With the names mentioned so far, here's how I'd rank the candidates for GMs:
1. David Caldwell (ATL) - the Browns need someone who has been on a successful teams, knows how to draft, and can be a leader of the personnel side of things... I believe Caldwell has all 3 of them... He has been heavily involved in the college side of things since he started out in Indy and now in Atlanta... On top of that he has been a part of two very successful organizations, something that shouldn't be discounted... He's from Buffalo and went to JCU, so it would be a home coming of sorts for him... I have to wonder if he would bring a fellow JCU'er, Chris Polian, along with him... Polian was the former Colts GM and followed Caldwell to the Falcons after being fired in Indy... The Browns won't be the only ones pursuing him, so they will have company...
2. Steve Keim (ARI) - he might be taken off this list based on the fact he will likely have the inside job to the Arizona job once that situation is cleared up... He has spent his whole FO career in Arizona, so I'm not sure it's likely he'll leave... And coming here with what role he'd likely have, I'm not sure if it'd be too much of a step up at all.. While he is the VP of player personnel in Arizona, he's had a large hand in their drafting the past 2-3 years with their current GM taking a larger role in the business side... He's also had experience an all sides and has had a larger hand in the organization, which is all positive.. My worry is that the last few drafts have been solid, but nothing special, and since being a part of the Cardinals FO they haven't fielded too many winning teams...
3. Ray Farmer (KC) - I'm a bit weary of someone who has spent all his front office time on the pro side of things but numerous reports have him as a guy highly regarded in the league and someone that executives think will be successful in the league... He's familiar with Banner from his days as a player with Philly, so there's a fit in that regard... His days in Kansas City haven't seen much success and their system of drafting players and the way they run things, worry me... I like Farmer as a commander but worry about his draft expertise... If the Browns want to hire a glorified personnel director and want build through the draft, hiring a guy with limited college scouting experience would worry me...
4. Jason Licht (BUF) - he was initially at the top of my list due to his tremendous experience in the front office, his tenure with winning franchises and his draft acumen but after doing some research on him, I knocked him down a few pegs... I've seen some articles list him as personable and a good communicator and I've also seen others that list him as the opposite (i.e - "I've heard that his aggressive attitude has rubbed some co-workers and league peers the wrong way. That's not uncommon from Belichick guys.")... It struck me that the opposite may be true, especially when you consider he's been with 5 different teams in his 16 years and he's been with 3 different teams the past 6 years (two different stints with the Cardinals)... I'm also a fan of trying to get away from the "Belichick way"... He could be someone who gets the promotion instead of Keim in Arizona..
5. Doug Whaley - he's another guy with the inside track to his current job, especially with it looking likely that Buddy Nix will be relieved of his duties... He essentially took a lateral move to go to Buffalo after working for Pittsburgh for several years and being a Pittsburgh guy since HS, speculating that he was the GM in waiting... He's been a part of the Steeler organization for a while and saw many winning teams... He was a large part of their college scouting department and was credited to helping find many of their defensive draft picks.. I like him but have questions to if he's really ready to handle a high-end job... I also am a bit weary of him after the whole porno incident that happened while he was with the Steelers.. Yes, it's not a huge deal in the end but still...
6. Louis Riddick (PHI) - I haven't seen him mentioned by any national writers but I have seen him referenced by a few insiders around the Browns... He's a guy that Banner is familiar with from his days in the Philly FO and would likely satisfy his role of being Banner's "yes man"... He's relatively new to the FO, as he just quit playing back in '01... So, like Whaley, I'm not sure if he's ready for a promotion like this yet... He's also spent his early career as a pro scout and now the last few years as director of pro personnel.. Like Farmer, I'm not too much of a fan of hiring the top guy in the FO with limited college scouting experience with Banner being in charge...
7. John Idzik (SEA) - he's very experienced in the guy and has been in the NFL for around 20 years... My worry with Idzik is that he's been on the pro personnel side for all those years and has been mainly on the cap side with the Seahawks for the last handful of years... The Browns already have their cap guy in Banner... They need a glorified scout who can run the draft and I don't see what with Idzik...
8. Michael Lombardi - ah, hell no...
Those are the guys that currently look like they're the most in play... I really hope that Tom Gamble (SF), Marc Ross (NYG; although he looks to be Ernie Accori's recommendation to Carolina and whoever else), John Dorsey (GB) and Eric DeCosta (BAL), get looks as all of them would be near the top of my list...
I could also see current NYJ ast. general manager Scott Cohen potentially get an interview with his experience with Banner... He started out as a college scout but has worked for the last 10 or so years on the pro personnel side... He would probably be near the be around 3-5 in my rankings, with the names currently ranked...
In the end, I really think what head coach they go after will determine what GM they go after... With guys like Saban and Kelly being high atop their wish list, GMs will likely come after... Or "their guys" could be hired as GM and the coach will be hired shortly after... For instance, if Saban or McDaniels come (thank God Schefter denied McDaniels being a candidate here) then Lombardi is likely to follow... With Kelly, there hasn't been anybody linked but it's rumored he wants some control over personnel decisions...
It'll be interesting to see how it plays out... With Banner in place and a potential HC being chosen first, the GM (or glorified scouting director) could not interest potential GM candidates as much as other jobs.. But with the current names linked to the Browns, I'd rank Caldwell and Keim as the top candidates... But I'd also like to see Gamble, Ross, Dorsey and even DeCosta get their shots as they are all very good candidates...
