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

[Walking Tall]

The Bills win a Super Bowl and they’ll be #1.

[SoTier]

17 hours ago, Mikie2times said:

The Bengals have played several years without Burrow and have advanced further than the Bills despite that. We have essentially been in a state where competent defensive play would have gotten us at least to how far the Bengals have been. But we haven't been able to be competent against higher competition. You see what our offspring in New York is doing without Allen. I don't think it's inarguable at all. I think it's extremely overstated how effective our roster building is. 

 

The Bengals have played several years without Burrow because of the stupidity of their FO and the philosophy of their owner, who is more interested in filling his stadium and selling merchandise than in building a team that wins consistently.  They are wasting Burrow's prime because they've made the playoffs only twice in Burrow's first five years -- and will miss the playoffs in his sixth year.

 

Their OL sucks, they have no running game, and their defense was historically bad last year and unlikely to improve much.

 

16 hours 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 

 

They are dollars against the salary cap, however, and that's the problem.   If the salary cap doesn't increase significantly, Philly will be in deep doodoo in a few years.

 

[colin]

the nfl is a brutal results business, and as such mcd will either go down as choker or an all timer.  he's accomplished enough in the regs to be in the category of good coaches, but if he never wins a ring with allen as his qb because his d keeps turning into a total pumpkin in the playoffs, then he's just a choker.  if he wins say 2 or even 3, he's an all time great and it will come down to a corner not getting concussed or a rookie improving late and figuring out how to rush the passer on 3rd and long.

 

it's not really fair, but that's the nfl.  i think beane is ok, but the overall front office rating is going to be mostly impacted by mcd, and at this point it's down to winning a super bowl or not.

[Sierra Foothills]

2 hours ago, Not at the table Karlos said:

Not sure why the other executives are surprised they’re finding culture fits drafting late.

 

Poor character players usually drop. 

 

Your 2 sentences seem contradictory, no?

 

[May Day 10]

I think that Allen definitely throws a lot of shine on the Bills organization....

 

 

However, I also think they do a lot of things correct.  They do right by the players, and treat them well like family.  Many NFL players feel the perception they are treated like livestock and resent their organizations.  

 

McDermott is a great balance between a business coach and  players' coach.  I believe he demands respect for the coaches and the process, but will also know everyone's wife and kids' name among other things, and put family and the human side first.  

 

If McDermott out-lasts Allen, I think we will find he has a high floor as a coach, similar to Tomlin.  If he and Beane can strike lightning again with a franchise QB or even find a Mayfield/Darnold/Goff type situation, we could maintain success here.

[DrDawkinstein]

3 hours ago, Walking Tall said:

The Bills win a Super Bowl and they’ll be #1.

 

I think a SB win would definitely put us ahead of the Ravens. Maybe the Rams. But we would need multiple SB appearances to get ahead of the Eagles.

[Buffalo Boy]

23 hours ago, Royale with Cheese said:

Positive article on the Bills FO.  Lets see the anger!

Everyone loved Madoff too😎😜

[Royale with Cheese]

12 minutes ago, Buffalo Boy said:

Everyone loved Madoff too😎😜

I didn’t hear of Madoff until the scandal.

[Mikie2times]

5 hours ago, GunnerBill said:

 

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.

I think plenty of room exists to feel as I do and largely agree with this. 

[GerstAusGosheim]

Forgot to mention Sean traded away Mahomes pick when the owner wanted Mahomes. Thank god for JA or they'd all be out of a job. Remember when Bill Walsh recommended Trent Edwards? I swear it's really all luck and most of these guys don't have a clue.

[Alphadawg7]

On 9/24/2025 at 9:06 AM, JGMcD2 said:

 

There was no author... 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.

 

Ok what moron voted the Texans a first place vote?  LMAO.  What other 3 morons voted them 3rd and 4th? There are some other questionable votes like the Steelers getting a 2nd place vote, but the Texans votes are ridiculous.  

 

I wish we could know who cast those votes so we could ask them to justify their votes lol.  

[JGMcD2]

6 hours ago, GunnerBill said:

 

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.

A quote from the same article was listed under the Chiefs section, but it applies to us too:

 

“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.”

 

If Brett Veach takes over the Chiefs with only Mahomes - without Chris Jones, Travis Kelce, or Tyreek Hill (all drafted before him) - does it look and feel the same? If the Eagles don’t pick in the top third of the draft from 2021–2023, does it look and feel the same?

 

Between Cook, Benford, and Spencer Brown - all either elite or on the cusp - doesn’t that feel a bit stronger than the Chiefs’ hits in that tier, like Humphrey and McDuffie?

Edited September 25 by JGMcD2

[boyst]

I always laugh at these lists because it's always the winning teams the top. Everything is good when you're winning. Look at the Patriots front office. Very little has changed in the last 10 years. Yet weren't they always at the top of this when they were winning?

[chris heff]

32 minutes ago, boyst said:

I always laugh at these lists because it's always the winning teams the top. Everything is good when you're winning. Look at the Patriots front office. Very little has changed in the last 10 years. Yet weren't they always at the top of this when they were winning?

Very little has changed? Bill Belichick was the organization.

[RyanC883]

On 9/24/2025 at 12:12 PM, Big Turk said:

 

How would the Rams or Ravens be ahead of the Bills then?  Ravens consistently fail in playoffs with "high end rosters" due in large part to their QB playing his worst game of the year and Rams had one SB win and have been a middling team ever since. Also Ravens have the league's worst defense with multiple all-pros, pro-bowlers and 7 first round picks on it.

 Good point. Rams have a SB win recently though.  The Ravens have continually floundered.  I’d have Philly at 1, KC 2, Rams could be 3, us 4.  Ravens have a coaching issue, IMO. 

[Big Turk]

4 minutes ago, RyanC883 said:

 Good point. Rams have a SB win recently though.  The Ravens have continually floundered.  I’d have Philly at 1, KC 2, Rams could be 3, us 4.  Ravens have a coaching issue, IMO. 

 

They did, but they also basically turned the Lions into a super team with the pieces they were able to get from that trade. Should that not be a ding against them?  Essentially ushering in an era due to their trade where another team will be far better than them consistently? 

Edited September 25 by Big Turk

[RyanC883]

1 minute ago, Big Turk said:

 

They did, but they also essentially turned the Lions into a super team with the pieces they were able to get from that trade.

Fair point.  But sometimes a change of seventy benefits both.  So far the trade has worked for both, but the Rams have the trophy. 

[boater]

Philliy is #3 in the league for deadcap, and it's only going to get worse. They give out void years like candy and that will catch up to them soon. They should not be in the Top-5 front offices.

[boyst]

33 minutes ago, chris heff said:

Very little has changed? Bill Belichick was the organization.

Or was it Brady? Or was it winning?

[Big Turk]

25 minutes ago, RyanC883 said:

Fair point.  But sometimes a change of seventy benefits both.  So far the trade has worked for both, but the Rams have the trophy. 

 

And also a much worse team now and likely moving forward for the foreseeable future, especially once Stafford retires.