Alternative Theory: The Consultant Route

[Mr. Scot]

Mentioned previously in the thread about hypothetical leadership combinations that if the Panthers do have to replace both GM and head coach in one offseason, it's potentially tricky.  Hence, the idea that you could go after two guys who are already connected and try to hire them together.

Here's another option.

Bring in a consultant, preferably a former GM with a successful record, and let them handle the interviews for both positions.

Having one man in charge of both searches gives a certain amount of clarity to the process. It also allows for someone to analyze how the two candidates might connect and work well with each other.  Second interviews with candidates could even conceivably be done in tandem. The NFL actually has an advisory committee on things like this. Several current and former members of that committee have served as consultants assisting with such searches.

Here are some potential names:

 

Ozzie Newsome - Former Ravens GM. Arguably the most likely choice. Tepper would certainly be familiar with Newsome's record in Baltimore. Newsome retired from the Ravens in 2018, which would also make him the candidate with the most recent NFL connections.

Ernie Accorsi - Former Giants GM. Arguably the most popular choice. Accorsi has been in on several executive and coaching searches over the years.  Accorsi was friends with Jerry Richardson but has no definite connection to David Tepper that I know of.

Charley Casserly - Former Redskins GM, more recently with NFL Network. Another former exec who's been a consultant for a few different organizations, most recently the Jets.

Joe Banner - Former Eagles executive. Worked as a consultant for the Cleveland Browns a few years ago.

Ron Wolf - Former Packers GM. Has done some consulting work. His son Eliot is a potential GM candidate.

Carl Petersen - Former Chiefs GM with a highly successful record as an executive.

Bill Polian - Former Colts and Panthers GM. Has a son, Chris Polian, who would be a GM candidate (though not one I'd be in favor of).

Tony Dungy - A prior member of the NFL's advisory committee and a well respected man among the Steelers organization that Tepper came from.

 

And one last possibility where it gets a little tricky...

Kevin Colbert could be the guy depending on what his status with the Steelers is at season's end.  Of the group, Colbert has the closest connection to Tepper but barring his dismissal or agreeable arrangement with Pittsburgh (definitely possible), he's not officially out of contract with the Steelers until after next year's draft. In such a situation, Colbert may not necessarily be a GM candidate himself, though "consultant" is a very flexible term and Tepper could easily keep him in that role while he works on retooling the organization from top to bottom...

...beginning with the hiring of a new GM and head coach. 

[punkpanther]

Didn’t Richardson hire Accorsi to head up the GM search after he canned Hurney? Sounds familiar.

[Squirrel]

5 minutes ago, punkpanther said:

Didn’t Richardson hire Accorsi to head up the GM search after he canned Hurney? Sounds familiar.

Yes and brought in Gettleman. 

[Sgt Schultz]

The problem I have with the consultant route is you still set up a potential conflict where the GM inherits a coach he doesn't really want.  Sure, he can agree to that going into the deal, but as soon as things the heat is on, the conflict begins. 

I think this is a better route than canning Rivera and letting Hurney poison the well of the coach selection process, but it is not ideal.

Unless, of course, the consultant hires himself as GM later.

Mr Scot, I prefer the silent tampering we talked about in another thread!

[Mr. Scot]

5 minutes ago, Sgt Schultz said:

The problem I have with the consultant route is you still set up a potential conflict where the GM inherits a coach he doesn't really want.  Sure, he can agree to that going into the deal, but as soon as things the heat is on, the conflict begins. 

I think this is a better route than canning Rivera and letting Hurney poison the well of the coach selection process, but it is not ideal.

Unless, of course, the consultant hires himself as GM later.

Mr Scot, I prefer the silent tampering we talked about in another thread!

Understood. Mind you, even in cases where a GM is the one who hires the coach, there's always the possibility of conflict.

I think having one guy do the hiring for both helps is the possibility of that kind of thing though, especially if you have candidates meeting each other in the process. Even if they don't, you can compare notes regarding preferences, ideas, things of that sort.

As far as the other thing, you're not supposed to talk about that 

 

[rayzor]

Part of the reason gettleman was such a bad fit was the guy consulting didn't have a familiarity with the organization. 

Don't want to go that route again. Let Tepper get the guys he wants. If he needs help, he probably shouldn't have bought the team. If he has a clear vision of what he wants, he needs to find his guys to fit it. No go betweens. This is too big a deal to outsource.

[Harbingers]

4 minutes ago, rayzor said:

Part of the reason gettleman was such a bad fit was the guy consulting didn't have a familiarity with the organization. 

Don't want to go that route again. Let Tepper get the guys he wants. If he needs help, he probably shouldn't have bought the team. If he has a clear vision of what he wants, he needs to find his guys to fit it. No go betweens. This is too big a deal to outsource.

You are in management aren’t you? Tepper is a money guy, not a football guy. A consultant directly hired by him to get what he wants is what any leadership team would do. 

[LinvilleGorge]

7 minutes ago, rayzor said:

Part of the reason gettleman was such a bad fit was the guy consulting didn't have a familiarity with the organization. 

Don't want to go that route again. Let Tepper get the guys he wants. If he needs help, he probably shouldn't have bought the team. If he has a clear vision of what he wants, he needs to find his guys to fit it. No go betweens. This is too big a deal to outsource.

Yeah, I kind of agree. I don't have a super strong opinion one way or the other, but I'm kinda leaning this way.

[BrianS]

I wouldn't mind throwing money at Ozzie Newsome until he becomes our GM.

[rayzor]

1 minute ago, Harbingers said:

You are in management aren’t you? Tepper is a money guy, not a football guy. A consultant directly hired by him to get what he wants is what any leadership team would do. 

It depends on the job. GM is a pretty stinking big deal. No way I outsource that to someone else. Sure, I put together a team to suss it out, but I would be a very active player in the whole process and the final decision would be absolutely mine. 

Then job #1 becomes working with the new GM to hire an HC. Again, far too important a job to delegate or outsource that out.

If I'm passionate about this new venture, I'm going to absolutely be involved in that process considering the weight of the positions. Beyond that, I'd let the GM and HC work on filling the rest of the staff out.

 

[Mr. Scot]

33 minutes ago, rayzor said:

Part of the reason gettleman was such a bad fit was the guy consulting didn't have a familiarity with the organization. 

Don't want to go that route again. Let Tepper get the guys he wants. If he needs help, he probably shouldn't have bought the team. If he has a clear vision of what he wants, he needs to find his guys to fit it. No go betweens. This is too big a deal to outsource.

I'd argue that the bigger problem in that case wasn't so much lack of familiarity as it was that the organization itself was sh-t, particularly Jerry Richardson.

One difference here though: We're looking at remaking the organization. And in a case like that, a guy like Ozzie Newsome or Kevin Colbert could do an awful lot of good.

[djp14]

We should give these guys a call.

 

 

 

[Harbingers]

29 minutes ago, rayzor said:

It depends on the job. GM is a pretty stinking big deal. No way I outsource that to someone else. Sure, I put together a team to suss it out, but I would be a very active player in the whole process and the final decision would be absolutely mine. 

Then job #1 becomes working with the new GM to hire an HC. Again, far too important a job to delegate or outsource that out.

If I'm passionate about this new venture, I'm going to absolutely be involved in that process considering the weight of the positions. Beyond that, I'd let the GM and HC work on filling the rest of the staff out.

 

I’m guessing I’m looking at a consultant more like you are saying about a team rather than as the final say. I’d prefer him to bring in someone that can translate what he wants into the upper management team. Hopefully it will trickle down. 

[Mr. Scot]

3 minutes ago, djp14 said:

We should give these guys a call.

The last place they consulted with burned down.