Top draft prospects stand on stage during the first round of the NFL football draft, Thursday, April 25, 2024, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)
It feels like no secret to those who know me I want to be an NFL GM in the future, well here’s how I would create a brand new franchise from scratch.
Assistant General Manager Selection:
One of the most important pieces to a front office is the General Managers right hand man. There’s many options across the league and a few I looked at were Matt Waugh of the LA Rams, a pro scout who has served seven seasons for the Rams and 5 as a pro scout for the team. My next name I looked at was Tampa Bay Buccaneers Assistant Director of College Scouting, Tony Hardie who has been working in the league for 14 years and is in his first in his current role. It’s clear through these couple of names I am looking for my right hand man to be heavy in the college scouting ranks and overall want them to have a scouting mind. These names come from some of the best front office groups in the country, however these 2 names were not my favorite option and who I chose. My choice for assistant general manager was Brandon Hunt of the Philadelphia eagles, Mr. Hunt is the current Director of Scouting for the Eagles but has had stints with the Steelers where he had won a ring in 2005, as well as the Houston Texans. Hunt is long due for a higher ranking role and he is the perfect fit in my front office.
Team President Selection:
I want to keep this short and sweet , my team president is Sophie Harlan of the LA Rams. To work in LA in the role of being a Senior Director of Football Operations is not easy, Harlan has experience winning as she has a Super Bowl ring from the rams victory over the Bengals in Super Bowl 56. Harlan is someone who is trusted within the Rams organization and someone I would love to have on my staff going into the start of my franchise.
Cap Specialist And Financials Selection:
I had two guys in mind who have one major thing in common… they both worked with known cap wizard, Brant Tillis. I’ll start with Jeff Brown of the Carolina Panthers. Brown came from the Colts and joined the Panthers staff in 2023, however he is currently serving as the right hand guy with Brant Tillis in the assistant role to him, this would be a major grab and one I heavily considered. However, I elected to go with a guy who has won multiple Super Bowls and worked in a winning organization for many years, Brock Baumert. Baumert has been with the Chiefs since 2019 working with Brant Tillis for majority of those years. Baumert is a logistics based thinker and has a knack for finding logistical ways for roster management as well as cap management with those players and their contracts, an awesome piece to this front office.
Top Scout Selection:
I have four guys I have in consideration, starting off with Ravens National Scout Bobby Vega, he was big in the scouting of Kyle Hamilton, David Ojabo, Ben Mason, and JK Dobbins, he has almost 20 years experience and would be a great pick. You also have Bailee Brown of the Houston Texans, his role of a National Scout offers experience and being in a great college scouting department he would be a great choice as well. My last honorable mention is Cary Conklin of the Detroit Lions. Conklin has 20 years of NFL scouting under his belt and has been apart of one of the newest and best scouting regimes in the league. Conklin has served as an area scout and with his experience and knowledge he would be a great selection as well. I decided to move in a different direction, selecting Commanders National Scout Dwuane Jones. Jones has worked as a Director of College Scouting for the Falcons in 2021-2024 being part of the regime to select Drake London, Bijan Robinson, Tyler Algier, and Troy Anderson to name a few. He is the perfect fit for this role in my front office.
Overview:
I selected 4 key members to my front office being, my Assistant GM Brandon Bunt, my Team President being Sophie Harlan, My Cap Management man Brock Baumert, and last but not least my Top Scout Dwuane Jones. These pieces are some of the most important pieces of an NFL franchise and I believe everyone mentioned in this article is worthy of these promotions, however I’ll be rolling with my 4 front office members for the entirety of this series. Next article will be finding the right coaching staff to support this franchise and lead this imaginary team to the promised land of wherever the Super Bowl is being held in 2-3 seasons.
