What Are the Duties of an NFL General Manager?

What Are the Duties of an NFL General Manager?

By Chandler Jarrell, eHow Contributor

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Managing the game of football


The life of an NFL general manager is an exhaustive one. The NFL has the most players and coaches of any professional sports league in America, making it a complicated system to handle. From dealing with trades to recruiting new talent, an NFL general manager has many responsibilities.



Contracts


It is the duty of any general manager in professional sports to manage the staff, and this includes negotiating contracts. This task is of particular importance in the NFL because the league has a salary cap for its teams. This means that regardless of a player's value to the organization, the general manager has a limited amount of [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] to pay him. Determining how much of the salary cap to spend on each player is a near-constant concern for an NFL general manager.

Drafting Players


Recruiting new talent is one of the most difficult tasks an NFL general manager faces, simply because the process is unpredictable and can take years to come to fruition. Every year thousands of college athletes attract the attention of NFL scouts. This is different from, say, the NBA, in which no more than a few hundred players are scouted. The NFL general manager, along with his staff, must decide which prospects the team should select in the annual April draft. It can be a crapshoot: Many top-10 draft picks go nowhere, while others become stars. Selecting the right players is critical to building a [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.].



Trades and Free Agency

NFL general mangers also collect talent by making trades and signing free agents--players whose contracts with their previous teams have expired. Because of the intensity of play in the NFL, the average shelf life of a player is considerably shorter than those in less physical sports such as baseball and [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]. Many players are traded away before they reach their prime, while others prove injury-prone and wind up being near useless to their new team. Signing free agents can be risky for similar reasons. The unknown of how a player will perform with a new team, along with the issue of salary-cap space, amplify the importance of the personnel decisions made by an NFL general manager.

Working With the Head Coach

The general manager in any pro sport must deal with the team's coaching staff, although things can get more complicated in the NFL because of the number of coaches per team. There is the head coach, of course, but beneath him are dozens of assistants. It is not feasible for the general manager to maintain close relationships with all of the assistant coaches, making it essential he work amiably and intimately with the head coach. Although the general manager has more authority, it is the head coach whom players generally look up to and who is most often in the public spotlight. This can create tension between a coach and general manager and has caused instability for some franchises.

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DiehardSteelersfan wrote:What Are the Duties of an NFL General Manager?

By Chandler Jarrell, eHow Contributor

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

Managing the game of football


The life of an NFL general manager is an exhaustive one. The NFL has the most players and coaches of any professional sports league in America, making it a complicated system to handle. From dealing with trades to recruiting new talent, an NFL general manager has many responsibilities.



Contracts


It is the duty of any general manager in professional sports to manage the staff, and this includes negotiating contracts. This task is of particular importance in the NFL because the league has a salary cap for its teams. This means that regardless of a player's value to the organization, the general manager has a limited amount of [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] to pay him. Determining how much of the salary cap to spend on each player is a near-constant concern for an NFL general manager.

Drafting Players


Recruiting new talent is one of the most difficult tasks an NFL general manager faces, simply because the process is unpredictable and can take years to come to fruition. Every year thousands of college athletes attract the attention of NFL scouts. This is different from, say, the NBA, in which no more than a few hundred players are scouted. The NFL general manager, along with his staff, must decide which prospects the team should select in the annual April draft. It can be a crapshoot: Many top-10 draft picks go nowhere, while others become stars. Selecting the right players is critical to building a [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.].



Trades and Free Agency

NFL general mangers also collect talent by making trades and signing free agents--players whose contracts with their previous teams have expired. Because of the intensity of play in the NFL, the average shelf life of a player is considerably shorter than those in less physical sports such as baseball and [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]. Many players are traded away before they reach their prime, while others prove injury-prone and wind up being near useless to their new team. Signing free agents can be risky for similar reasons. The unknown of how a player will perform with a new team, along with the issue of salary-cap space, amplify the importance of the personnel decisions made by an NFL general manager.

Working With the Head Coach

The general manager in any pro sport must deal with the team's coaching staff, although things can get more complicated in the NFL because of the number of coaches per team. There is the head coach, of course, but beneath him are dozens of assistants. It is not feasible for the general manager to maintain close relationships with all of the assistant coaches, making it essential he work amiably and intimately with the head coach. Although the general manager has more authority, it is the head coach whom players generally look up to and who is most often in the public spotlight. This can create tension between a coach and general manager and has caused instability for some franchises.

Read more: [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

NICE TRY..BUT THIS IS BULLSHIT TO...EVERY TEAMS SITUATION IS UNIQUE....THSI IS NOT A STANDARD ACROSS TEH BOARD THING AS YORU TRYING TO MAKE IT OUT TO BE...NOW..I POSTED AN ARTICLE TAHT TEH WORDS COMEING FROM DAN ROONEY'S MOUTH SAID QUOTE UN QUOTE AT TOMLIN'S HIRING....TOMLIN AND COLBERT ARE EQUALS AND WILL WORK TOGETEHR ON TEH DRAFTS AND PERSONNEL...WHAT DONT YOU GET?..EVERY TEAMS SITUATION IS UNIQUE CONCERNING THIS GENERIC DEFINITION OF A GENERAL MANAGER..NICE TRY THOUGH....TEHER ARE TEAM STEH GENERAL MANAGER RUNS EVERYTHING..AN DTHEER ARE TEAMS THEY DONT..AN DTEHER AR ETEAMS ITS INBETWEEN..SORRY..ILL TAKE WHAT ROONEY SAID OVER YOUR SPINJOB...YOU JUST CANT ADMIT YOUR WRONG

AND ILL SAY IT AGAIN...AFTER 7 YEARS TOMLIN HAS APT TO HAVE BEEN GIVEN MORE AUTHORITY THAN WHEN TAHT ARTICLE WAS WRITTEN IN 07....NO QUESTION..CAUSE IF THAT WASNT ETH CASE HED BE GONE....WHICH HE WILL BE WITHIN 3 YEARS

BOTTOM LINE..COLBERT HIT HOMERUNS WHNE COWHER WAS HERE...AND HE'S STRUCK OUT EVER SINCE TOMLINS BEEN HERE..COINCIDENCE AFTER 7 YEARS?...NO!!!!....

DaRKMuMMySauRuS wrote:AND ILL SAY IT AGAIN...AFTER 7 YEARS TOMLIN HAS APT TO HAVE BEEN GIVEN MORE AUTHORITY THAN WHEN TAHT ARTICLE WAS WRITTEN IN 07....NO QUESTION..CAUSE IF THAT WASNT ETH CASE HED BE GONE....WHICH HE WILL BE WITHIN 3 YEARS

Prove it or shut your pie hole. You tout your opinion all the time as fact because you think something happens it's true with you. Grow up dude!

DaRKMuMMySauRuS wrote:BOTTOM LINE..COLBERT HIT HOMERUNS WHNE COWHER WAS HERE...AND HE'S STRUCK OUT EVER SINCE TOMLINS BEEN HERE..COINCIDENCE AFTER 7 YEARS?...NO!!!!....

Colbert is responsible to draft players, Tomlin is responsible to get them to play. I'm going to push Colbert to be fired and Tomlin gets a couple more years of chances. That's my final decision.

OH MY GOSH....I JUST NOTICE WHERE THAT ARTICLE CAME FROM...NOW I KNOW WHAT YOUR PROBLEM IS..HAHA..YOU GO FOR YOUR INFO AND ANSWERS ON eHOW.COM ?..HEHAHHEHAA..POOR BASTARD....

DiehardSteelersfan wrote:

DaRKMuMMySauRuS wrote:BOTTOM LINE..COLBERT HIT HOMERUNS WHNE COWHER WAS HERE...AND HE'S STRUCK OUT EVER SINCE TOMLINS BEEN HERE..COINCIDENCE AFTER 7 YEARS?...NO!!!!....

Colbert is responsible to draft players, Tomlin is responsible to get them to play. I'm going to push Colbert to be fired and Tomlin gets a couple more years of chances. That's my final decision.

I GUESS YOU NEVER FIGURED MAYBE COLBERT DIDNT REALLY DRAFT ANY B ETTER WHEN COWHER WAS THERE..AND THAT MAYHBE BILL COWHER AND HIS STAFF JUST MANAGED TO TURN THEM INTO GREAT PLAYERS?..SOMETHING YOUR SAD SACK FAKE MIKE TOMLIN CANT DO..HUH?..NEVER THOUGHT OF IT INTELLIGENTLY HAVE YOU?...YOUR JUST A CHEERLEADER ONA OPRAH WINFREY SHOW CHEERING FOR SOMETHING YOU DONT EVEN KNOW ABOUT BUT JUST CAUSE OF A AGENDA...SHAME SHAME EVERY BODY KNOWS YOUR NAME....

DaRKMuMMySauRuS wrote:OH MY GOSH....I JUST NOTICE WHERE THAT ARTICLE CAME FROM...NOW I KNOW WHAT YOUR PROBLEM IS..HAHA..YOU GO FOR YOUR INFO AND ANSWERS ON eHOW.COM ?..HEHAHHEHAA..POOR BASTARD....

Hey, I just read the article and you're right, Tomlin does have equal footing in drafting players.

DaRKMuMMySauRuS wrote:AND ILL SAY IT AGAIN...AFTER 7 YEARS TOMLIN HAS APT TO HAVE BEEN GIVEN MORE AUTHORITY THAN WHEN TAHT ARTICLE WAS WRITTEN IN 07....NO QUESTION..CAUSE IF THAT WASNT ETH CASE HED BE GONE....WHICH HE WILL BE WITHIN 3 YEARS

If it was up to me, I'm not letting Tomlin have anymore say in the draft picks.

DiehardSteelersfan wrote:

DaRKMuMMySauRuS wrote:OH MY GOSH....I JUST NOTICE WHERE THAT ARTICLE CAME FROM...NOW I KNOW WHAT YOUR PROBLEM IS..HAHA..YOU GO FOR YOUR INFO AND ANSWERS ON eHOW.COM ?..HEHAHHEHAA..POOR BASTARD....

Hey, I just read the article and you're right, Tomlin does have equal footing in drafting players.

OF COURSE HE DOES..AND AFTER FALSELY WINNING A SUPER BOWL AND BEING IN ANOTHER HE THREW AWAY ALL CAUSE HE INHERITED COWHERS TEAM..TEHY GAVE HIM EVEN MORE LEEWAY...AND HE KANT HANDLE IT...HES NOT A FOOTBALL MAN..WHAT DONT YOU UNDERTSNAD....?..WHAT HA STHIS GUY GOT TO DRAW ON TO FACE ADVERSITY?..NOTHING...HES GONNA FLOP...

DaRKMuMMySauRuS wrote:

DiehardSteelersfan wrote:

DaRKMuMMySauRuS wrote:OH MY GOSH....I JUST NOTICE WHERE THAT ARTICLE CAME FROM...NOW I KNOW WHAT YOUR PROBLEM IS..HAHA..YOU GO FOR YOUR INFO AND ANSWERS ON eHOW.COM ?..HEHAHHEHAA..POOR BASTARD....

Hey, I just read the article and you're right, Tomlin does have equal footing in drafting players.

OF COURSE HE DOES..AND AFTER FALSELY WINNING A SUPER BOWL AND BEING IN ANOTHER HE THREW AWAY ALL CAUSE HE INHERITED COWHERS TEAM..TEHY GAVE HIM EVEN MORE LEEWAY...AND HE KANT HANDLE IT...HES NOT A FOOTBALL MAN..WHAT DONT YOU UNDERTSNAD....?..WHAT HA STHIS GUY GOT TO DRAW ON TO FACE ADVERSITY?..NOTHING...HES GONNA FLOP...

I am hoping that you're wrong.

DiehardSteelersfan wrote:

DaRKMuMMySauRuS wrote:AND ILL SAY IT AGAIN...AFTER 7 YEARS TOMLIN HAS APT TO HAVE BEEN GIVEN MORE AUTHORITY THAN WHEN TAHT ARTICLE WAS WRITTEN IN 07....NO QUESTION..CAUSE IF THAT WASNT ETH CASE HED BE GONE....WHICH HE WILL BE WITHIN 3 YEARS

If it was up to me, I'm not letting Tomlin have anymore say in the draft picks.

THAT WOINT WORK..YOU HAVE TO GET RID OF TEH PROBLEM...NOT MINIMIZE IT...

DiehardSteelersfan wrote:

DaRKMuMMySauRuS wrote:

DiehardSteelersfan wrote:

DaRKMuMMySauRuS wrote:OH MY GOSH....I JUST NOTICE WHERE THAT ARTICLE CAME FROM...NOW I KNOW WHAT YOUR PROBLEM IS..HAHA..YOU GO FOR YOUR INFO AND ANSWERS ON eHOW.COM ?..HEHAHHEHAA..POOR BASTARD....

Hey, I just read the article and you're right, Tomlin does have equal footing in drafting players.

OF COURSE HE DOES..AND AFTER FALSELY WINNING A SUPER BOWL AND BEING IN ANOTHER HE THREW AWAY ALL CAUSE HE INHERITED COWHERS TEAM..TEHY GAVE HIM EVEN MORE LEEWAY...AND HE KANT HANDLE IT...HES NOT A FOOTBALL MAN..WHAT DONT YOU UNDERTSNAD....?..WHAT HA STHIS GUY GOT TO DRAW ON TO FACE ADVERSITY?..NOTHING...HES GONNA FLOP...

I am hoping that you're wrong.

I WISH I WAS...SORRY YOU GUYS THINK I DONT LIKE HIM JUST CAUSE HES BLACK..AINT TEH CASE...HE DONT GOT WHAT IT TAKES...BELIEVE ME..IF THIS GUY COULD COACH ID BE BEHIND HIM...

DaRKMuMMySauRuS wrote:BOTTOM LINE..COLBERT HIT HOMERUNS WHNE COWHER WAS HERE...AND HE'S STRUCK OUT EVER SINCE TOMLINS BEEN HERE..COINCIDENCE AFTER 7 YEARS?...NO!!!!....

I ahev a Question..... If Colbert did so well when Cowher was here and YOU say so poorly with Tomlin, apparently Cowher didn't teach him nothing.

TASK wrote:

Admin wrote:

DaRKMuMMySauRuS wrote:BOTTOM LINE..COLBERT HIT HOMERUNS WHNE COWHER WAS HERE...AND HE'S STRUCK OUT EVER SINCE TOMLINS BEEN HERE..COINCIDENCE AFTER 7 YEARS?...NO!!!!....

I ahev a Question..... If Colbert did so well when Cowher was here and YOU say so poorly with Tomlin, apparently Cowher didn't teach him nothing.

COLBERT IS MOST LIKELY A WHITE-COLLAR FRONG OFFICE ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICE WORKER TYPE GUY ... PROBABLY NEVER PLAYED PRO FOOTBALL HIMSELF ... PROBABLY RELIED HEAVILY ON COWHERS INPUT ... AND NOW COLBERT AND TOMLIN ARE "THE BLIND LEADING THE BLIND"

Did you read the article? It is in a link I posted here. Let me get it
for you. I don't expect you to agree with it, but it does offer another
view. [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]
[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

Admin wrote:

TASK wrote:

Admin wrote:

DaRKMuMMySauRuS wrote:BOTTOM LINE..COLBERT HIT HOMERUNS WHNE COWHER WAS HERE...AND HE'S STRUCK OUT EVER SINCE TOMLINS BEEN HERE..COINCIDENCE AFTER 7 YEARS?...NO!!!!....

I ahev a Question..... If Colbert did so well when Cowher was here and YOU say so poorly with Tomlin, apparently Cowher didn't teach him nothing.

COLBERT IS MOST LIKELY A WHITE-COLLAR FRONG OFFICE ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICE WORKER TYPE GUY ... PROBABLY NEVER PLAYED PRO FOOTBALL HIMSELF ... PROBABLY RELIED HEAVILY ON COWHERS INPUT ... AND NOW COLBERT AND TOMLIN ARE "THE BLIND LEADING THE BLIND"

Did you read the article? It is in a link I posted here. Let me get it
for you. I don't expect you to agree with it, but it does offer another
view. [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]
[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

It's quite clear that Cowher's drafts were far more successful than Tomlin's drafts.

[quote="DiehardSteelersfan"]

Admin wrote:

TASK wrote:

Admin wrote:

DaRKMuMMySauRuS wrote:BOTTOM LINE..COLBERT HIT HOMERUNS WHNE COWHER WAS HERE...AND HE'S STRUCK OUT EVER SINCE TOMLINS BEEN HERE..COINCIDENCE AFTER 7 YEARS?...NO!!!!....

I ahev a Question..... If Colbert did so well when Cowher was here and YOU say so poorly with Tomlin, apparently Cowher didn't teach him nothing.

COLBERT IS MOST LIKELY A WHITE-COLLAR FRONG OFFICE ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICE WORKER TYPE GUY ... PROBABLY NEVER PLAYED PRO FOOTBALL HIMSELF ... PROBABLY RELIED HEAVILY ON COWHERS INPUT ... AND NOW COLBERT AND TOMLIN ARE "THE BLIND LEADING THE BLIND"

Did you read the article? It is in a link I posted here. Let me get it
for you. I don't expect you to agree with it, but it does offer another
view. [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]




It's quite clear that Cowher's drafts were far more successful than Tomlin's drafts.

I dunno, I see quite a few whiffs on high picks in there.....Jamain
Stephens 1996,Steve Conley 1996... how about Charles Johnson 1994 and
Deon Figures 1993? It isn't like they were all pro or even make much of
an impact on the roster. The first two I mention never even made the
starting line up and they were 1st & 2nd rd picks that year. I
realize it is all subjective, but there is still not a proven wide
difference between the two coaches. They have both had their high marks
and low ones too.