More info on Dawson

[Mr. Scot]

Someone asked if I'd pull some additional info on Dawson.  Since i'm still home sick with nothing better to do, here's what I dug up.

Dawson's Playing Career

• Wide Receiver, Kansas City Chiefs, 1994-1997
• Wide Receiver, Indianapolis Colts, 1998-1999

Career Stats: 103 receptions for 1406 yards, 4 rushes for 15 yards, 43 games played, 26 started, and only 1 fumble in his entire career
Notes: Dawson was originally drafted in the 3rd Round of the 1994 Draft by longtime and highly regarded Chiefs GM Carl Peterson.

Dawson's Personnel Career

• Pro Personnel Assistant, Seattle Seahawks, 2001-2004
• Assistant Director of Pro Personnel, Seattle Seahawks, 2005-2006
• Director of Pro Personnel, Tennessee Titans, 2007-2010
• Vice President of Football Operations, Tennessee Titans, 2011
• Vice President of Player Personnel, Tennessee Titans, 2012-2015
• National Scout, Cleveland Browns, 2016
• Assistant Director of College Scouting, Buffalo Bills, 2017-present

All tolled, Dawson has over 17 years of experience in personnel evaluation.  At some point in his career, he's been in charge of college scouting, pro scouting, and pretty much every aspect of personnel evaluation you could name.

Previous GM Interviews

• Chicago Bears, 2015 (hired Ryan Pace)
• Miami Dolphins, 2014 (offered Dawson the job but he turned it down; hired Dennis Hickey who was fired two years later)
• Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 2014 (hired Jason Licht)
• Carolina Panthers, 2013 (hired Dave Gettleman, fired last year)
• Saint Louis Rams, 2012 (hired Les Snead)

Panthers Connections

Brandon Beane – Bills GM and former Panthers Assistant GM Beane hired Dawson in 2017.  Dawson describes Beane as being very supportive in his current interview process. If the Panthers were to hire Dawson, Beane could be a good resource to help Dawson when it comes to "getting the lay of the land" in Carolina.

Sean McDermott – The former Panthers and current Bills head coach worked with Dawson last year.

Jim Skipper – The Titans hired Skipper as their RB coach in 2011 after Ron Rivera let him go; two years later Rivera hired him back.

Curtis Fuller – The Panthers current Defensive Backs Coach was a player for the Seahawks and a coach for the Titans concurrent with Dawson working in personnel at both places.

Bill Polian – Dawson originally sought a career in personnel on the recommendation of then Colts GM (and former Panthers and Bills GM) Bill Polian.  Polian made the recommendation based on Dawson's intelligence, knowledge of the game, attention to detail and his habit of taking very meticulous notes on everything.

Dom Anile – Anile headed up the Panthers scouting for several years before leaving with Polian. He was Director of Football Operations for the Colts when they signed Dawson as a free agent,

Vic Fangio – The original Panthers defensive coordinator held the same job with the Colts during Dawson's time there,

Fred Graves – Former Panthers Receiver Coach Graves was with the Titans before Rivera brought him aboard. Fans might also remember that Graves was Steve Smith’s college Receiver Coach. (Maybe that would help bridge that gap so many fans want to see repaired)

Ernie Accorsi – The consultant who got Dave Gettleman the Panthers GM job also recommended Dawson for an interview that year and again when he served as a consultant for the Bears GM search the following year.

Bucky Brooks – Analyst and former Panthers scout Bucky Brooks was teammates with Dawson during Dawson's last season with the Chiefs.

In addition to these, during his playing career Dawson was teammates with several Panther players, including QB Steve Bono, FB Chris Hetherington, FB Scott Greene, DE Shawn King, DE Mark Thomas, LB Andre Royal, S Chad Cota and CB Tyrone Poole.

Dawson was teammates with Billy Joe Tolliver in KC as well.  Tolliver was also a teammate in New Orleans of former Panthers QB Jake Delhomme.

Also of note, Chiefs GM Carl Peterson ( avery highly respected GM) drafted Dawson in the third round of the 1994 Draft.  Peterson also served as GM for the USFL’s Philadelphia Stars where he draftedPanthers legend Sam Mills.

People connected to both Dawson and Ron Rivera

Jimmy Raye III – Worked with Rivera in San Diego; was a QC guy in Kansas City when Dawson played there; his dad was the RB Coach

Dave McGinnis – Rivera’s LB Coach as a player with the Bears was also on staff with the Titans while Dawson was an executive

Jeff Fisher – Rivera’s former Bears teammate was the Head Coach in Tennessee when Dawson first came aboard

Leslie Frazier – Another old Rivera teammate who's now DC of the Bills

Juan Castillo – Current Bills OL Coach was a Rivera coaching colleague with the Eagles

Bob Babich – Former Rivera coaching colleague who replaced him as Bears DC is also currently in Buffalo

Hal Hunter – OL Coach in Cleveland in 2016 was also OL Coach in San Diego when Rivera was there

Michael Oher – Came to the Panthers after his release from Tennessee

Also of Note: The Bills signed Mike Tolbert and Philly Brown in free agency last year and later traded for Kelvin Benjamin.  Both Kaelin Clay and Kevan Seymour also spent time with both teams last year.

Other Notable People Dawson has worked With

Mike Holgren – Seahawks GM who first hired him in a personnel capacity, retired

Ted Thompson – Seahawks Vice President of Football Operations, more recently GM of the Green Bay Packers

John Schneider – Seahawks Director of Player Personnel, now Seahawks GM

Scot McCloughan – Seahawks Director of College Scouting, currently unemployed

Tim Ruskell – Seahawks GM Dawson's final year there, was previously an executive with the Bucs and Falcons, currently a Scout for the Titans

Ray Horton – DB Coach in Tennessee and Defensive Coordinator in Cleveland

Marty Schottenheimer – Dawson's first head coach with the Kansas City Chiefs

Jim Mora Sr – Dawson's head coach in Indianapolis (hopefully didn't teach him anything about postgame interviews)

Russ Ball – Chiefs Strength and Conditioning Coach, currently a personnel executive with the Packers

Additional Notes

Dawson was actually offered the GM job for the Miami Dolphins in 2014 but turned it down.  He cited the Dolphins having a different vision than he and that it was not an ideal fit for his family as the reasons. Rumor has it that the Dolphins were not willing to offer full control and Dawson insisted on it (that's worth making a mental note for future reference).

Dawson's team building philosophy: Build through the draft, fill immediate holes via free agency, ensure you have room to maneuver under the cap and never ever be "cap poor" (sound familiar?)

What Dawson looks for in a player?  "Smart, tough, physical and high character"

Dawson was working in pro personnel with the Seahawks in 2005 when they beat the Panthers in the NFC Championship and went to the Super Bowl.

The Panthers were the first team to give Dawson a GM interview.  If he's hired, they'll also be the first team to give him a GM position.

Dawson is the youngest of all the GM candidates, having just turned 46 in January.  For comparison, Marty Hurney is 62, only four years and nine months younger than former GM Dave Gettleman.

Dawson interviewed for GM jobs alongside Giants personnel guy Marc Ross on more than one occasion (unknown if they're acquainted).

Like Ron Rivera, Dawson comes from a military family (Dad was a Marine).

He describes himself in his younger days as not the most athletically gifted, but someone who was willing to outwork everybody else.  Guys like that often make good coaches / GMs.

One of the big turning points of his life was going to a football camp where he got direct coaching from all time great Raiders receiver Fred Biletnikoff.

As a receiver, Dawson has the distinction of having caught passes from two all time great quarterbacks: Joe Montana and Peyton Manning.

After the Titans purged their front office in 2016, Dawson took a job working as a scout for the Browns.  He was willing to literally start at the bottom again and work his way up.  Didn't take long of course as Brandon Beane picked him up the following year.

Bad news for some: Anyone looking for a new GM to relax the "high character" standards the Panthers have previously employed might be disappointed with Dawson.  When he was hired in Buffalo, GM Brandon Beane mentioned that Dawson was on board with looking for guys of "high character". Doesn't sound like that emphasis would change under Dawson. Some of his prior quotes and interviews give a similar impression.

To be fair though, some of the Titans teams Dawson was part of building did have some questionable guys.  It's worth noting however that the head coach at the time was Jeff Fisher.  Fisger would be fired two years into Dawson's Titans tenure.  Randy Moss was also brought aboard there for a year or so, one of his last in the NFL.

Dawson has an MBA (Master's of Business Administration) degree from Indiana University that he completed while he was serving as a high executive in Tennessee.  That's some pretty impressive multitasking and says a lot about how intelligent he is.

Random: Dawson's playing bio listed him as 6'2, 207.  His college coach was Lou Holtz.  One of his college teammates was Rock Hill native and Bills DB Jeff Burris.  He was an executive with the Titans when former Panthers first pick Kerry Collins signed up to play there.

FYI: I thought about trying to list the names of several great players that Dawson has been associated with in one form or another, but that list is long and my fingers are tired.  A few of the most distinguished?  Joe Montana, Marcus Allen, Neal Smith, the late Derrick Thomas, Dale Carter, James Hasty, Tony Gonzalez, Peyton Manning, Marshall Faulk, Marvin Harrison and Edgerrin James.

Quotes from and about Dawson:

From the Titans website: Lake Dawson Bio

 

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A highly-respected talent evaluator, Dawson assists general manager Ruston Webster and head coach Ken Whisenhunt with the team’s daily roster moves and all transactions via free agency and the annual NFL Draft. In his role, he manages draft meetings, assists with all draft selections and oversees off-season pro personnel free agent visits or acquisitions. He scouts all levels of professional football, including the NFL, CFL and Arena Football League. In addition to his various football operations responsibilities, he assists with contract negotiations. In 2013, he was selected to participate in the prestigious NFL’s Career Development Symposium at the Wharton School of Business in Philadelphia.

 

From an article about Dawson's hiring by the Bills: Bills add Lake Dawson as Assistant Director of College Scouting

 

Quote

“Lake has worked hard,” Beane said. “He’s had a heck of a career. He rose to a level of VP of Player Personnel. He’s interviewed for multiple GM positions. To have a guy with his experience and leadership and high character … we talked about that in the interview. What type of player are we looking for … Lake understands that it is the guy on the field, but as the Assistant College Director, we’re going to make sure our college scouts are working the background and the character on prospects.”

 

From an article about a speech Dawson gave at his alma mater, Notre Dame: Monogram Club holds 2013 Letter Jacket Ceremony

 

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"For me, the Monogram Club is distinguished and worth celebrating because it is a symbol of Notre Dame's principles," Dawson said. "As student-athletes at Notre Dame, we embrace a higher standard, and strong belief in faith, God, values, tradition, hard work, being purpose-driven and a commitment to excellence. This standard has helped shape and mold the success I've achieved in my life and will do the same for you both professionally and personally."

 

From an interview Dawson gave relating both to personnel evaluation and the business world (this is very informative): Q&A with Lake Dawson

 

Quote

In my business, I see winning as paramount. That’s the first thing. With that, I think the way that you’re able to balance both the short-term goal of winning and the long-term goal of sustained success and flexibility is from what I was taught by Ted Thompson [Current general manager of the Green Bay Packers]. You build through the draft in terms of football and building your team and that you supplement other areas of concern through free agency and veteran players. For me, that means not being one-sided or not being cap poor in terms of the salary cap.

From a strategic standpoint, that could possibly mean trading away a veteran player who is still playing at a level that is attractive to other teams in the NFL to acquire other draft picks. That could also mean trading away picks to accumulate more picks during the draft. Ultimately, it is about trying to build through the draft and then supplement other needs through free agency.

My overall strategy is to develop what I call a “stacked” roster. By stacked, I mean the depth of your roster. You’re trying to constantly create a competitive environment for the players where there are younger players who are pushing veterans for spots or younger players competing for jobs. Because the more competition you can create on the roster, the better that roster will be.

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One sided to me means that your roster make-up isn’t built in just a one-sided manner of young players or veteran, more expensive players, but an actual balanced roster that has a good mix of young and experienced players is what is most desired in my opinion. Cap poor means you have strapped yourself into contracts that press you up against the ceiling of the salary cap limit.  Thus, you are limited in what you can do in acquiring players in the future due to limited remaining cap resources – you just haven’t given yourself enough room to acquire more talent because of contracts that may not be cap friendly and your overall robust spending. That also means trying to accumulate as many draft picks to acquire younger talented players who have a chance to play longer than veteran players due to age and can cost less against the salary cap.

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That is a great question with regards to young MBA candidates or even older candidates coming into the workforce. In my life experience, humility and service come to mind along with listening. Those three [traits] are vital because when you come into a group or team setting, humility is paramount. A lot of times, people feel humility is a sign of weakness. But I would say it’s a sign of strength. If you’re humble enough to put your own needs and feelings aside to listen for the greater good, that’s almost a biblical principle to me in terms of what I was taught growing up in the church. I think any great leader must be able to serve. You cannot serve unless you listen. So those three qualities [humility, service, and listening] are foundational pieces for coming into a situation and trying to have an impact.

You can’t come in loud and brash in my opinion. That’s not the best way to create a bridge. I think most people respond better to a humble person who’s willing to serve. If you’re going to serve, you’re going to listen and gather information. And then, when that opportunity presents itself, you react to that situation with the knowledge and experiences that you gained in life as well as from your MBA. You attack it with vigor and innovative thought. But you have to come to that situation with humility and a mindset of service and a mindset to listen. These are small, small steps that grow into big ones. This is the best way to come into a situation and have an executive presence, even when you’re not an executive yet.

 

Another story from the same site, Dawson's story as told by Dawson himself: My Story, from NFL Executive to Kelley MBA Student

 

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I was raised in a two parent home to two teenage parents. My father, Lewis, comes from Orlando. Marlene, my mom, is originally from Miami. She was raised by her father (Lake Mathis) and seven other siblings – all of whom were girls. Her mother passed when she was nine years old – a major blow in her life. Her father only went to the sixth grade. He wasn’t the most academic guy, but he was a very, very hard worker.

My mother is a very strong lady. She is very focused with Christian beliefs. She always said to me that she didn’t want to be another statistic of a young African American woman from a poor background. And she wasn’t going to let being pregnant with me get in the way of her dreams. But in any trying time, you need help from people around you. So she moved up to Boston, where her older sister was, and had me.

My mom went to Boston State College, where she got a degree in education. She was literally taking me to campus after she had me. My father moved up to Boston in pursuit of my mom and enrolled in school there. And the two of them tried to make it work. Eventually, they moved back to Miami. My parents were young people trying to work it out. It was a difficult time with the financial pressures of providing for me and one another – and just growing up and trying to figure out what direction you want to go. They’d separate here-and-there, but for the most part they were together.

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I’ve had the chance to interview to be a general manager several times. That process requires a lot of preparation. We’re all a makeup of the people that we’ve come into contact with. It’s humbling to interview for a general manager job because there are so many talented guys in the NFL who don’t get that opportunity. With that said, I certainly felt excited about the opportunities I had to interview with the St. Louis Rams, Carolina Panthers, Miami Dolphins, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and the Chicago Bears. I was actually offered the Miami job and didn’t take it. Sometimes, you don’t take a job just to take it. You need to give yourself the best opportunity to be successful. With any job you take at that level, it’s all about getting time and support. I keep talking about how you need to have the same vision and alignment to give you a chance at success – and even that doesn’t guarantee success. Everyone needs to be on the same page and understand that the culture you are trying to create.

A lot of that preparation you already have in you. In my case, I’ve been working in the NFL, in one form or another, for 21 years. Being around other successful people, you see how others function from a leadership function as well as what their core beliefs are. You take some of that and you make it your own. And you formulate your own ideas on what it takes to build a championship caliber team, how you sustain success, and the type of people you want to work with. I’ve formulated my philosophies based on relationships that I’ve had with the guys that I’ve mentioned before. But I also rely on advice from guys like Ozzie Newsome (General Manager of the Baltimore Ravens), for example, a former player who transitioned into a leadership role like me. At the end of the day, you want to be who you are and sell your vision and your strategies on what it takes to be successful to an owner. With interviews, I got better each time.

The interview process can be daunting and exhausting. They can last anywhere from four to eight hours. I’ve been married for 20 years now and I don’t talk to my wife for four hours straight – and I love her! It’s amazing to think that you can talk that long. You meet with a variety of people. Not only the owners, but you also sit down with the president of the organization, head coach (if they have one in place), and people who work in football operations.

 

Multimedia

Lastly, here are a couple of videos where Dawson talks about football and other things.  The Browns interview is probably the most informative.  The Notre Dame speech is fairly long but tells you a lot about how impressive he comes off when speaking. As an aside, I love that Voth finishes his interview with Dawson by saying "Great, Lake" (watch Voth do that repeatedly if he's hired).

Panthers.com: Dawson talks about GM position

Road to the Draft: insight from Browns scout Lake Dawson

Lake Dawson speaks at Notre Dame

Titans Training Camp Interview

Titans 2014 Post-Draft Presser

And lastly, here's a few pics...

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[t96]

Appreciate it Scot. Would prefer Raye (of the three we've interviewed) but I think Dawson is a solid candidate.

[Chief Keek]

Good profile @Mr. Scot the more I read about him the more I like especially his philosophy. Hopefully Lake or Jimmy Raye get the nod over Hurney.

[Mr. Scot]

Here's a quote from the last linked site that I found particularly interesting:

Quote

Being a general manager is just that – general knowledge. The owner is going to ask you anything from dealing with the grass at the stadium to hiring and firing people to establishing a player personnel structure for building his team. And that’s one of the reasons I went back to get my MBA. I wanted to have a general knowledge of finance specifically and business overall so I could feel stronger and more confident about myself in those broader situations. When you sit down in front of the owners, they’re just like you and me. They want to win. They have a passion for it. In the interview process, you have to have a clear vision of what’s important to you, right or wrong, and be able to express that to the owner. You’re trying to see if your passion and vision align with them (and the people you’re going to be working with). Just because they don’t hire you, it doesn’t mean you’re not capable of doing that job. It just means that it might not be the most ideal fit for you.

Guy went out and got a Masters Degree in Business just so it would help him become a better GM in the future.

That's something.

I know guys who wouldn't take so much as one online class to get better at the job they have now, but Dawson decided to get an MBA so that he could be better suited for a job he might get in the future.

Wow.

[Jimmy]

As VP & Dir of Pro Personnel he would've had the ear of his GMs moreso than anyone else in the organization when it came to the draft....who are his notable drafted players?

[Mr. Scot]

1 hour ago, Jimmy said:

As VP & Dir of Pro Personnel he would've had the ear of his GMs moreso than anyone else in the organization when it came to the draft....who are his notable drafted players?

That's an analysis I thought about doing but ultimately decided not to  pursue.

Yes, he'd have had input on the draft, but not the final decision. Giving him credit (or blame) in that scenario is no different to me than people trying to give Marty Hurney credit for drafting Steve Smith.

So yeah, if anyone else wants to look at that, go ahead.  Not me, though. 

[arbnranger]

Thanks Scott . Good stuff and I haven’t read it all yet . 

Appreciate the work man.  

[TheSpecialJuan]

2 hours ago, Mr. Scot said:

Someone asked if I'd pull some additional info on Dawson.  Since i'm still home sick with nothing better to do, here's what I dug up.

Dawson's Playing Career

- Wide Receiver, Kansas City Chiefs, 1994-1997
- Wide Receiver, Indianapolis Colts, 1998-1999

Career Stats: 103 receptions for 1406 yards, 4 rushes for 15 yards, 43 games played, 26 started, and only 1 fumble in his entire career
Notes: Dawson was originally drafted in the 3rd Round of the 1994 Draft by longtime and highly regarded Chiefs GM Carl Peterson.

Dawson's Personnel Career

- Pro Personnel Assistant, Seattle Seahawks, 2001-2004
- Assistant Director of Pro Personnel, Seattle Seahawks, 2005-2006
- Director of Pro Personnel, Tennessee Titans, 2007-2010
- Vice President of Football Operations, Tennessee Titans, 2011
- Vice President of Player Personnel, Tennessee Titans, 2012-2015
- National Scout, Cleveland Browns, 2016
- Assistant Director of College Scouting, Buffalo Bills, 2017-present

All tolled, Dawson has over 17 years of experience in personnel evaluation.  At some point in his career, he's been in charge of college scouting, pro scouting, and pretty much every aspect of personnel evaluation you could name.

Previous GM Interviews

- Chicago Bears, 2015 (hired Ryan Pace)
- Miami Dolphins, 2014 (offered Dawson the job but he turned it down; hired Dennis Hickey who was fired two years later)
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 2014 (hired Jason Licht)
- Carolina Panthers, 2013 (hired Dave Gettleman, fired last year)
- Saint Louis Rams, 2012 (hired Les Snead)

Panthers Connections

Brandon Beane – Bills GM and former Panthers Assistant GM Beane hired Dawson in 2017.  Dawson describes Beane as being very supportive in his current interview process. If the Panthers were to hire Dawson, Beane could be a good resource to help Dawson when it comes to "getting the lay of the land" in Carolina.

Sean McDermott – The former Panthers and current Bills head coach worked with Dawson last year.

Jim Skipper - The Titans hired Skipper as their RB coach in 2011 after Ron Rivera let him go; two years later Rivera hired him back.

Curtis Fuller - The Panthers current Defensive Backs Coach was a player for the Seahawks and a coach for the Titans concurrent with Dawson working in personnel at both places.

Bill Polian - Dawson originally sought a career in personnel on the recommendation of then Colts GM (and former Panthers and Bills GM) Bill Polian.  Polian made the recommendation based on Dawson's intelligence, knowledge of the game, attention to detail and his habit of taking very meticulous notes on everything.

Dom Anile – Anile headed up the Panthers scouting for several years before leaving with Polian. He was Director of Football Operations for the Colts when they signed Dawson as a free agent,

Vic Fangio - The original Panthers defensive coordinator held the same job with the Colts during Dawson's time there,

Fred Graves – Former Panthers Receiver Coach Graves was with the Titans before Rivera brought him aboard. Fans might also remember that Graves was Steve Smith’s college Receiver Coach. (Maybe that would help bridge that gap so many fans want to see repaired)

Ernie Accorsi - The consultant who got Dave Gettleman the Panthers GM job also recommended Dawson for an interview that year and again when he served as a consultant for the Bears GM search the following year.

In addition to these, during his playing career Dawson was teammates with several Panther players, including QB Steve Bono, FB Chris Hetherington, FB Scott Greene, DE Shawn King, DE Mark Thomas, LB Andre Royal, S Chad Cota and CB Tyrone Poole.

Dawson was teammates with Billy Joe Tolliver in KC as well.  Tolliver was also a teammate in New Orleans of former Panthers QB Jake Delhomme.

Also of note, Chiefs GM Carl Peterson ( avery highly respected GM) drafted Dawson in the third round of the 1994 Draft.  Peterson also served as GM for the USFL’s Philadelphia Stars where he draftedPanthers legend Sam Mills.

People connected to both Dawson and Ron Rivera

Jimmy Raye III – worked with Rivera in San Diego; was a QC guy in Kansas City when Dawson played there; his dad was the RB Coach

Dave McGinnis – Rivera’s LB Coach as a player with the Bears was also on staff with the Titans while Dawson was an executive

Jeff Fisher – Rivera’s former Bears teammate was the Head Coach in Tennessee when Dawson first came aboard

Leslie Frazier - another old Rivera teammate who's now DC of the Bills

Juan Castillo - current Bills OL Coach was a Rivera coaching colleague with the Eagles

Bob Babich - former Rivera coaching colleague who replaced him as Bears DC is also currently in Buffalo

Hal Hunter - OL Coach in Cleveland in 2016 was also OL Coach in San Diego when Rivera was there

Other Notable People Dawson has worked With

Mike Holgren - Seahawks GM who first hired him in a personnel capacity, retired

Ted Thompson - Seahawks Vice President of Football Operations, more recently GM of the Green Bay Packers

John Schneider - Seahawks Director of Player Personnel, now Seahawks GM

Scot McCloughan - Seahawks Director of College Scouting, currently unemployed

Tim Ruskell - Seahawks GM Dawson's final year there, was previously an executive with the Bucs and Falcons, currently a Scout for the Titans

Ray Horton - DB Coach in Tennessee and Defensive Coordinator in Cleveland

Also of Note: The Bills signed Mike Tolbert and Philly Brown in free agency last year and later traded for Kelvin Benjamin.  Both Kaelin Clay and Kevan Seymour also spent time with both teams last year.

Additional Notes

Dawson was actually offered the GM job for the Miami Dolphins in 2014 but turned it down.  He cited the Dolphins having a different vision than he and that it was not an ideal fit for his family as the reasons. Rumor has it that the Dolphins were not willing to offer full control and Dawson insisted on it (that's worth making a mental note for future reference).

Dawson's team building philosophy: Build through the draft, fill immediate holes via free agency, ensure you have room to maneuver under the cap and never ever be "cap poor" (sound familiar?)

Dawson was working in pro personnel with the Seahawks in 2005 when they beat the Panthers in the NFC Championship and went to the Super Bowl.

The Panthers were the first team to give Dawson a GM interview.  If he's hired, they'll also be the first team to give him a GM position.

Dawson is the youngest of all the GM candidates, having just turned 46 in January.  For comparison, Marty Hurney is 62, only four years and nine months younger than former GM Dave Gettleman.

Dawson interviewed for Gm jobs alongside Giants personnel guy Marc Ross on more than one occasion (unknown if they're acquainted).

As a receiver, Dawson has the distinction of having caught passes from two all time great quarterbacks: Joe Montana and Peyton Manning.

After the Titans purged their front office in 2016, Dawson took a job working as a scout for the Browns.  He was willing to literally start at the bottom again and work his way up.  Didn't take long of course as Brandon Beane picked him up the following year.

Bad news for some: Anyone looking for a new GM to relax the "high character" standards the Panthers have previously employed might be disappointed with Dawson.  When he was hired in Buffalo, GM Brandon Beane mentioned that Dawson was on board with looking for guys of "high character". Doesn't sound like that emphasis would change under Dawson. Some of his prior quotes and interviews give a similar impression.

To be fair though, some of the Titans teams Dawson was part of building did have some questionable guys.  It's worth noting however that the head coach at the time was Jeff Fisher.  Fisger would be fired two years into Dawson's Titans tenure.  Randy Moss was also brought aboard there for a year or so, one of his last in the NFL.

Dawson has an MBA (Master's of Business Administration) degree from Indiana University that he completed while he was serving as a high executive in Tennessee.  That's some pretty impressive multitasking and says a lot about how intelligent he is.

Random: Dawson's playing bio listed him as 6'2, 207.  His college coach was Lou Holtz.  One of his college teammates was Rock Hill native and Bills DB Jeff Burris.  He was an executive with the Titans when former Panthers first pick Kerry Collins signed up to play there.

FYI: I thought about trying to list the names of several great players that Dawson has been associated with in one form or another, but that list is long and my fingers are tired.

Quotes from and about Dawson:

From the Titans website: Lake Dawson Bio

 

 

From an article about Dawson's hiring by the Bills: Bills add Lake Dawson as Assistant Director of College Scouting

 

 

From an article about a speech Dawson gave at his alma mater, Notre Dame: Monogram Club holds 2013 Letter Jacket Ceremony

 

 

From an interview Dawson gave relating both to personnel evaluation and working in the business world (this is very informative): Q&A with Lake Dawson

 

 

Another interview from the same site, also informative with a lot of stuff about Dawson's history: My Story, from NFL Executive to Kelley MBA Student

 

 

Multimedia

Lastly, here are a couple of videos where Dawson talks about football and other things.  The Browns interview is probably the most informative.  The Notre Dame speech is fairly long but tells you a lot about how impressive he comes off when speaking. As an aside, I love that Voth finishes his interview with Dawson by saying "Great, Lake".

Panthers.com: Dawson talks about GM position

Road to the Draft: insight from Browns scout Lake Dawson

Lake Dawson speaks at Notre Dame

And lastly, here's a few pics...

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watch we give the job to Hurney tomorrow 

[Mr. Scot]

One thing that could potentially make it difficult for Dawson to get hired by Jerry Richardson (besides the fact that he's not Marty Hurney)...

He's originally from Boston.

Richardson didn't get along so well with the last guy from Boston that he hired for this job.

[TheSpecialJuan]

Great job man, this was a terrific read. 

[Mr. Scot]

For those worried about players getting hurt feelings when they're cut, you'll be happy to read this (from the "My Story" link above).

Quote

It was great in Kansas City. Besides Montana and Allen, I played with Will Shields, Derrick Thomas, and Neil Smith. We had some good years there. We went to the playoffs, but we didn’t go as far as we’d liked. And one thing you learn about the NFL is that it’s “not for long.” You see guys come and go. At some point in time, it’ll be your turn to go. I had some injuries slow my progress. In 1998, I was a free agent and the Chiefs were ready to move on. The late Lamar Hunt was the owner of the Chiefs then and he was a great man. He was all about people. He didn’t treat his players like they were just employees. They were part of his family. When I left the Chiefs, he wrote a handwritten note to me about how much he appreciated my work and what a good representative I was for his organization. He didn’t have to do that. I think it is that type of leadership and communication that I aspire to emulate.

 

[Mr. Scot]

So when this process first started I commented that Lake Dawson was my least favorite candidate behind Jimmy Raye (excellent resume' and prior experience with Rivera) and Ryan Cowden (longtime Panthers guy and a rising star in the personnel world).  It later turned out that the Panthers never contacted Cowden but did also interview Martin Mayhew, so my list in order of preference became Raye, then Dawson, and Mayhew list. Marty Hurney wasn't even an option.

Now that I've had a chance to look more closely at Dawson, I can firmly state that if he's hired, I'll stand up and applaud. 

Of course, there's no way to predict what kind of GM he'll be (even smart guys sometimes fail) but Dawson is as impressive a football guy as I've seen.  I could go into the coming offseason feeling like we were in good, capable hands with Dawson as the GM.

Here's hoping for good news this week.

 

 

[Dilla]

Random: I'm a big fan of the earth sciences (I have a degree in meteorology), so I would try to convince the mother of my hypothetical child to let me name the kid based off that. Lake would be my top name for a boy.

[Mr. Scot]

15 minutes ago, Dilla said:

Random: I'm a big fan of the earth sciences (I have a degree in meteorology), so I would try to convince the mother of my hypothetical child to let me name the kid based off that. Lake would be my top name for a boy.

If I read right, Lake was his mom's father's name.

Hey, if he's hired, we'll have the coolest GM name in the NFL.