Potential General Manager Hires: Some Top Candidates

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December 15, 2023

by David Earl

Offseason Mode

I know some hold that very slim hope for the postseason, which I respect, but reality says otherwise. Currently sitting at 4-9, Washington would need to win out and also get a lot of help along the way. The calculations could be a bit complicated on how they could make it into the postseason but I’ll leave that math to the optimistic. Today I’m going to look at some projected top general manager options for Washington, as this may be the first time in over 15 years this may be a desirable job too. The fact that the team is currently projected to get the #4 overall pick, and also have 5 picks in the first three rounds to go with approximately $90M in cap space is very enticing. While that’s positive, the biggest positive of this job is the fact that there’s no Dan Snyder. For the better part of two decades, the black cloud that was Dan Snyder loomed great over this franchise, thus preventing any true legitimate general manager from wanting this job. So with the Josh Harris group as the new owners, and the assets mentioned earlier that this organization has in place, the team could finally get that “Rising Star” general manager to right this already sunken ship. Here are some highly touted general managers who will be atop many team’s lists.

Adam Peters, Asst. GM, San Francisco 49ers

  • Previous Positions: Denver Broncos as National Scout/Director of College Scouting (2009-2016); San Francisco 49ers Vice President of Player Personnel (2017-2020): San Francisco 49ers Assistant General Manager (2021-Present)
  • Roster Construction: Since 2017 Adam Peters led evaluations heading into the drafts which resulted in TE George Kittle, LB Fred Warner, WR Deebo Samuel, T Mike McGlinchey, DT Javon Kinlaw, WR Brandon Aiyuk, and DL Nick Bosa among others. As a result, you see not just a roster built with contributing talent but a cohesive roster of players that fit the team’s philosophy.

Ian Cunningham, Asst. GM, Chicago Bears

  • Previous Positions: Baltimore Ravens Personnel Assistant (2008-12); Baltimore Ravens Area Scout (2013-16); Philadelphia Eagles Director of College Scouting (2017-18); Philadelphia Eagles Assistant Director of Player Personnel (2019-20); Philadelphia Eagles Director of Player Personnel (2021); Chicago Bears Assistant General Manager (2022-Present)
  • Roster Construction: While with the Eagles, Cunningham was integral to the deep roster we see in Philadelphia today. While 2017 didn’t produce much in talent, the Eagles drafted a number of quality players in subsequent years, such as TE Dallas Goedert, DE Josh Sweat, DB Avonte Maddox, T Jordan Mailata, QB Jalen Hurts, WR Quez Watkins, WR DeVonta Smith, and RB Kenneth Gainwell. His two seasons in Chicago resulted in the drafting of S Jaquan Brisker, and LT Braxton Jones from the 2022 draft, while the 2023 class still developing into form.

Joe Hortiz, Director of Player Personnel, Baltimore Ravens

Mike Borgonzi, Asst. GM, Kansas City Chiefs

  • Previous Positions: With the Kansas City Chiefs College Scouting Administrator (2009); Manager of Football Operations (2010-2012); Assistant Director of Pro Scouting (2013-14); Co-Director then Director of Player Personnel (2015-2017); Director of Football Operations (2018-20); Assistant General Manager (2021-Present)
  • Roster Construction: Borgonzi has been integral to building a championship Super Bowl roster since taking on Director of Football Operations in 2018. Some notable draft selections are S Juan Thornhill, WR Mecole Hardman, LB Willie Gay Jr., S L’Jarius Sneed, DE Michael Danna, C Creed Humphrey, LB Nick Bolton, DE George Karlaftis III, CB Trent McDuffie, RB Isiah Pacheco, plus a 2023 draft featuring the emergence of WR Rashee Rice.

Ed Dodds – Indianapolis Colts assistant general manager

Alec Halaby, Asst. GM, Philadelphia Eagles

  • Previous Positions: With the Philadelphia as Player Personnel Analyst (2010-11); Special Assistant to the General Manager (2012-15); Vice President of Football Operations (2016-21); Assistant General Manager (2022-Present)
  • Roster Construction: During his time under Howie Roseman we witnessed a roster construction that has been one of the best in the NFL, including selections like DT Fletcher Cox, QB Nick Foles, T Lane Johnson, TE Zach Ertz, QB Carson Wentz, G Isaac Semalo, and T Halapoulivaati Vaitai. It has been the most recent years that we witnessed the Eagles roster grow into a perennial contender with selections such as drafting QB Jalen Hurts, WR Quez Watkins, WR DeVonta Smith, RB Kenneth Gainwell, DT Jordan Davis, and LB Nakobe Dean, plus a variety of depth that keeps this roster strong each year.

What Separates These Candidates

These are the candidates who are considered among the top available group and they may not have been perfect but the rosters of their respective teams speaks volumes. Some of the standout points for each candidate are as follows:

  • Adam Peters was influential in building championship rosters for the New England Patriots and Denver Broncos. He has a major role in arguably the best roster in football with the San Francisco 49ers and, like those mentioned championship rosters, has a strong emphasis on building the offensive and defensive lines. In fact, one of the first actions taken by John Lynch was to bring Peters into his front office fold. He is one of the highest-rated and touted general manager candidates in the NFL heading into the 2024 offseason.
  • Ian Cunningham has been part of some of the most well-balanced rosters in the NFL with Baltimore and Philadelphia. While Chicago has not been great thusfar, the dynamic of their front office gives him somewhat of a reprieve. He was part of a run of six consecutive playoff appearances (2012 Super Bowl championship) in Baltimore, and the Eagles were in the playoffs four of the five years, winning a Super Bowl in 2017.
  • Joe Hortiz is another candidate who has spent time under Ozzie Newsome like Ian Cunningham and has been regarded as one of the best college scouts in the NFL. He spent his entire time in Baltimore not only behind Newsome but has worked in a front office system that has been one of the gold standards for a long time.
  • Mike Borgonzi has certainly been in the shadows of Brett Veach and Andy Reid during his tenure in Kansas City but you can’t argue the team’s results. So he is a little more of a wild card on this list but has garnered plenty of attention in league circles. The fact that the Chiefs defense has become one of the top units in the league, and survived the loss of Tyreek Hill to win the Super Bowl are accolades that warrant being on this list.
  • Ed Dodds is considered one of the NFL’s top talent evaluators. He has a more old-school approach. He also came from the Seattle system which was one of the more innovative teams at the time in the use of analytics. With him, there appears to be a true focus on how he values game tape for players while incorporating a core of analytics the modern NFL front offices use.
  • Alec Halaby is the most analytics-connected of these general manager candidates, so there will certainly be some concerns about venturing too far from the norm of a football operation within the front office. Considering his time under Howie Roseman, and how the Eagles roster has been constructed over the years, Halaby is the one true analytical candidate who could bring a good balance between tape evaluations and the numbers used in evaluating young talent. The risk is higher among this group in my opinion but he offers a ceiling that could be much higher as a general manager.

Conclusion

Each of these names certainly has degrees of criticism, especially players drafted in the mid to late rounds of the drafts in certain years. While Alec Halaby will remain one of my personal top candidates, this column has opened me up to other options like Adam Peters and Ian Cunningham. As both of their track records from their scout days and the reverence they have garnered throughout their careers speak volumes, it’s the organizations and mentors they’ve had along the way that are the most impressive. The Baltimore Ravens and San Francisco 49ers are organizations that not only have the depth and talent that keeps them as perennial contenders, but the turnover of their respective rosters always seem to transition very smoothly. The bottom line here is, of the list names here, these two seemed the more primed and ready to take over a neglected roster void of talent in Washington. Now we wait for the plan to be revealed by Josh Harris. and I hope I speak for everyone: LET THAT START WITH A COMPETANT GM HIRE!!!