Tag: Rick Smith

Examining our top candidates for next Bears general manager

Our Bears Wire staff is sharing their top three candidates for Chicago’s next GM and why they would be a good fit.

The Chicago Bears are in the middle of their search for a new general manager after firing Ryan Pace last week.

Chairman George McCaskey, President/CEO Ted Phillips, Hall of Fame executive Bill Polian, VP of Player Engagement Lamar ‘Soup’ Campbell and Senior VP of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Tanesha Wade will be conducting the GM search for the Bears.

They’ve cast a wide net of diverse candidates for the job, which includes some pretty intriguing names with some impressive resumes.

Our Bears Wire staff is sharing their top three candidates for Chicago’s next GM and why they would be a good fit:

Report: Bears showing interest in former Texans GM Rick Smith

The Bears are interested in interviewing former Texans GM Rick Smith for their GM vacancy. And it sounds like the interest is mutual.

The Chicago Bears wasted no time delving into their general manager and head coach searches following the firings of Ryan Pace and Matt Nagy on Monday.

Chairman George McCaskey, President/CEO Ted Phillips and Hall of Fame executive Bill Polian will be conducting the GM search for the Bears, where they’ve already started lining up interviews.

According to the Chicago Tribune‘s Dan Wiederer, the Bears want to interview former Houston Texans GM Rick Smith for their GM vacancy. And according to Wiederer, “the interest is mutual.”

Smith took an expansion franchise and turned them into a playoff contender. Smith served as the Texans GM from 2006-2017 before stepping away to be with his wife, who was battling breast cancer. Houston hired a new GM and things went downhill for the franchise at that point. Smith has been out of the game for four years, and he could be looking for another opportunity.

The Bears have also requested interviews with Colts assistant GM Ed Dodds, Colts director of college scouting Morocco Brown, Steelers VP Omar Khan, Browns VP of Football Operations Kwesi Adofo-Mensah, Bills assistant GM Joe Schoen and Browns VP of Player Personnel Glenn Cook.

Here’s a look at the complete list of head coach and GM candidates the Bears have requested to interview:

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The best general manager candidates for the NFL’s 2022 hiring cycle

Who are the names to know for potential general manager candidates during this NFL off-season?

While the head coach hiring cycle is sure to get a ton of attention, the general manager hiring cycle is also about to heat up. With David Gettleman expected to announce his retirement on Monday, there is at least one position open. Another position just became available, with the Chicago Bears firing Ryan Pace.

A third available position also comes from the NFC North, with the Minnesota Vikings firing Rick Spielman.

With all of these moves, who are some names to watch for general manager positions during this off-season?

GM candidates the Giants could consider if they fire Dave Gettleman

With the New York Giants likely to part ways with general manager Dave Gettleman, here are several potential options to replace him.

The New York Giants are likely to move on from general manager Dave Gettleman following the season. Whether he’s fired or retires remains to be seen but either way, Big Blue will be thrust into another GM search.

If the Giants are firm in their commitment to head coach Joe Judge, that may thin out their pool of options. It may also strengthen the likelihood of landing a new GM that has previous ties to Judge.

Is that good or bad? We’ll let you decide.

With a GM swap all but a certainty, here’s a look at several potential options who could replace Gettleman in 2022 and beyond.

Report: 4 candidates emerge for Washington’s GM position, to be hired this offseason

Washington is expected to hire a General Manager this offseason, and a few names have risen to the top as far as candidates go.

With all of the different storylines swirling around in Washington, one of the more impactful things of note is who the team will end up hiring to fill the vacant General Manager position in the front office, working alongside head coach Ron Rivera.

For much of the past year, the fan-favorite has been Vice President of Player Personnel, Kyle Smith, who has had his thumbprint on the past handful of NFL Drafts with the team and has done a great job evaluating talent and helping to build a young and budding roster. However, over recent weeks there has been a feeling that Rivera would choose ‘a more experienced’ voice, which leads us to believe that Smith won’t get the title change, and could eventually head for greener grass.

So with Smith still a fringe candidate, there are reportedly a few other names that have come up as well, according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport: former Texans GM Rick Smith, 49ers VP of player personnel Martin Mayhew, and former Panthers GM Marty Hurney.

Hurney is likely the leader in the clubhouse, considering his longstanding relationship with Rivera from their days together with the Carolina Panthers, but it’s smart to keep an eye on any of those names hoping forward.

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Report: Washington ‘expected’ to interview Marty Hurney for GM job

According to a report by Ian Rapoport at NFL Network, the team is expected to interview Hurney and a few others for their GM opening.

The Carolina Panthers announced the firing of general manager Marty Hurney on Monday morning. While Hurney made some notable mistakes during his second run with the team, he also has a great track record of making first-round picks. Hurney also has connections around the league, including with today’s opponent, the Washington Football Team.

According to a report by Ian Rapoport at NFL Network, the team is expected to interview Hurney and a few others for their GM opening.

“Among the names expected to be considered and interviewed: former Texans GM Rick Smith, 49ers VP of player personnel Martin Mayhew and former Panthers GM Marty Hurney, among several others.”

Former Carolina coach Ron Rivera will no doubt play a significant role in deciding who takes that position. He worked closely with Hurney early in his career with the Panthers and again at the end.

Washington has an excellent young defense to build around and a weak NFC East division to compete with, which should make this an attractive job for Hurney and other candidates.

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Jags GM search roundup: What we know so far

The Jags have begun their search for a new front-office leader, interviewing two candidates on Wednesday.

The Jacksonville Jaguars’ general manager search finally got underway this week as the team looks for Dave Caldwell’s successor. They had their first few interviews Wednesday meeting with both ESPN’s Louis Riddick and former Houston Texans general manager Rick Smith.

With two games left, the Jags will only have the ability to interview personnel members not in the league at the moment like Riddick and Smith. There will undoubtedly be more in-season interviews to occur over the next two weeks, too.

With the Jags having plenty of assets with regards to draft picks and cap space, there won’t be a shortage of interest when the regular season is over, either. That will especially be the case if the Jags acquire the No. 1 overall pick and Trevor Lawrence enters the draft.

Of course, with just two interviews conducted, it’s super early in the process and more work has to be done, but here is what we know about the search at the moment:

Who has been interviewed

Who will be getting an interview

Candidates who’ve reportedly expressed interest

Report: Lions to interview former Texans general manager Rick Smith

The Detroit Lions are reportedly interested in former Houston Texans general manager Rick Smith.

While the Houston Texans haven’t exactly made waves in the general manager search, the Detroit Lions are getting a head start by taking a look at a former Texans general manager

According to a report from the Detroit Free Press, the Lions are expected to interview former Texans general manager Rick Smith next week. Smith ran the front office for Houston from 2006-17 and was a key part of building a playoff contender alongside coach Gary Kubiak, who was also hired in 2006.

In January 2018, Smith took a leave of absence to be with his wife, who was battling breast cancer. Although the team hired Brian Gaine as general manager to replace Smith, he kept his title as executive vice president of football operations. By 2019, Smith was out of the organization, and his wife passed away in January of 2019.

At the beginning of 2020, Smith was considered for the Washington general manager job. The situation in Washington is complicated as they decided to roll without an official general manager.

The Lions fired Bob Quinn and coach Matt Patricia on Nov. 28, two days after the Texans beat the Lions 41-25 on Thanksgiving at Ford Field.

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Report: Detroit Lions set to interview ex-Texans GM Rick Smith next week

Dave Birkett of the Free Press is reporting that the Detroit Lions are set to interview ex-Houston Texans general manager Rick Smith next week for their open position.

Dave Birkett of the Free Press is reporting that the Detroit Lions are set to interview ex-Houston Texans general manager Rick Smith next week for their open position.

“Smith is expected to interview with the Lions before Christmas,” Birkett said, “likely next week, a person familiar with the Lions’ plans told the Free Press, and is eligible to be hired immediately as he is not currently employed by a team.”

Smith was one of the top candidates for general manager we at Lions Wire identified after Bob Quinn was fired, and is currently on a shortlist of preferred candidates from Lions Wire editors Jeff Risdon and Erik Schlitt.

The youngest GM in the NFL at the time, Smith took over the position for Houston in 2006 and held it through the 2017 season when he left to care for his wife who had breast cancer. In addition to the GM position, Smith also held an executive vice president of football operations role over his final five seasons.

Largely acknowledged as the person responsible for building the Texans into a winner, Smith is credited with drafting, J.J. Watt, DeAndre Hopkins, Deshaun Watson, Jadeveon Clowney, and Mario Williams, as well as grabbing A.J. Bouye and Arian Foster as undrafted free agents.

In our examination of GM and coaching candidates crossing career paths, we noted that Smith and popular coaching candidate Robert Saleh spent five seasons together in Houston over the 2006-10 season. Smith was the GM at the time, while Saleh was a defensive quality control coach in 2006-08, and then assistant linebackers coach for the 2009-10 seasons under then-coach Gary Kubiak.

Currently, the Lions have interviewed three internal candidates — Kyle O’Brien, Lance Newmark, and Rob Lohman — for the open GM position, while Smith is the first known interview from outside of Allen Park to be brought in.

Candidates for the Detroit Lions general manager vacancy

Candidates for the Detroit Lions general manager vacancy.

The Detroit Lions fired general manager Bob Quinn on Saturday and one of the top priorities of the organization will be to find his replacement.

The Lions are in a unique situation, where Shelia Ford Hamp is still in her first year as principal owner, Rod Wood (the team president) mostly handles the business side of the operation, and they need to replace a GM and coach, where the trending names are mostly individuals who would also be new to their positions.

That’s why when Lions Wire editors Jeff Risdon and Erik Schlitt put together a Top-10 coaching list they included both first-year and veteran options. This same approach should be applied to the GM position and this list of available candidates will include both individuals who have experience and those who are considered rising stars in  NFL circles.