The general manager (GM) is typically the head of football operations, which includes leading thescouting department and being responsible for handlingfree agent transactions and contract negotiations with players and coaches. The scouting department's role is to evaluatecollege football players entering the annualNFL draft.[1] During theNFL Combine, general managers will interview players.[2]
Many GMs begin their front office career as an assistant scout and are promoted into roles such as director of college scouting or vice president of player personnel before being GM. The GM is also responsible for negotiating contracts with players and coaches.[3] As with head coaches and some players, GMs are required by the NFL to attend press conferences with the media. During the season, general managers will work 100 hours or more a week.[3]Pro Football Hall of Fame general managers includeTex Schramm,Bill Polian,Ron Wolf,Bobby Beathard,Gil Brandt, andGeorge Young.
In the 2020s, the introduction ofname, image, and likeness (NIL) and professionalization of college athletics led schools to hire NFL-style general managers to oversee personnel and scouting departments separate from the role ofathletic directors. They were introduced withrecruiting and staff management as the focus, but evolved asNCAA transfer portal rules relaxed and became larger aspect of college roster building.[35][36] Notable early hires include former NFL quarterbackAndrew Luck, NFL executiveMichael Lombardi, and NFL head coachRon Rivera.[37]
^Tobin, the team's director of player personnel, holdsde facto GM responsibilities.
^Jones, the team's owner, holds the additional titles of president and general manager. In the 2010s, he ceded some decision-making power to sonStephen Jones and senior personnel executiveWill McClay.
^Executive vice president of player personnel serving asde facto GM
