Posted by Lisa on January 15, 2009, 11:38 am, in reply to "Re: They are looking for 2 positions"
Personnel guys work all year long for the off-season and draft. Teams have money invested in the information these personnel guys accumulate. They aren't going to let somebody under contract go just because.
The Lions reputedly contacted:
Phil Savage (who got dumped by Cleveland because of a "difference of management" whatever that means) still has the credentials that made Cleveland hire him in the first place: he was a successful Baltimore personnel director. He took the Cleveland job because he would get final authority. Maybe he's not as bent on that now? On a negative not, his decision to send an e-mail to a Cleveland fan telling him to f*** off, was not wise...and would give the media one more thing to sink their teeth in to malign the Lions should he be hired.
James "Shack" Harris (former VP for player personnel of Jax Jaguars). Dave Birkett (SP?) over at the Oakland press thinks James Harris would be a good fit, especially because if they hire Schwartz because of his experience in Jax and Balt. But so far, the contact has been fairly informal and nothing serious.
Ted Sundquist (former Denver GM) He's currently working for ProFootballWeekly, after being the fall guy in Denver. I like him because he drafts well, into the 7th round. He's a team player, and people didn't know about his disagreements with Shanahan until Shanahan got him fired, after 2 losing season. I forgot he was out there, but this just lends credence to my feeling that Mayhew might actually know what he's doing.
Rather than rushing for one of these guys who are out of work for a reason, they can wait until after the draft. Which is when their current teams will let them go. And have their pick of the litter of up and comers.
Here's the list of some of the other guys they could possibly hire right now:
*Tom Heckert (Eagles GM) He's already said that he's not interested in going to a team if he doesn't get final say in personnel (which is what he lacks in Philly). So, in reality this is a no go. But getting Tom would make so much sense for Detroit.
*Floyd Reese (ESPN Commentator, ex Hous/Tenn GM) He wants to go to the Lions and if Schwartz becomes the head coach, Floyd makes some sense. They've got ties. I personally like Floyd. At this time of his life, I think he would be better in the role of consultant or adviser than GM. And really you can't have too many good talent evaluators.
*Dick Vermeil (NFL Network Analyst? ex-Super Bowl winning coach) I kind of like the idea of Vermeil in the front office. At least if he cried, he could join the rest of us. Seriously, though, he knows how to assemble a winning team, as he has shown several times. I don't know whether he would want to take on a task like the Lions at this point, but like Floyd Reese he could be a consultant or adviser. If I were Mayhew, I would call him up and pick his brain at the least. And if they can't get Dick, maybe Greg Kinnear could play him.
*Marty Schottenheimer (ESPN commentator, ex-coach for 5 teams) He's probably looking for a lot more than the Lions would be willing to offer; both in job description and money compensation.
*Carl Peterson (Formerly King Carl in KC) I think he's going to take a year off from football ... unless he's blown away by an offer. I don't think the Lions will make that offer.
*Mike Shanahan (Formerly the Teflon Don) He's a cagey guy. But he's a crappy personnel guy. He's a better coach, because of his in-game adjustments, than he is a talent evaluator. I personally don't like him and wouldn't trust him to stick around any longer than Larry Brown did with the Pistons. To me they have a similar persona. Plus, I think it's a moot point because Jerry Jones gets him sooner than later, anyway.
*Bill Cowher (CBS Analyst, ex Pitt coach) He'll be a coach somewhere next year, and everyone will figure out that he's not that great. The Pittsburgh teams were and are great because of their defenses, and that's all about Dick LaBeau (not their HC). Tomlin really isn't all that either, but because he still has Dick around the team hasn't missed a beat. Cowher, however, believes he's a genius and will demand control over player personnel wherever he winds up. I think he, Mangini and Brian Billick should talk about how genius they all are.
? Rick McKay (Atlanta Pres) Atlanta brought in Dimitrov (sp?) to take over as their GM last year, pushing McKay to a much more limited role. (He was spread pretty thin in Atlanta, his job description may have included selling hot dogs on Sundays...though that might just be a rumor.) He's not a personnel guy, though, and it sounds like he's similar in capability to Tom Lewand. Currently, he's being considered for the Cleveland GM (who lack a Tom Lewand kind of guy). He hasn't totally lost all his credibility, but he has been in on some questionable decisions in directing Atlanta's team; which put them into a personnel hole, almost as much as did the Vick saga.)
? Ron Wolf (Retired Packer exec VP and GM.) -- I think he's gotten too much credit for the Packer success. Plus, he's said he doesn't want to come back to football. So he probably wouldn't want to take on a task like the Lions.
?? Charles Casserly (NFL Network analyst.) He was once considered a bright mind and was well respected for his work with the Washington Redskins, then he headed up the Houston Texans and made one huge mistake after another. If you've watched him lately, you know he would fill out the buffoon void that Millen left behind, and would also give Lion fans someone to b###h about other than the current QB. That's the best I've got to say about him. He's clearly past it.
??? Tom Donahoe (ex Buffalo and Pittsburgh) He took the Buffalo Bills and Millen-ized them so that Ralph Wilson came back and hired Marv Levy to rebuild the team. Need I say more?
Here are the guys I want them to wait around for:
1. Eric DeCosta -- If Baltimore loses Kokinas (sp?) to Cleveland to work with Mangini, the Ravens might bump Eric up to Director. 
In which case a move to the Lions might be viewed as a parellel move. However, I really like this guy a lot and think this would be a fantastic hire if they can somehow get him away from Baltimore. Whether they have to offer him a better title or whatever, do it.
2. Tom Heckert -- Okay, I said that it's a no go with Tom, and his contract with the Eagles does runs through 2011. But...he's really good, and if the sticking point is a GM title I would ask Mayhew to step down...even though I'm beginning to like Mayhew. Mr. Ford has final say and it's not too late to change his mind...is it?
3. Reggie McKenzie (Packers co-dir of football ops) -- The Packers have done a great job of pro and college scouting and this guy is very well respected amongst football people. If they cannot get the top two guys, he's a realistic choice.
* Mark Ross (NYG director of college scouting) -- The Giants just keep reloading their defense and there is very little fall-off when they encounter hiccups. I think that Ross is the better of the two Giant personnel guys, but...
* David Gettleman (NYG director of pro-personnel)-- While I give Spagnuolo little to no credit for the NYG personnel, I do give Gettleman his due for finding journeyman LBs who suddenly become great in their scheme.
* Jimmy Ray III (Chargers Director of college scouting) -- He would make the most sense in a scenario where the Lions hire Ron Rivera or Todd Bowles because he understands how to build a 3-4 defense. San Diego is one of 5 teams that have consistently good personnel evaluators (Indy, GB, NE & Balt being the other 4)
* Chris Polian (Indy VP of football ops.) There just aren't enough Polians in the NFL, and they all seem to know what they're doing with personnel. This would make more sense if they were running the T2 again, though.
* John Schneider (Packers co-director of football ops.) He's young and has experience in personnel, and is considered a rising talent...but he's also got Reggie McKenzie to lean on.
? Charles Way (Giants director of player dev't) -- He is considered a "rising young talent" but I'm not sure how much player development has to do with evaluation of personnel.
? Bobby DePaul (Chicago Dir of pro-personnel) -- There are some who think he's a "great talent-evaluator" but I have looked at what the Bears have done, and I have some serious question marks on this guy. Good rep, but I've got huge doubts.
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