It's not the GM though, it's the people that cannot hire a GM. Until you have your team president be an actual NFL person, someone that actually knows how to run a professional, WINNING, football team, the GM, HC, players won't matter.
It's not the GM though, it's the people that cannot hire a GM. Until you have your team president be an actual NFL person, someone that actually knows how to run a professional, WINNING, football team, the GM, HC, players won't matter.
Just for the heck of it, tonight I checked out the president of (arguably) the best run NFL franchise - the New England Patriots. They don't have a "football person" either. They have a Harvard MBA who oversees 6 different corporate entities (the Patriots being 1 of the Kraft Group's 6 companies). The Kraft Group has a variety of interests concentrated in six specific areas: the distribution of forest products, paper and packaging manufacturing, sports and entertainment, real estate development as well as private equity and venture investing.
He is a bean counter.
LOL, he's the son of the owner of the team, Robert Kraft. Never played football in his life. His dad, the owner isn't a football person either. Both Robert Kraft and his son, Jonathan Kraft are hardcore businessmen. The football team is a small (very small) part of their businesses. Bean counters.
But they're darned good bean counters. The only "football" the Krafts knew before buying the Patriots is that they were season ticket owners. Fans. But, everything they touch turns to gold - including the New England Patriots that they bought in 1994 (they also are into soccer, tennis and horse racing interests).
My gut feeling is that most team presidents in the NFL are not pure "football people" either. Just stuffed shirts and bean counters.
The difference between their bean counters and the McCaskey's bean counters is that they have built winning business franchises - that also win on the field. Not like the McCaskey's that make money, but can't bring a winner to Chicago.
LOL at the "one of the worst games of his career" statement. How do you pick just one? There have been so many. In our 90+ year history of this franchise, I am beginning to think one of the darkest days, was the day we acquired Jay Cutler.
He's the big tease.
He has incredible physical talent in a body with a pea brain. He will wow you one week, and then break your heart the next.
It's not the GM though, it's the people that cannot hire a GM. Until you have your team president be an actual NFL person, someone that actually knows how to run a professional, WINNING, football team, the GM, HC, players won't matter.
Just for the heck of it, tonight I checked out the president of (arguably) the best run NFL franchise - the New England Patriots. They don't have a "football person" either. They have a Harvard MBA who oversees 6 different corporate entities (the Patriots being 1 of the Kraft Group's 6 companies). The Kraft Group has a variety of interests concentrated in six specific areas: the distribution of forest products, paper and packaging manufacturing, sports and entertainment, real estate development as well as private equity and venture investing.
He is a bean counter.
LOL, he's the son of the owner of the team, Robert Kraft. Never played football in his life. His dad, the owner isn't a football person either. Both Robert Kraft and his son, Jonathan Kraft are hardcore businessmen. The football team is a small (very small) part of their businesses. Bean counters.
But they're darned good bean counters. The only "football" the Krafts knew before buying the Patriots is that they were season ticket owners. Fans. But, everything they touch turns to gold - including the New England Patriots that they bought in 1994 (they also are into soccer, tennis and horse racing interests).
My gut feeling is that most team presidents in the NFL are not pure "football people" either. Just stuffed shirts and bean counters.
The difference between their bean counters and the McCaskey's bean counters is that they have built winning business franchises - that also win on the field. Not like the McCaskey's that make money, but can't bring a winner to Chicago.
They didn't have to play football to know the business of the NFL. Jerry's son is looking to be a better NFL guy this is father was just being around and having connections has allowed him a better understanding of how to draft and what to do then his father. This guy is the son of Kraft who obviously has inroads and a pulse in the NFL, it's very possible that it could be the same situation as Dallas w/Jone's kid.
To know we'd have to see if they had to hire a firm to hire their HC/GM
Just for the heck of it, tonight I checked out the president of (arguably) the best run NFL franchise - the New England Patriots. They don't have a "football person" either. They have a Harvard MBA who oversees 6 different corporate entities (the Patriots being 1 of the Kraft Group's 6 companies). The Kraft Group has a variety of interests concentrated in six specific areas: the distribution of forest products, paper and packaging manufacturing, sports and entertainment, real estate development as well as private equity and venture investing.
He is a bean counter.
LOL, he's the son of the owner of the team, Robert Kraft. Never played football in his life. His dad, the owner isn't a football person either. Both Robert Kraft and his son, Jonathan Kraft are hardcore businessmen. The football team is a small (very small) part of their businesses. Bean counters.
But they're darned good bean counters. The only "football" the Krafts knew before buying the Patriots is that they were season ticket owners. Fans. But, everything they touch turns to gold - including the New England Patriots that they bought in 1994 (they also are into soccer, tennis and horse racing interests).
My gut feeling is that most team presidents in the NFL are not pure "football people" either. Just stuffed shirts and bean counters.
The difference between their bean counters and the McCaskey's bean counters is that they have built winning business franchises - that also win on the field. Not like the McCaskey's that make money, but can't bring a winner to Chicago.
They didn't have to play football to know the business of the NFL. Jerry's son is looking to be a better NFL guy this is father was just being around and having connections has allowed him a better understanding of how to draft and what to do then his father. This guy is the son of Kraft who obviously has inroads and a pulse in the NFL, it's very possible that it could be the same situation as Dallas w/Jone's kid.
To know we'd have to see if they had to hire a firm to hire their HC/GM
I think these franchises are family-run just like the Bears, but they just do a better job of it. The Kraft son is a Harvard MBA guy that runs the entire Kraft business empire - not just the New England Patriots. It makes it sound like the NFL team is truly a small (very small) part of his responsibilities. I had to laugh. The family were just football fans of the Patriots. Season ticket holders. And were so rich that they just did a "what the heck" thing and bought the team. Like we'd buy something cool that we liked at the local mall.
Here's another area I think is different than the Bears. They didn't buy the team to make money. They don't need money. The McCaskeys do. The McCaskeys run the Bears team as a family cash cow. It will be interesting if they do fire Fox and eat his salary, if they go cheap on his replacement (no minimum-cap problems with coach hires because they obviously don't fall under the CBA).
But the president, the Kraft kid, is just an MBA business man. He really isn't a football guy. But he's a very very very good business man - and they run the team exceptionally well as a business. You can "buy" football guys as needed. Like we tried to do with Ernie Accorsi. The problem is that the Krafts do things well. The McCaskey's don't.
I'm not sure about the Jerry Jones kid. You could be 100% right there, and he's been groomed to be a football guy down there. I don't know anything about Dallas' situation. LOL, but it must be nice to have a rich dad who can give you an NFL team to play around with and run :-)
Interesting, they haven't had a GM since 1990, the HC has been the defacto GM and just have had player personnel and Scouting.
This doesn't normally work though, It didn't really work until they lucked into Billy B and Tommy B.
It'd be interesting to know how much the President gets involved outside of moving around those 2 pieces.
+1 You read my mind, Ric. I thought the very same thing. It's not typical. But I don't think they just got lucky. I think that family must be pretty sharp business people. They get a guy like Belichick and just toss him the keys to the car and tell him to win - and he does. Everything the Kraft family touches turns to gold.
But the McCaskey's are just not in that league. They don't have a clue.
Ya but it's not like Billy B was Theo Epstine when he went to NE, he did next to nothing w/the Browns. They obviously saw something but I don't think it was greatest HC/GM in modern history.
The difference between the 2 families is that the Krafts have enough contacts, enough information/knowledge that they don't need to hire firms to hire their GM's.