on any team's list of candidates.  

I hope Bills win to buy Bears at least a week with Dabol since teams in playoffs can’t interview past tomorrow. 

[AZ54]

If I were a Giant's fan I'd be concerned here that the new GM immediately goes back to the coaches he just worked with.  Not that he shouldn't talk with them but this news is so fast and "going after them hard" that you almost wonder if the Giants chose the GM in hopes of the getting Dabol.  I could certainly be misreading this but IMO it would have been more appropriate for the team to release a complete list of candidates rather than these rumors spreading so fast.  Other HC candidates could be feeling that the team isn't serious about them which could persuade them to take a job elsewhere.   Would any coach want to go somewhere knowing he wasn't really the one they wanted and that the leash would always be short?  

As a Bears fan I prefer my team taking the confident methodical approach as long as they keep things moving.  They can't sit and deliberate for 2 weeks on who gets to Rd 2.   If Dabol or Frazier are on their short list for in-person interviews they likely already know that and the Bears could move as fast as needed to compete with the Giants if desired.   The same should be happening with the GM candidates and as soon as Rd 1 is done whichever morning they should already have their first 2nd Rd interview setup for that afternoon.    

[adam]

12 hours ago, AZ54 said:

That's a thin resume IMO.  Was he responsible for the defense or the offense on that roster?   Everything about KC is always on the offense but their defense has been a real achilles heel for that team.  

If he was involved in influencing draft picks as a scout since 2009, there are some pretty big hits in there. Eric Berry, Justin Houston, Rodney Hudson, Dontari Poe, Eric Fisher, Travis Kelce, Marcus Peters, Tyreek Hill, Chris Jones, and Patrick Mahomes.

[adam]

Poles getting 2nd interview. 

Right now I believe Eberflus and Poles are the only two with a second interview.

[AZ54]

4 hours ago, adam said:

If he was involved in influencing draft picks as a scout since 2009, there are some pretty big hits in there. Eric Berry, Justin Houston, Rodney Hudson, Dontari Poe, Eric Fisher, Travis Kelce, Marcus Peters, Tyreek Hill, Chris Jones, and Patrick Mahomes.

It's the depth of the roster behind the "hits" and that defense just hasn't been there.   I don't see Marcus Peters as a success much the same way as Anthony Miller was not a success here.  Athletically he was a better talent than Miller but throwing away the 18th pick on just a few years of production is not a good investment.  Admittedly that was a weak year for draft talent.   

"On December 6, 2017, the Chiefs announced their decision to suspend Peters for the next game.[43] Three days after the suspension was announced, it was revealed that Peters’ suspension also was the result of an argument he got into with an unnamed coach for the Chiefs.   On March 14, 2018, the Kansas City Chiefs traded Peters and a sixth round pick (209th overall) in the 2018 NFL Draft to the Los Angeles Rams for a fourth round pick (124th overall) in 2018 and second round pick in the 2019 NFL Draft.[51] 

 

Yet the scouts behind the scenes are not setting roster and cap strategy for the team so it's entirely possible he flagged Peters as a 1st Rd risk and it was ignored.  As fans we know the history of draft picks or even pro player FA signings but unless you have an experienced GM like Rick Smith there is no way for us to know what strategy or philosophy they will use as a new GM.   Thankfully we're heading into Rd 2 of the interviews.  

[adam]

2 hours ago, AZ54 said:

It's the depth of the roster behind the "hits" and that defense just hasn't been there.   I don't see Marcus Peters as a success much the same way as Anthony Miller was not a success here.  Athletically he was a better talent than Miller but throwing away the 18th pick on just a few years of production is not a good investment.  Admittedly that was a weak year for draft talent.   

"On December 6, 2017, the Chiefs announced their decision to suspend Peters for the next game.[43] Three days after the suspension was announced, it was revealed that Peters’ suspension also was the result of an argument he got into with an unnamed coach for the Chiefs.   On March 14, 2018, the Kansas City Chiefs traded Peters and a sixth round pick (209th overall) in the 2018 NFL Draft to the Los Angeles Rams for a fourth round pick (124th overall) in 2018 and second round pick in the 2019 NFL Draft.[51] 

 

Yet the scouts behind the scenes are not setting roster and cap strategy for the team so it's entirely possible he flagged Peters as a 1st Rd risk and it was ignored.  As fans we know the history of draft picks or even pro player FA signings but unless you have an experienced GM like Rick Smith there is no way for us to know what strategy or philosophy they will use as a new GM.   Thankfully we're heading into Rd 2 of the interviews.  

I would definitely prefer Smith, but it is hard to argue with KC's success since 2013. No worse than 9-7 in 2014 and 8 seasons with double-digit wins, including 5 with 12 or more, and 8 playoffs in 9 years. We just don't know how much influence he has had on draft selection and roster construction. 

[AZ54]

1 hour ago, adam said:

I would definitely prefer Smith, but it is hard to argue with KC's success since 2013. No worse than 9-7 in 2014 and 8 seasons with double-digit wins, including 5 with 12 or more, and 8 playoffs in 9 years. We just don't know how much influence he has had on draft selection and roster construction. 

I’m really curious what he has to say about Nagy.   Would he have hired him as HC and why?   

[adam]

34 minutes ago, AZ54 said:

I’m really curious what he has to say about Nagy.   Would he have hired him as HC and why?   

Nagy was never a good play caller and should not have came in with the mindset that he would be a HC and call plays. That was his mistake. If he came in as just the HC, and hired a competent OC and play caller, things may have been much different. Nagy only called 5 games in KC and a bad half in the playoffs. That should've been a red flag.

[Stinger226]

13 hours ago, adam said:

If he was involved in influencing draft picks as a scout since 2009, there are some pretty big hits in there. Eric Berry, Justin Houston, Rodney Hudson, Dontari Poe, Eric Fisher, Travis Kelce, Marcus Peters, Tyreek Hill, Chris Jones, and Patrick Mahomes.

That is a good list but as a scout, at what point did he take over to be in command of the room. Lots of scouts in the room.

[adam]

7 hours ago, Stinger226 said:

That is a good list but as a scout, at what point did he take over to be in command of the room. Lots of scouts in the room.

Exactly, I think with every candidate that hasn't been a GM previously, you are obviously projecting. Just like with all hirings, you are looking for traits that go along with the experience. Those are some of the questions that they would need to be asking. What was your involvement in draft selections, roster creation, cap management, etc. 

[lemonej]

On 1/14/2022 at 9:06 AM, adam said:

Yep, I totally forgot about that. I like him as a candidate. 

To your credit more digging I found out that he was in a struggle with Bill O Brien over personnel and that he decided to step away because of his wife's illness and the rumor mill says O'Brien won the battle.

[BearFan2000]

Anyone else concerned that we are running simultaneous GM and HC searches?  Are we doing HC interviews (assuming with George, Ted, and Polian) more so as a preliminary interview to have something to present whoever we hire as GM for when he does his own HC interviews.  Are we doing these simultaneously with the idea of hiring them as a package deal GM/HC and it's George making the call with the input from Polian?  I've always preferred the approach of getting your GM in place then letting him head up the HC interview process.  We really need to get this right for Justin's sake.  I just worry that we're putting the cart before the horse.  

I haven't followed every article or bit of news other than names we've interviewed for either spot and those we know are scheduled to interview.  Just trying to get a handle on what seems to be our strategy in the GM/HC search.

[DABEARSDABOMB]

1 hour ago, BearFan2000 said:

Anyone else concerned that we are running simultaneous GM and HC searches?  Are we doing HC interviews (assuming with George, Ted, and Polian) more so as a preliminary interview to have something to present whoever we hire as GM for when he does his own HC interviews.  Are we doing these simultaneously with the idea of hiring them as a package deal GM/HC and it's George making the call with the input from Polian?  I've always preferred the approach of getting your GM in place then letting him head up the HC interview process.  We really need to get this right for Justin's sake.  I just worry that we're putting the cart before the horse.  

I haven't followed every article or bit of news other than names we've interviewed for either spot and those we know are scheduled to interview.  Just trying to get a handle on what seems to be our strategy in the GM/HC search.

I am only concerned if George & Ted tell the GM who the favorites are and who they need to interview. As long as that isn't the case - than I'm only mildly annoyed at the energy spent on the coaching front because maybe if they focused first on GM they would have been done a little faster. That said - now that they are getting close to GM - the new GM should have a heck of a lot more intel to go on when it comes to priortizing his list of coaches (ie. He gets the luxury of reviewing all of the initial interviews + combing that with what his own independent views/what he's heard from his network to form what should be a pretty well refined list with good data).  

I think there is a good shot that today is the day that one of the eventual GM's is interviewing. I truly believe between Poles & the 2 candidates interviewing today (Brown & Khanh) that one of those 3 is the next hire. I would bet on today's candidates - but I do seriously believe that Poles blew them away in interviews and now the decision isn't quite as easy.  In an ideal world Khanh would be hired and you would get one of the other two. 

[adam]

I hope they narrow it down, reinterview finalists and pick one within the next week. There is not much more you need to do. Pick the best guy and let him pick his staff and new HC. Give them the reviews from the first interviews and let them make the pick.

In my last job, when I sat in on interviews as part of the hiring panel, we actually had a grading system and one of the metrics was my personal assessment which was weighted 33% of the overall grade of that person. Once the grades from all panelists were averaged, they rank-ordered the candidates and did a final alibi call to see if anyone had an objections with the final order. If not, they sent out the offer to the #1 candidate, if they accepted, done. If they didn't, they sent out an offer to #2 (like they were the #1 candidate lol). Rinse and repeat down the list. Everyone hired was always the #1 candidate.