The Place for Football Education
I was never formally trained in the art of negotiation prior to becoming a general manager in the National Football League. There was really nothing in my professional background or experience that might lead you to believe that I would ever be successful in selling a roster opportunity in exchange for multi-millionaire dollar deal. Most might argue that this responsibility would be best left up to attorneys, wise in the ways of spinning … [Read more...]
In an effort to reduce the number of head injuries that occur on the field, NFL owners approved a new rule this week that will penalize players for striking opponents with the crown of their helmets. The rule will prohibit runners and defenders from lowering their heads and hitting with their helmets when outside of the tackle box — the area of the field between the two offensive tackles. Such hits will result in a 15-yard penalty from the … [Read more...]
How many scenarios are accounted for in NFL draft preparation to ensure a team is well prepared in the event that a highly rated player, one who has been targeted as the team's top prospect, is selected just before they are on the clock? The Football Educator thought this was a rather intriguing question and one that deserved a closer look as we continue to dissect the various aspects of draft preparation. If there's a positive One positive … [Read more...]
One by one they parade up to the podium at Lucas Oil Field; General Managers and Head Coaches. Some look a bit grizzled for the many long seasons that put the wrinkles and gray hairs in place, others look as if they just crossed the stage at their high school graduation. Fresh starts Each tries to put on a fresh face of positive enthusiasm, answering any and all questions with the vaguest of vagueness and happy at the moment for being … [Read more...]
There are numerous avenues a General Manager can take when piecing together an NFL roster. Veteran free agency is a quick fix system that usually requires a substantial investment on the club’s part and can lead to fiscal disaster if your evaluation is errant. Most argue the prudent route to take is through the NFL Draft; selecting young talent and then developing within your own organizational structure. That’s hard to argue with. … [Read more...]
Type “NFL Draft” into Google Search and you’ll get about 110,000,000 results. If you do the same for “Capital Hill Hearings” you get around 7,950,000. The interest in this once a year selection of college football talent is mind boggling. There are thousands of websites, podcasts, blogs, and YouTube videos established solely for the purpose of following the annual event within professional football. The diehard NFL fan has access … [Read more...]
I recently received a great question via Twitter asking how to handle the Head Coach – General Manager dynamic in the War Room during the annual NFL Draft. It’s important to note that inherently built into this relationship is a dichotomy of thought from a short versus long term perspective. As I’ve mentioned before, coaching is responsible for the here and now. The focus is immediately on the present; preparation, execution, … [Read more...]
It was one of the worst parts of my job as General Manager of the Denver Broncos. I’d call down to Player Personnel and ask one of the guys to go to the locker room and summon a player up to my office. There were normally two reasons why players ever came to see me; to sign their contract and to be told they were being released. The last piece of the puzzle. Every player that I ever added to the Broncos roster was one that I had … [Read more...]
Michael Kanazawa, a corporate strategy and transformation expert wrote an interesting piece a few years ago regarding getting off to a fast start in the first 100 days as a new leader. He states, “By the end of 100 days everyone will be done sizing you up as a leader, the organization will either be on a new trajectory or settle back down in to the current track, and you will have set the stage for your next 2-3 years as a leader.” Korn … [Read more...]
“Black Monday” as most of the media outlets like to call it. However within the ranks nobody ever refers to the day after the last regular season game as “Black Monday”. That’s a contrived moniker for another day at the office in the National Football League. Part of what makes professional sports appealing to both the fans and the media is the undertow of critical judgment that comes with the job, "Black Monday" included. Our … [Read more...]
