The Athletic: Which NFL teams have the best front offices? Head coaches and execs cast their votes

[jkeerie]

1 hour ago, HOUSE said:

The best front offices will improve the team at the trade deadline almost every year.

The teams with average front offices do nothing as the competition becomes stronger 

Tyreek Hill should land in KC any day now...🤔

 

 

Now that Tyquan Thornton has emerged as a speedy, good hands WR, I don't see it.

[JGMcD2]

41 minutes ago, Mikie2times said:

When the Bengals window was open they accomplished more, including taking us to the woodshed multiple times. 

 

Nobody is saying our FO is terrible or mediocre. Is it possible they're average with an all time QB leading the way? Look at what has happened in New York to the direct disciples of this regime.  Yes. It's very possible, IMO probable. 

They weren’t direct disciples at all. They were complementary pieces in a system where the whole was greater than the sum of its parts.

 

Brandon Beane has even said on record that he trusted Joe Schoen’s player evaluations more than his own. Beane is the big-picture architect, his best skill is taking all of the information into account and making decisions that align with their organizational values. Schoen is a scout who is playing GM by chasing talent and only has the concepts of a plan.

 

And Brian Daboll? He’s not half the leader McDermott is. Relationship issues have followed him everywhere he’s been - including Buffalo, where they had to move him off the sidelines because he was far too unpredictable. 

 

They started out on the exact same path as Buffalo, with a surprise playoff appearance. Then their hubris at the QB position saw them hitch their wagon to a guy they weren’t sold on. In contrast, Tyrod Taylor was traded for a 3rd round pick after breaking the 17-year drought so Buffalo could clear the way for their pursuit of the most important position in sports. 

[balln]

26 minutes ago, dpberr said:

I wouldn't rate the Eagles #1.  No way.  

 

They have pushed nearly $500 million in contract expenses into the 2028-2030 seasons to fund today.  The limitation is an owner's willingness, even capability, to spend that cash up front, and Lurie is risking the value of his franchise by doing it.  (The Bills, I think, by comparison, are somewhere around $70 million.)

 

The Eagles are counting on significantly higher viewership to drive the next media deal and a massive increase in salary cap space in 2029. They're borrowing heavily against future revenue to pay players now, banking on the expectation that future earnings will rise enough to balance it out. So far, the strategy has worked.  However, if the cap doesn’t increase as much as projected, they will face Saints-like "end of days" financial trouble in 2028, 2029, and 2030.

They’re not in actual physical real dollars in debt. They’ve just paid cash upfront. All these maneuvers are for Charges in the future. It’s not actual real money 

Edited September 24 by balln

[dollars 2 donuts]

Absolutely can't argue with this.

 

How can anyone in their right mind not like the way those 4 organizations are run?

 

If I had to swap our guys I would only do it with the other three listed.

 

...maybe...MAYBE Green Bay or Tampa, too.

 

 

 

 

[hondo in seattle]

5 hours ago, todd said:

Oh no! The skeptical narrative takes a hit!

 

Not for me.

 

I'd give Beane an "A" even though I often complain that he needs to get better.

 

The Bills had 1 All-Pro last year.  The Ravens and Eagles both had 6.  The Lions had 4 and the Chiefs had 3.  

It's hard to win a Lombardi with just one All-Pro.  But when that All-Pro is Allen, you have to Beane a high grade.  

 

Still, you have to consider that the goal is to win a Lombardi and only the top team gets one, not the top four.  So why congratulate Beane for being 4th on this list?   

Of course, I'd rather be in the top 20% on this list than the bottom 20%, but Brandon has work to do.  

 

5 hours ago, Rubes said:

We'll never be ranked #1 until we get rid of McDermott!

 

 

Our FO is ranked #4 (and according to the point totals, not even close to Philly or Baltimore).  

 

Yet we're #2 in wins since 2020.  In other words, our coaches are outperforming the work done by the FO.  

 

Edited September 24 by hondo in seattle

[chris heff]

4 hours ago, Bruffalo said:

I have a morbid curiosity for who would be worst if they were asked the reverse. 

I think we just played two of them.

[dpberr]

24 minutes ago, balln said:

They’re not in actual physical real dollars in debt. They’ve just paid cash upfront. All these maneuvers are for Charges in the future. It’s not actual real money 

It's guaranteed money.  $452 million.

 

[chris heff]

47 minutes ago, jkeerie said:

Now that Tyquan Thornton has emerged as a speedy, good hands WR, I don't see it.

Well if that’s true, then the Chiefs’ excuse for being 1-3 is gone. 

[Mikie2times]

1 hour ago, JGMcD2 said:

They started out on the exact same path as Buffalo, with a surprise playoff appearance. Then their hubris at the QB position saw them hitch their wagon to a guy they weren’t sold on. In contrast, Tyrod Taylor was traded for a 3rd round pick after breaking the 17-year drought so Buffalo could clear the way for their pursuit of the most important position in sports. 

It is entirely possible to have executed the the QB position with flying colors and not the rest of the roster. Why we are here has a lot of opinions. Some people think the whole thing becomes unraveled without McD. Some people feel like the roster itself is just as much a result of the success as Allen. Then some people are in my camp, feeling like Allen has just masked a ton of warts for both McD and Beane. I don't think we have much here without Josh, even with an above average QB as his replacement. That is the only hypothetical I really need to land on to feel like the opinion I have is valid. I just don't think the roster construction can support average QB play. 

Edited September 24 by Mikie2times

[machine gun kelly]

6 hours ago, JGMcD2 said:

As the 2025 season began, The Athletic asked 29 general managers, head coaches and high-ranking team executives to rank their top front offices in the NFL (no one was allowed to vote for their team). We tabulated the votes and solicited specific feedback on the top teams to put the focus on why these front offices have set themselves apart from the pack.

 

1. Philadelphia Eagles

 

2. Baltimore Ravens

 

3. Los Angeles Rams

 

4. Buffalo Bills

 

It all starts with the quarterback in Buffalo, but don’t diminish the process.

Reigning MVP Josh Allen was a tough player to evaluate leading up to the 2018 draft, but the Bills packaged a pair of second-round picks to move up five spots from No. 12 to select the Wyoming quarterback. Then they had to hold steady for a couple of years while he refined his skills.

They’ve cashed in ever since.

“They nailed the QB, and that goes a really long way,” an executive said. “I was not a huge Josh Allen fan (before the draft). They put in the work and the time, and that was not a slam-dunk pick by any stretch. But they identified him.”

General manager Brandon Beane and coach Sean McDermott share a like-minded view on roster acquisition. And while there have been inconsistencies in the draft, the Bills were still able to reload on the fly over the last two years, shedding veterans for a youth movement.

“They have a really good staff and a clear vision for what a Bill looks like,” an executive said. “With few exceptions, their guys are always tough and competitive.”

There’s a real significance in building through the draft in Buffalo, too. Quite poignantly, it hadn’t been a priority destination for free agents, at least not before Allen took off.

“They identified the QB and built around him,” another executive said. “They’ve got a good group of scouts who work hard, grind, know how to get information and they’re really organized.”

 

5. Kansas City Chiefs 

I agree with these rankings minus Detroit to me would be #5, not the Chiefs.

[Fleezoid]

5 hours ago, Bruffalo said:

I have a morbid curiosity for who would be worst if they were asked the reverse. 

 

I'll flip you for it.....Jets-heads; Browns-tails.

[balln]

2 hours ago, dpberr said:

It's guaranteed money.  $452 million.

 

No.

 

future void years on an NFL contract do not represent actual dollars that a team will pay a player in the future

. Instead, they are an accounting mechanism used to manipulate the salary cap by pushing existing cap hits into later years. The player is paid their money upfront, but the team's cap space is not affected all at once. 
 

it’s all cap cost. Charges. They’ve pushed it back. So yes in the future the actual real money they will have to spend in a given year will be really low bc they have so much “dead” money accounted for their cap from previous years (now). And so their team should stink. Like the New Orleans cuz they can’t possibly pay everyone

[MJS]

8 hours ago, transient said:

There is a thread with the exact same title and the exact same content started by you a minute before this one... couldn't you use the search function? 

Not the exact same. He bolded some things in the 2nd one!

[Bruffalo]

5 hours ago, Fleezoid said:

 

I'll flip you for it.....Jets-heads; Browns-tails.

Somebody else said it but the Bengals might give them a run for their money.
 

Woody & Brick Johnson are hilariously dysfunctional though. 

[uticaclub]

11 hours ago, Gregg said:

 

Or win a Super Bowl with him. To be fair he played a big part in changing the culture of the Bills. He has an excellent regular season record. If he gets the Bills to the Super Bowl and wins one, he will become the greatest Bills coach in their history. If Terry ever fired him then he would be unemployed for about 5 seconds before getting another HC job.

Tony Dungy was hired five seconds after being fired in Tampa. How did that work out for Tampa? There are many reasons to keep McDermott, but the fact that another team would hire him isn’t one of them.

Edited September 25 by uticaclub

[CSBill]

17 hours ago, Bruffalo said:

I have a morbid curiosity for who would be worst if they were asked the reverse. 

 

Gotta be the Jets. With Cleveland a close 2nd, maybe the Bears? 

Just now, CSBill said:

 

Gotta be the Jets. With Cleveland a close 2nd, maybe the Bears? 

 

Oh, how could I forget the Jerry Jones led clown show in Dallas. 

[GunnerBill]

14 hours ago, JGMcD2 said:

They weren’t direct disciples at all. They were complementary pieces in a system where the whole was greater than the sum of its parts.

 

Brandon Beane has even said on record that he trusted Joe Schoen’s player evaluations more than his own. Beane is the big-picture architect, his best skill is taking all of the information into account and making decisions that align with their organizational values. Schoen is a scout who is playing GM by chasing talent and only has the concepts of a plan.

 

And Brian Daboll? He’s not half the leader McDermott is. Relationship issues have followed him everywhere he’s been - including Buffalo, where they had to move him off the sidelines because he was far too unpredictable. 

 

They started out on the exact same path as Buffalo, with a surprise playoff appearance. Then their hubris at the QB position saw them hitch their wagon to a guy they weren’t sold on. In contrast, Tyrod Taylor was traded for a 3rd round pick after breaking the 17-year drought so Buffalo could clear the way for their pursuit of the most important position in sports. 

 

All this is right, but in defence of Schoen and Daboll, it is now pretty widely acknowledged by people with close knowledge of the Giants that Mara had his fingerprints on the extension of Jones decision. That being said, given how he is playing in Indy, maybe Mara was right??  

[EssexBill]

18 hours ago, Low Positive said:

BUT CODY FORD?????!!!!!! DON'T THEY KNOW ABOUT CODY FORD?????!!!!!!!!!

Don’t forget Boogie Basham!

[Not at the table Karlos]

15 hours ago, JGMcD2 said:

Idk, maybe read the rest of the blurb…

 

General manager Brandon Beane and coach Sean McDermott share a like-minded view on roster acquisition. And while there have been inconsistencies in the draft, the Bills were still able to reload on the fly over the last two years, shedding veterans for a youth movement.

 

“They have a really good staff and a clear vision for what a Bill looks like,” an executive said. “With few exceptions, their guys are always tough and competitive.”

 

There’s a real significance in building through the draft in Buffalo, too. Quite poignantly, it hadn’t been a priority destination for free agents, at least not before Allen took off.

 

“They identified the QB and built around him,” another executive said. “They’ve got a good group of scouts who work hard, grind, know how to get information and they’re really organized.”

 

EDIT: Here is the blurb on KC, what’s the difference? Other than John Dorsey drafting 3 Hall of Fame players before Beane took over as GM of the Bills?

 

Former general manager John Dorsey drafted quarterback Patrick Mahomes, defensive lineman Chris Jones and tight end Travis Kelce. Still, his protégé, Brett Veach, has maintained the operation's integrity since his 2017 promotion.

 

Veach, who followed coach Andy Reid to Kansas City in 2013, worked on the college side and had a hand in the evaluation of the Chiefs’ three most impactful additions.

 

That continuity has been an asset. The player evaluation process is known to be especially thorough, and the coaches have trusted the scouting department, which has resulted in strong chemistry within the draft room.

 

“They all speak the same language and know what the coaches want,” an executive said.

 

The Chiefs don’t have a flawless draft record, but other executives insist that the overall body of work is impressive, considering they consistently select late. For example, consider 2021, when they selected linebacker Nick Bolton and center Creed Humphrey late in the second round. Kansas City then picked right guard Trey Smith in the sixth.

 

“They obviously crushed the Mahomes pick, which is an all-time great one, and he is just so good that can cover other things,” an executive said. “With all these successful teams, that’s what people don’t realize. When you are successful every year, having to pick at the end of each round, the talent is drained. Yet, they are still finding players and culture fits.”

Not sure why the other executives are surprised they’re finding culture fits drafting late. Poor character players usually drop. 

[GunnerBill]

13 hours ago, Mikie2times said:

It is entirely possible to have executed the the QB position with flying colors and not the rest of the roster. Why we are here has a lot of opinions. Some people think the whole thing becomes unraveled without McD. Some people feel like the roster itself is just as much a result of the success as Allen. Then some people are in my camp, feeling like Allen has just masked a ton of warts for both McD and Beane. I don't think we have much here without Josh, even with an above average QB as his replacement. That is the only hypothetical I really need to land on to feel like the opinion I have is valid. I just don't think the roster construction can support average QB play. 

 

I think the roster is one of the deepest in the NFL. That is both a credit and a also, potentially, a criticism of the GM. It is to his credit because he has built that roster. The depth is in part because they have done a good job identifying and then developing day picks and UDFA type guys. Whether it is Cam Lewis, Khalil Shakir, Christian Benford, Jackson Hawes or even a guy like Ryan VanDemark who was an UDFA elsewhere that they identified when he was released. 

 

However, the reason he can afford all that depth is he doesn't have enough elite talent to spend his $$s on. 

 

If they had a league average Quarterback I'm pretty confident they'd be a competitive team. Even his critics have to accept McDermott is one of the best coaches in the NFL Monday to Saturday, even if they criticise some of his gameday decision making and he'd have his team ready to play. Now they wouldn't necessarily be a playoff team every year... but if you put say Tua or someone like that on this team I think they'd win 7 to 10 games. I think other than wide receiver the Bills roster is better in all areas than the Miami roster that has been in that range with him at QB.