Longest-Tenured GMs In The NFL
When we ran down the longest-tenured head coaches in the NFL, we found that less than half of the league’s current coaches have been in their positions for more than three years. That’s not quite the case with general managers, but there have been plenty of changes in recent years.
A handful of general managers have gotten to take their coats off and stay for a long while. Among coaches, Bill Belichick had joined his team prior to 2003. Here, you’ll see that five GMs have been with their teams since before ’03 (Belichick, of course, is also on this list). Two of those five – Jerry Jones and Mike Brown – are outliers, since they’re team owners and serve as de facto GMs. But the Patriots, Steelers, and Saints, have all had the same general managers making their roster decisions for well over a decade.
Here’s the complete list of the NFL’s longest-tenured GMs, along with the date they took over the job:
- Jerry Jones (Dallas Cowboys): April 18, 1989[1]
- Mike Brown (Cincinnati Bengals): August 5, 1991[2]
- Bill Belichick (New England Patriots): January 27, 2000[3]
- Kevin Colbert (Pittsburgh Steelers): February 18, 2000[4]
- Mickey Loomis (New Orleans Saints): May 14, 2002
- Rick Spielman (Minnesota Vikings): May 30, 2006[5]
- Thomas Dimitroff (Atlanta Falcons): January 13, 2008
- John Schneider (Seattle Seahawks): January 19, 2010[6]
- Howie Roseman (Philadelphia Eagles): January 29, 2010
- John Elway (Denver Broncos): January 5, 2011[7]
- Les Snead (St. Louis Rams): February 10, 2012
- David Caldwell (Jacksonville Jaguars): January 8, 2013
- Steve Keim (Arizona Cardinals): January 8, 2013
- Tom Telesco (San Diego Chargers): January 9, 2013
- Jason Licht (Tampa Bay Buccaneers): January 21, 2014
- Ryan Pace (Chicago Bears): January 8, 2015
- Chris Grier (Miami Dolphins): January 4, 2016
- Bob Quinn (Detroit Lions): January 8, 2016
- Jon Robinson (Tennessee Titans): January 14, 2016
- John Lynch (San Francisco 49ers): January 29, 2017
- Chris Ballard (Indianapolis Colts): January 30, 2017
- Brandon Beane (Buffalo Bills): May 9, 2017
- Brett Veach (Kansas City Chiefs): July 11, 2017
- Marty Hurney (Carolina Panthers): July 19, 2017
- Dave Gettleman (New York Giants): December 28, 2017
- Brian Gutekunst (Green Bay Packers): January 7, 2018
- Mike Mayock (Oakland Raiders): December 31, 2018
- Joe Douglas (New York Jets): June 7, 2019
- Eric DeCosta (Baltimore Ravens): January 7, 2019[8]
- Ron Rivera (Washington Redskins): January 1, 2020[9]
- Andrew Berry (Cleveland Browns): January 27, 2020
- Bill O’Brien (Houston Texans): January 28, 2020
Footnotes:
- Jones has been the Cowboys’ de facto general manager since former GM Tex Schramm resigned in April 1989.
- Brown has been the Bengals’ de facto GM since taking over as the team’s owner in August 1991.
- Belichick has been the Patriots’ de facto GM since shortly after being hired as the team’s head coach in January 2000.
- Colbert was initially hired as the team’s director of football operations and received the newly-created general manager title in 2011.
- Spielman was initially hired as the team’s VP of player personnel and received the GM title in 2012.
- While Schneider holds the title of GM, head coach Pete Carroll has the final say on roster moves for the Seahawks.
- Elway was initially hired as the team’s executive VP of football operations and received the GM title in 2014.
- In 2018, the Ravens announced that DeCosta would replace Ozzie Newsome as GM for Ozzie Newsome after the conclusion of the season. The Ravens’ ’18 season ended with their Wild Card loss to the Chargers on 1/6/19.
- Technically, the Redskins do not have a GM, as of this writing. Rivera is, effectively, their GM, working in tandem with Vice President of Player Personnel Kyle Smith. Smith may receive the GM title in the near future.
AFC South Notes: Jaguars, Eifert, Colts, Texans
Jaguars offensive coordinator Jay Gruden knows what he’s getting – or what he’s potentially getting – in tight end Tyler Eifert. Gruden was Eifert’s OC for his rookie year in Cincinnati and watched him flash serious promise. From 2014-2018, Gruden watched from afar as Eifert struggled to stay healthy. Now, they’re reunited in Jacksonville, and Eifert believes big things are in store.
“We get along great,” Eifert said (via John Reid of the Florida Times-Union). “I had a good understanding of the offense he runs. Just having that familiarity with the offense is nice. There’s some new stuff in here. But just being familiar with it and having a general idea of what’s going on makes it a lot easier to learn.”
Last year, Eifert caught 43 passes for 436 yards and three touchdowns for a sagging Bengals team. More importantly, he was on the field for all 16 games. This year, he’ll try to keep the streak going.
Here’s more from the AFC South:
- There’s been lots of talk about a potential extension for Colts wide receiver T.Y. Hilton, but he’s not the only player on the team with a re-up to consider. Stephen Holder of The Athletic ran down Indy’s top candidates, a list that includes center Ryan Kelly, linebacker Darius Leonard, running back Marlon Mack, safety Malik Hooker, and linebacker Anthony Walker. Hooker, of course, is unlikely to sign a new deal before the season starts – the Colts declined his fifth-year option earlier this month, a move that puzzled many and put him on course for free agency following the 2020 season.
- At 6’2″ and 213 pounds, Lonnie Johnson Jr. seems like a natural for the safety position. However, Texans defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver plans to keep him at cornerback, as Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle writes. “We got to get his confidence right, and I don’t think he lacks in that area,” Weaver said on a Zoom call. “That rookie year for a corner is difficult. I think he’s going to come in now with more knowledge not only of the system, but DB play in general. And I expect him to take a jump here in year two.” Johnson was inconsistent during the regular season, but he did get a good deal of starting experience. And, as Wilson notes, he made a key deflection on Travis Kelce to help the Texans upset the Chiefs in October (KC, of course, got their revenge in January). Johnson staying at CB, in theory, could improve the chances of Eric Reid joining his brother in the Texans’ secondary.
- The Titans are said to have some degree of interest in Jadeveon Clowney, but former Texans colleague and current Tennessee head coach Mike Vrabel says he hasn’t talked to him.
Longest-Tenured Head Coaches In The NFL
Things move fast in today’s NFL and the old adage of “coaches are hired to be fired” has seemingly never been more true. For the most part, teams change their coaches like they change their underwear. 
A head coach can take his team to the Super Bowl, or win the Super Bowl, or win multiple Super Bowls, but they’re never immune to scrutiny. Just ask Tom Coughlin, who captured his second ring with the Giants after the 2011 season, only to receive his pink slip after the 2015 campaign.
There are also exceptions. Just look at Bill Belichick, who just wrapped up his 20th season at the helm in New England. You’ll also see a few others on this list, but, for the most part, most of today’s NFL head coaches are relatively new to their respective clubs. And, history dictates that many of them will be elsewhere when we check in on this list in 2022.
Over one-third (12) of the NFL’s head coaches have coached no more than one season with their respective teams. Meanwhile, less than half (15) have been with their current clubs for more than three years. It seems like just yesterday that the Cardinals hired Kliff Kingsbury, right? It sort of was – Kingsbury signed on with the Cardinals in January of 2019. Today, he’s practically a veteran.
Here’s the list of the current head coaches in the NFL, ordered by tenure, along with their respective start dates:
- Bill Belichick (New England Patriots): January 27, 2000
- Sean Payton (New Orleans Saints): January 18, 2006
- Mike Tomlin (Pittsburgh Steelers): January 27, 2007
- John Harbaugh (Baltimore Ravens): January 19, 2008
- Pete Carroll (Seattle Seahawks): January 9, 2010
- Andy Reid (Kansas City Chiefs): January 4, 2013
- Bill O’Brien (Houston Texans): January 2, 2014
- Mike Zimmer (Minnesota Vikings): January 15, 2014
- Dan Quinn (Atlanta Falcons): February 2, 2015
- Doug Pederson (Philadelphia Eagles): January 18, 2016
- Sean McDermott (Buffalo Bills): January 11, 2017
- Doug Marrone (Jacksonville Jaguars): December 19, 2016 (interim; permanent since 2017)
- Anthony Lynn (Los Angeles Chargers): January 12, 2017
- Sean McVay (Los Angeles Rams): January 12, 2017
- Kyle Shanahan (San Francisco 49ers): February 6, 2017
- Matt Nagy (Chicago Bears): January 7, 2018
- Matt Patricia (Detroit Lions): February 5, 2018
- Frank Reich (Indianapolis Colts): February 11, 2018
- Jon Gruden (Las Vegas Raiders): January 6, 2018
- Mike Vrabel (Tennessee Titans): January 20, 2018
- Kliff Kingsbury (Arizona Cardinals): January 8, 2019
- Zac Taylor (Cincinnati Bengals): February 4, 2019
- Vic Fangio (Denver Broncos): January 10, 2019
- Matt LaFleur (Green Bay Packers): January 8, 2019
- Brian Flores (Miami Dolphins): February 4, 2019
- Adam Gase (New York Jets): January 11, 2019
- Bruce Arians (Tampa Bay Buccaneers): January 8, 2019
- Ron Rivera (Washington Redskins): January 1, 2020
- Matt Rhule (Carolina Panthers): January 7, 2020
- Mike McCarthy (Dallas Cowboys): January 7, 2020
- Joe Judge (New York Giants): January 8, 2020
- Kevin Stefanski (Cleveland Browns): January 13, 2020
Contract Details: Tunsil, Texans, Fales, Jets
Details on a couple of recent NFL deals:
- Laremy Tunsil‘s three-year, $66MM extension with the Texans has been officially processed, as Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle tweets. The add-on starts in 2021 and takes him through the 2024 season. All together, it comes out to a $76.35MM arrangement with $40MM fully guaranteed and $50MM effectively guaranteed. The deal also calls for an escalation in cap hits, giving Houston more short-term flexibility – Tunsil is set to count for cap hits of $14.1MM, $19.4MM, $21.1MM, and $21.75MM in each of the next four seasons.
- The Jets‘ one-year deal with quarterback David Fales is worth $910K – the veteran’s minimum – with just $100K guaranteed (Twitter link via Connor Hughes of The Athletic). It’s a low-cost deal that will allow the Jets to keep Fales on the 53-man roster if they wish, or drop him this summer without much of a cap penalty. For now, he’ll fight for a spot behind Sam Darnold, alongside fourth-round pick James Morgan.
NFL Draft Pick Signings: 5/13/20
We’ll keep track of today’s mid- to late-round signings here:
- The Texans and third-round pick Jonathan Greenard have come to terms, per Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (Twitter link). The former Louisville and Florida linebacker was tangentially involved in some draft-day drama between Houston and the Lions, as the Texans reportedly believed they had a deal in place to send the No. 90 pick to Detroit only to have the Lions back out at the last moment (which the Lions vehemently deny). The Texans kept the pick and selected Greenard, who posted 10 sacks in his final collegiate season and who hopes to become a part of Houston’s pass-rushing rotation. Greenard’s four-year deal is worth about $4.5MM and includes a signing bonus of roughly $900K.
- The Colts have signed sixth-round choice Isaiah Rodgers, per Josh Alper of PFT. Rodgers, a UMass product, will battle for a spot on Indianapolis’ cornerback depth chart and on the clubs’ special teams unit. He is set to earn $3.44MM over the course of his four-year deal, which includes a $145K signing bonus.
- The Titans inked fifth-round pick Larrell Murchison, per a club announcement. Murchison, an NC State product, made a name for himself as a disruptor on the defensive line after transferring over from a JUCO program.
Deshaun Watson To Sign Extension Before Patrick Mahomes?
We heard back in January that the Texans would try to sign QB Deshaun Watson to an extension this offseason, and indeed, the two sides are in the preliminary stages of contract discussions. And according to Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com, some execs believe Watson will sign his new deal before Chiefs mega-star Patrick Mahomes signs his (Twitter link).
As both Watson and Mahomes were selected in the 2017 draft and have three years of service time under their belts, they are now eligible for extensions. The January report referenced above indicated that Watson wanted to sign his next contract after Mahomes so that he could try to trump it, but if what Fowler’s sources are saying is true, it seems as if the Texans are trying to prevent that from happening.
Per Fowler, Houston has more “urgency” to get something done with Watson, which makes sense if the team wants to avoid having to top a Mahomes deal. But it’s unclear if the Texans should really be worried about that. After all, as good as Watson is, Mahomes is otherworldly, so Watson’s desire to top a Mahomes deal and any Texans’ fears in that regard both seem a little misplaced. Plus, given that the salary cap may go down in the next several years as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, it would seem that the club has more bargaining power than it may have anticipated.
As it stands, it may make more sense for Mahomes’ camp to wait until his Houston counterpart puts pen to paper. Recent projections for Watson’s contract are in the $40MM-$42MM/year range, which exceeds the initial estimates on Mahomes’ deal. If Watson gets an extension of that size, it may not be too much of a stretch to see Mahomes push for $50MM per year, though the reigning Super Bowl MVP has previously indicated that he wants to keep the Chiefs’ core together.
One way or another, Watson and Mahomes aren’t going anywhere. But when the contracts will get done and how much they will be worth remain up in the air, and with Bill O’Brien involved in the Watson negotiations, those questions are tough to answer.
Deshaun Watson's AAV To Eclipse $40MM?
Patrick Mahomes is expected to become the NFL’s highest-paid player — perhaps by a significant margin — at some point between now and the start of the 2021 season. The Chiefs’ eventual negotiations may change because of the player picked two spots after him in the 2017 draft. The Texans have begun talks with Deshaun Watson, and Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle threw out a monster price range for the franchise’s cornerstone player. A Watson extension could range from $40-$42MM per year, Wilson writes. While it is not certain where Houston stands in talks with its fourth-year quarterback, Laremy Tunsil was able to move the tackle market from $18MM per year to $22MM AAV. Watson surpassing $40MM annually would be a bigger jump for QB salaries.
- Once NFL teams return to their respective facilities, the atmosphere will be different because of COVID-19. On that note, the Texans are hiring a hygiene coordinator. It is not certain who will fill this newly created position, but Wilson notes he or she will be in charge with overseeing the conditions of the team’s practice facility and play a key role in coordinating the cleanliness of NRG Stadium.
Saints Release Larry Warford
The Saints released guard Larry Warford on Friday in a move that cleared $7MM+ from the salary cap. As expected, the multiple-time Pro Bowler is already drawing interest from teams. The Texans are one club that’s already considering Larry Warford, according to John McClain of the Houston Chronicle. Same goes for the Bears, who would offer considerably more upside than new pickup Germain Ifedi.
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Warford, 29 in June, has earned Pro Bowl nods in each of the last three seasons. However, the Pro Bowl selection process for offensive linemen tends to be less than scientific, and Sean Payton was less than thrilled with his performance in 2019. The Saints made that crystal clear late last month when they drafted interior lineman Cesar Ruiz in the first round. Ditto for their re-signing of Andrus Peat on a five-year, $57.5MM deal in March. Ruiz will now battle with Erik McCoy – a center, by trade – for a starting guard spot on the line.
Before the release, Warford was set to play out the final season of the four-year, $34MM deal he inked as a free agent in 2017. Now released, Warford will count for $5.125MM in dead money against the cap, but they’ll save $7.75MM in cap dollars.
Warford scored that deal off of the strength of his play in Detroit. As a third-round pick of the Lions, he went on to start in all 57 of his games and he ranked as Pro Football Focus’ 20th-best guard in his walk year.
The Texans could use a guy like Warford, who could supplant Zach Fulton as their top right guard.
NFL Draft Pick Signings: 5/7/20
We’ll keep track of today’s late round signings here:
- The Ravens inked third-round pick Tyre Phillips. With the Mississippi State offensive lineman under contract, the Ravens have now taken care of seven of their ten draft picks. Phillips played tackle in college, but he’ll likely move to the inside with Marshal Yanda retiring.
- The Texans signed offensive tackle Charlie Heck, their fourth-round tackle.
- The Patriots signed third-round linebacker Anfernee Jennings (Alabama), sixth-round guard Michael Onwenu (Michigan), and seventh-round center Dustin Woodard (Memphis), according to Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle (on Twitter). Jennings wasn’t the most athletic rusher in this year’s class, but his hard-nosed playing style and technique made him a strong fit for Bill Belichick‘s defense. BB’s relationship with ‘Bama head coach Nick Saban likely helped to lead Jennings to New England. The Pats have also inked kicker Justin Rohrwasser, linebacker Cassh Maluia, and tackle Justin Herron (all of whom are Day 3 picks), leaving only three unsigned players in their ten-player draft class.
- The Bills signed a trio of picks from the back of their draft, per a club announcement: sixth-round kicker Tyler Bass, sixth-round wide receiver Isaiah Hodgins, and seventh-round cornerback Dane Jackson. Hodgins, out of Oregon State, managed 86 receptions for 1,171 yards and 13 touchdowns in his final year on campus.
- The Dolphins inked a pair of fifth-round edge rushers in Curtis Weaver (Boise State) and Jason Strowbridge (UNC), as Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald tweets. The bulk of their 11-man draft class still remains unsigned, so there’s more work to be done.
Texans To Decline Gareon Conley’s Fifth-Year Option
Months after acquiring Gareon Conley via trade, the Texans plan to make him a contract-year defender. The team is passing on the cornerback’s 2021 option, per Mark Berman of Fox 26 (on Twitter).
While the Texans are still high on Conley, per Berman, this changes his status. The cornerback would have been attached to a $10.24MM salary in 2021 had the Texans exercised the option. Conley will earn $1.89MM in 2020.
This option would have been guaranteed for injury only, with the 2017 class being the last first-round group to not have their fifth-year options fully guaranteed.
The Texans sent the Raiders a third-round pick for Conley before the deadline last season. The former Ohio State defender resides as one of Houston’s key corners, along with Bradley Roby and 2019 second-rounder Lonnie Johnson. Conley, however, played just 38% of Houston’s defensive snaps last season. The Texans, though, let nine-year contributor Johnathan Joseph sign with the Titans, opening up more time in their secondary.
Pro Football Focus graded Conley as the Texans’ top corner last season, though he came in outside the top 50 at the position. Conley missed much of his rookie year with an injury but started 14 games for the 2018 Raiders. He was operating as a 2019 Oakland starter before the trade.