kearly
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First, I don't pretend to be a massive NFL expert. In fact, prior to last season, I didn't even pay too much attention to teams outside of Seattle (the draft excluded). Over the last year or so, I've made it a point to watch more non-Seahawks football games (playing competitive fantasy football against friends and having a 1-2 seed contending team to root for is quite the motivating factor).
For me, the following are the top GMs in the game. Before I begin, I must first say that GM performance is really impossible to fully separate from the coaching staffs they work with. In the case of Baalke and Schneider, the benefit they gain from the coaching staff is enormous. Anyway, here are my top GMs:
Top tier:
1.) John Schneider- No GM in the NFL gets a bigger boost from his coaching staff, but he got RW, and might be the hardest working GM in the game.
2.) Ozzie Newsome- The ultimate "by the book" GM who is just damn good at what he does. If you color within the lines and still excel, you clearly have a lot of talent.
3.) Whoever it is that's actually running the Bengals (I refuse to believe it's Mike Brown)- They have drafted almost as well as Seattle the last 4 years- and did it without Pete Carroll. That is saying something. They also have a gajillion dollars in cap space to spend.
4.) Ted Thompson- Every GM has his weak spots. For Thompson, it's OL, and unlike his protege, he doesn't have Tom Cable around to cover his butt.
Second tier:
Mickey Loomis- Loomis has an excellent eye for talent on offense, and despite the Saints recent problems he's been efficient with his early picks on defense.
Thomas Dimitroff- I thought the Julio Jones trade was insanity. And I loved Julio Jones. Dimitroff ends up winning that trade. I thought Atlanta had maybe the 3rd best offseason this year after Seattle/Denver. They drafted two of the best cover corners in the draft and made some nice low-cost veteran pickups in FA.
Dave Gettleman- Carolina was the NFL's worst team not long ago, and now they might be a home run coaching hire away from being a force in the NFC South. Put Pete Carroll or Jim Harbaugh on the Panthers and watch out. Carolina has drafted pretty well and the arrow is still pointing up on their trajectory, despite coaching problems.
Les Snead- The Rams have drafted defense very well, and this last offseason they made some very solid additions to offense as well. Jeff Fisher is revered as an in game coach, but he is not known for talent development. The Rams have gotten more talented every year since bottoming out a few years ago. The front office in STL deserves credit.
Ryan Grigson- I think Grigson is over-rated, but I'll readily admit that he's one of the most active and hard working GMs. He overpaid for Richardson, but credit to him for making phone calls and seeing what was available at RB for a playoff contending football team.
Trent Baalke- How much credit does Baalke get for Smith and Kaepernick? Both were probably scheme picks dictated by Harbaugh, IMO. Bowman was a great pick. Boldin was worth the money they paid. Other than that, the 49ers seemed to have as many brutal misfires as genius moves since Baalke took over. He deserves credit for being a ranking member of his predecessors scouting department, but can we honestly say he's a better GM than Scot McCloughan? McCloughan, who drafted well but who's teams sucked horribly under Mike Singletary? Jim Harbaugh is an incredible coach. Replace him with an average NFL coach and the 49ers are sunk within a year. Baalke is alright. He works well with an egomaniac coach, and for that alone he deserves a gold star. But he's a supporting cast guy, not a megastar.
Third tier:
John Elway- When Peyton Manning finally succumbs to age, which admittedly may not be any time soon, the Broncos are SCU-REWED. Brock Osweiler? Zac Dysert? It's as if Elway is on a quest to find the anti-Russell Wilson. The Broncos have not drafted well outside their top picks (Danny Trevathan aside- I always liked that guy). But Elway seems to have a knack for recruiting in free agency. He won the Manning sweepstakes despite Manning hearing overtures from over half the league. He stole Wes Welker away from Tom Brady for similar money. I don't know how good DRC will be, but that was a smart signing given the condition of Denver's secondary. Elway is turning the Broncos into the mid-90s Rockets or the 2008 Celtics, and I'd be a little surprised if he doesn't get them a championship or two before it all comes crashing down.
Jeff Ireland- For all the grief Ireland gets for overpaying free agents and making iffy coaching hires, he's drafted pretty well. And now the team that he's built is among the league leaders in DVOA and probably has to be considered the favorites to win the AFC East at this point. It's just two games, but Miami is currently top 10 in offense, defense, and special teams. Are they over-achieving? Maybe. Are they a mirage? I doubt it.
Mark Dominik- Like Gettleman, Dominik is a good drafting GM who is betrayed by a controversial head coach (Schiano) and an inconsistent QB (Freeman). Other than paying way too much for Revis, I think Dominik has done a pretty respectable job. He's been rock solid in the draft and has playmakers all over the place. He just needs a better coach and a better QB.
Bill Belichick- Though he's made some gaffes recently at WR and had hard luck at TE, on a team that is clearly in sharp decline, I think Belichick deserves some credit for building a respectable defense, a decent running game, and a consistently good offensive line. When you actually take a close look at New England, their roster is actually still pretty good. The WR/TE problem is just flat out killing them.
For me, the following are the top GMs in the game. Before I begin, I must first say that GM performance is really impossible to fully separate from the coaching staffs they work with. In the case of Baalke and Schneider, the benefit they gain from the coaching staff is enormous. Anyway, here are my top GMs:
Top tier:
1.) John Schneider- No GM in the NFL gets a bigger boost from his coaching staff, but he got RW, and might be the hardest working GM in the game.
2.) Ozzie Newsome- The ultimate "by the book" GM who is just damn good at what he does. If you color within the lines and still excel, you clearly have a lot of talent.
3.) Whoever it is that's actually running the Bengals (I refuse to believe it's Mike Brown)- They have drafted almost as well as Seattle the last 4 years- and did it without Pete Carroll. That is saying something. They also have a gajillion dollars in cap space to spend.
4.) Ted Thompson- Every GM has his weak spots. For Thompson, it's OL, and unlike his protege, he doesn't have Tom Cable around to cover his butt.
Second tier:
Mickey Loomis- Loomis has an excellent eye for talent on offense, and despite the Saints recent problems he's been efficient with his early picks on defense.
Thomas Dimitroff- I thought the Julio Jones trade was insanity. And I loved Julio Jones. Dimitroff ends up winning that trade. I thought Atlanta had maybe the 3rd best offseason this year after Seattle/Denver. They drafted two of the best cover corners in the draft and made some nice low-cost veteran pickups in FA.
Dave Gettleman- Carolina was the NFL's worst team not long ago, and now they might be a home run coaching hire away from being a force in the NFC South. Put Pete Carroll or Jim Harbaugh on the Panthers and watch out. Carolina has drafted pretty well and the arrow is still pointing up on their trajectory, despite coaching problems.
Les Snead- The Rams have drafted defense very well, and this last offseason they made some very solid additions to offense as well. Jeff Fisher is revered as an in game coach, but he is not known for talent development. The Rams have gotten more talented every year since bottoming out a few years ago. The front office in STL deserves credit.
Ryan Grigson- I think Grigson is over-rated, but I'll readily admit that he's one of the most active and hard working GMs. He overpaid for Richardson, but credit to him for making phone calls and seeing what was available at RB for a playoff contending football team.
Trent Baalke- How much credit does Baalke get for Smith and Kaepernick? Both were probably scheme picks dictated by Harbaugh, IMO. Bowman was a great pick. Boldin was worth the money they paid. Other than that, the 49ers seemed to have as many brutal misfires as genius moves since Baalke took over. He deserves credit for being a ranking member of his predecessors scouting department, but can we honestly say he's a better GM than Scot McCloughan? McCloughan, who drafted well but who's teams sucked horribly under Mike Singletary? Jim Harbaugh is an incredible coach. Replace him with an average NFL coach and the 49ers are sunk within a year. Baalke is alright. He works well with an egomaniac coach, and for that alone he deserves a gold star. But he's a supporting cast guy, not a megastar.
Third tier:
John Elway- When Peyton Manning finally succumbs to age, which admittedly may not be any time soon, the Broncos are SCU-REWED. Brock Osweiler? Zac Dysert? It's as if Elway is on a quest to find the anti-Russell Wilson. The Broncos have not drafted well outside their top picks (Danny Trevathan aside- I always liked that guy). But Elway seems to have a knack for recruiting in free agency. He won the Manning sweepstakes despite Manning hearing overtures from over half the league. He stole Wes Welker away from Tom Brady for similar money. I don't know how good DRC will be, but that was a smart signing given the condition of Denver's secondary. Elway is turning the Broncos into the mid-90s Rockets or the 2008 Celtics, and I'd be a little surprised if he doesn't get them a championship or two before it all comes crashing down.
Jeff Ireland- For all the grief Ireland gets for overpaying free agents and making iffy coaching hires, he's drafted pretty well. And now the team that he's built is among the league leaders in DVOA and probably has to be considered the favorites to win the AFC East at this point. It's just two games, but Miami is currently top 10 in offense, defense, and special teams. Are they over-achieving? Maybe. Are they a mirage? I doubt it.
Mark Dominik- Like Gettleman, Dominik is a good drafting GM who is betrayed by a controversial head coach (Schiano) and an inconsistent QB (Freeman). Other than paying way too much for Revis, I think Dominik has done a pretty respectable job. He's been rock solid in the draft and has playmakers all over the place. He just needs a better coach and a better QB.
Bill Belichick- Though he's made some gaffes recently at WR and had hard luck at TE, on a team that is clearly in sharp decline, I think Belichick deserves some credit for building a respectable defense, a decent running game, and a consistently good offensive line. When you actually take a close look at New England, their roster is actually still pretty good. The WR/TE problem is just flat out killing them.
