randy mueller – Syndication Server

Former Saints GM Randy Mueller returns to help with 2024 draft prep

Former Saints GM Randy Mueller returned to help his old friend Mickey Loomis with 2024 draft prep:

It’s not often you see a team’s former general manager return to help out his successor, but that’s the unique position the New Orleans Saints took in preparing for the 2024 NFL draft. Nola.com’s Jeff Duncan reported that former Saints GM Randy Mueller spent the last two weeks assisting with final evaluations.

Mueller earned recognition as the NFL Executive of the Year back in 2000, having overhauled the Saints’ roster and set them up on the road to recovery from Mike Ditka’s disastrous trade for Ricky Williams. But he was unceremoniously ousted by team owner Tom Benson just a few years later, and replaced by Loomis.

Those two go way back. Loomis followed Mueller to New Orleans from the Seattle Seahawks, and they’ve maintained a relationship even after Mueller was shown the door so many years ago. But Mueller isn’t the only former general manager that Loomis has added to the team’s war room.

Jeff Ireland is another. The former Miami Dolphins executive has ran the Saints’ college scouting department for nearly a decade, and he’s one of the most highly regarded talent evaluators in the league. And we shouldn’t overlook Dave Ziegler. The ex-Las Vegas Raiders general manager joined the Saints earlier this offseason and has been a big help on the pro day circuit helping to gather information.

So there’s really four general managers sharing their input as the Saints approached the 2024 draft: Loomis, Ireland, Ziegler, and Mueller. Hopefully their combined efforts result in some difference-making draft picks.

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Former GM calls Vikings teambuilding strategy a rebuild

Competitive or not, former general manager Randy Mueller believes the Vikings are in a rebuild.

On the Athletic Football Show, former NFL general manager Randy Mueller hosts The Football GM where he gives insight from a front-office perspective

The most recent episode had Mueller going into his notebook to discuss the Minnesota Vikings and their team-building strategy. It started as a simple discussion about the viability of Danielle Hunter’s contract. It ended with Mueller calling it a rebuild.

Mueller believes that with the new-look defense under Flores and the shaky return Minnesota would get in a trade, it would be best for both parties for Hunter to stay put. Mueller stated that the Vikings “are not afraid” to get younger on defense where necessary.

Contrary to last season’s success, Mueller is right. This is a rebuild., competitive or not. And the Vikings need to see what they have in their young defensive pieces. However, if Adofo-Mensah wants to remain competitive, keeping players like Hunter to help ease this defense into the next stage of Vikings football is essential.

Since 2020, the Vikings are 20th in EPA/play defensively, but the team is getting younger. They are looking toward the future of Minnesota. But to stay relevant in the present, keeping cornerstones like Hunter in purple and gold will be paramount.

Former Dolphins GM shares insight on Xavien Howard standoff

The Miami Dolphins and star cornerback Xavien Howard are currently mired in a contract dispute; one that has shown some glimpses of hope but no real traction towards being resolved. There appears to be a fundamental difference between Howard’s camp (arguing that he was under-compensated for 2020) and the Dolphins (who presumably are taking the stance that they’re only willing to pay for play going forward). It is a complicated dance of posturing. And while Miami and Howard will eventually come to put this behind them one way or another, the opinions on how that resolution should come varies depending on nearly everyone you ask.

One former Miami Dolphins general manager has chimed in on the situation: Randy Mueller served as the general manager for the Dolphins during the Nick Saban and Cam Cameron years of 2005-2007. In the years that have passed since, Mueller has continued his career in player personnel but now offers musings through a monthly newsletter. The top subject for August’s release?

Howard and the Dolphins.

“If I were the GM, I’d consider a life preserver type move for Howard, offering to advance payment of his salary or maybe even add an incentive for 11 or more INT’s (he made 10 last year) that would not count against the cap. If that wasn’t enough, I think I’d just let him sit. If he becomes a distraction or less than team oriented, the Dolphins always have the fine of “conduct detrimental to the team” card to play. I would not give him a new deal, and definitely not while he is, in all reality, withholding services.” — Randy Mueller, former Miami Dolphins general manager

Mueller’s plan of attack technically sides with Howard; as it has been reported that Howard and his agent, David Canter, have proposed an advance on future salary as one possible solution for the standoff with the Dolphins. His next step of added incentives falls in line with where the Dolphins have reportedly tried to appease the situation.

And so now the question becomes which side blinks first. But according to Mueller, both sides of this situation are asking the right questions of the other side.