This is the 16th edition of my future GM list, and I wanted to open this year’s discussion with an emphasis on a simple fact—the job isn’t what it once was.
The guy you saw doing the job in can’t just be a glorified scout anymore. The bulging staffs of the 32 teams is evident in the additions to existing practice facilities and construction of new ones. Those shovels in the ground signify the added complexity to the football operations of most of these franchises.
There are analytics departments. There are sports science staffers. There are more cap specialists. There are wellness centers on site. And so the GM, who was once simply overseeing a bunch of guys with stopwatches and rental cars, oversaw a lot more in 2024.
To me, that’s led to two things that could affect this year’s market.
The first is the splitting of the job itself, with some teams believing it’s simply too much for one person to manage effectively. The Rams, Lions and Panthers employ a GM to oversee the personnel staff (Les Snead, Brad Holmes, Dan Morgan), and a separate VP to manage all that falls under the umbrella of “football operations” (Tony Pastoors, Mike Disner, Brandt Tilis).
That will affect our list in that Pastoors, Disner and Tilis won’t appear, because I view them pretty much at the level of a general manager—with potential to become team presidents.
The second would be what I’ve heard on the Jets GM search, and even some of the coaching searches, which is that experience will be at a premium for some franchises. This one’s interesting because, in my mind, it could get guys second chances as general managers.
Ex-Titans GM Jon Robinson and ex-Falcons GM Thomas Dimitroff have already interviewed with the Jets. Ryan Grigson, another ex-GM who built playoff teams, deserves another look with his time in Indianapolis now having more context, and the success he’s had as the No. 2 to Kwesi Adofo-Mensah in building this year’s Minnesota Vikings. Ex-Texans GM Brian Gaine, who got caught in the crossfire in Houston, has had similar success in Buffalo, and makes some sense for a team like the Jets. Forgotten name George Kokinis, once the Browns GM, has done a ton of good work in his second stint in Baltimore. And another Cleveland expat, Ray Farmer, has become an important person in the Rams front office, and might merit another look.
Meanwhile, ex-Chiefs GM Scott Pioli could certainly be one to think about in an over-the-top role—where he could use his experience to help younger leaders excel.
And there other non-traditional candidates, like NFL Chief Football Administrative Officer Dawn Aponte and ESPN analyst Louis Riddick. I’d expect those two to make themselves available to teams (Riddick’s already interviewed with the Jets; Aponte's talked casually with them, but my feeling is she'd be looking, somewhere, for the type of over-the-top role we referenced with Pioli).
So anyway, the point is, there may be more ways to crack this egg than there used to be, mostly because there’s more to think about than there ever has been before.
But this list has always about trying to identify the people who’ve come up to, are getting close to, or are at the point where they’re ready for the big job.
As always, there’s a lot to work through here, because there are a lot of good folks in the pipeline. Which is why, before we dive in, I’d offer a few who’ve been knocking on the door and are right there on the doorstep—Kansas City’s Mike Borgonzi, Tampa Bay’s John Spytek and Mike Greenberg, Dallas’ Will McClay, Green Bay’s Jon-Eric Sullivan, Detroit’s Ray Agnew, and Chicago’s Ian Cunningham. They’re all listed below, amid a couple dozen others.
Let’s dive in!
Lions assistant GM Ray Agnew: Brad Holmes’s right-hand man has a vast, and diverse, volume of experiences—as a player, a player-development guy, a scout and now an executive—and brings an Ozzie Newsome-type presence as a leader. His ability to judge and evaluate players on a personal level is something that’s been highlighted by everyone who’s been around him too, and it’s pretty obvious to see in the job that the Lions have done in bringing in the right kinds of people the last three years. So it’s easy to see where a team who likes Aaron Glenn or Ben Johnson would be interested in pairing them with Agnew.
