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The NFL’s Assistant General Managers

By | at June 26, 2026 10:15 pm

When the Vikings hired Nolan Teasley late last month, the general manager carousel came to a stop once again. Minnesota has since filled out its assistant GM tier, joining Seattle — which lost Teasley from its AGM post — in doing so this month. The Vikings’ GM search — which consisted of interim GM Rob Brzezinski and assistant GMs from other teams — reminded that the AGM post serves as the top launching pad to the GM ranks.

While front office bosses are fairly well-known presences — particularly to the PFR audience — the assistant GM level consists of less recognizable figures. But these staffers sit as top front office lieutenants, many of whom have interviewed for GM jobs already. Others will do so in the future. Here are the teams that have assigned the assistant general manager title to one or more staffers:

Arizona Cardinals

Atlanta Falcons

Buffalo Bills

Chicago Bears

Cincinnati Bengals

Cleveland Browns

Denver Broncos

Detroit Lions

Houston Texans

Indianapolis Colts

Kansas City Chiefs

Las Vegas Raiders

Los Angeles Chargers

Los Angeles Rams

  • John McKay (hired in 2016, promoted to AGM in 2025)

Miami Dolphins

Minnesota Vikings

New Orleans Saints

New York Giants

Philadelphia Eagles

Pittsburgh Steelers

San Francisco 49ers

Seattle Seahawks

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Tennessee Titans

Washington Commanders

The Cowboys, Jaguars, Jets, Packers, Panthers, Patriots and Ravens do not have a staffer in this position. Some front offices opt against handing out the title. The Patriots and Cowboys have refrained from doing so for many years. Jerry Jones has served as the team’s GM since his 1989 purchase; he does not plan to step down from his front office perch anytime soon. Son Stephen Jones operates as the team’s COO. VP of player personnel Will McClay has drawn outside GM interest in the past, but the longtime Dallas staffer has preferred to stay put.

Carolina promoted Dan Morgan from assistant GM to the top front office post in 2024. Former Chiefs exec Brandt Tilis serves as the Panthers’ de facto AGM, residing as the team’s executive VP of football operations. Tilis interviewed for the Falcons’ top front office post — which went to Matt Ryan — this offseason. Now that the Dolphins hired former Packers VP of player personnel Jon-Eric Sullivan as GM, cap specialist Russ Ball is probably Green Bay’s most prominent exec working under longtime GM Brian Gutekunst.

The Patriots hired former Titans interim GM Ryan Cowden to work with Mike Vrabel; the longtime Tennessee staffer is New England’s VP of player personnel. Eliot Wolf does not officially hold a GM title (residing as executive VP of player personnel instead) — is in Year 3 running the Pats’ front office.

Second-year GMs James Gladstone and Darren Mougey have not handed out the AGM title, either. Hall of Fame left tackle Tony Boselli sits in a key Jacksonville role, as executive VP of football ops, while former Broncos GM Brian Xanders is a senior advisor to the GM. Former Vikings GM Rick Spielman helped the Jets land on Mougey as GM, and the veteran NFL staffer remains on New York’s staff (as a senior football advisor).

While a host of staffers on the assistant GM level have been part of recent GM carousels, only two current AGMs — Ireland and Ziegler — previously led a front office. Illustrating the fluidity of AGM roles, only Dodds and Ireland have been in their current positions prior to the 2020s.

2 comments Arizona Cardinals Atlanta Falcons Baltimore Ravens Buffalo Bills Carolina Panthers Chicago Bears Cincinnati Bengals Cleveland Browns Dallas Cowboys Denver Broncos Detroit Lions Green Bay Packers Houston Texans Indianapolis Colts Jacksonville Jaguars Kansas City Chiefs Las Vegas Raiders Los Angeles Chargers Los Angeles Rams Miami Dolphins Minnesota Vikings New England Patriots New Orleans Saints New York Giants New York Jets PFR Originals Philadelphia Eagles Pittsburgh Steelers San Francisco 49ers Seattle Seahawks Tampa Bay Buccaneers Tennessee Titans Washington Commanders

Buccaneers Promote Rob McCartney To Assistant GM

By | at April 30, 2025 11:31 am

Nearly two years ago, the Buccaneers promoted John Spytek to assistant general manager. With Spytek parlaying that climb to a GM job (with the Raiders), the Bucs are moving another longtime staffer into that role.

Rob McCartney will rise to an assistant GM spot in Tampa, according to Insidetheleague.com’s Neil Stratton. Mike Greenberg remains an AGM with the team, but McCartney will take over Spytek’s role in the other lieutenant post under Jason Licht.

Like Greenberg, McCartney has been with the Bucs for many years. His tenure predates Licht’s with the organization, as it began back in 2011 (after a two-year internship). The Bucs had previously stationed McCartney in the director of player personnel position, having elevated him to that role in 2022.

Both Spytek and Greenberg were on the GM carousel this offseason; Greenberg interviewed for the Jets’ job before declining a Jaguars meeting. Liam Coen was believed to want to take Greenberg with him to Jacksonville. McCartney and VP of football research Jacqueline Davidson were also mentioned as names to watch for GM candidacies. While Davidson has received buzz about potentially becoming the league’s first modern-era woman GM, McCartney has moved up to a role that could soon allow him to receive consideration for a top front office job.

Greenberg has been the Bucs’ cap czar for a while, while McCartney came up through the scouting ranks. As director of player personnel, McCartney played lead roles in the team’s ongoing effort to re-sign and extend its own talent. The Bucs have come through with several high-profile deals to retain players — from Mike Evans to Baker Mayfield to Tristan Wirfs to Antoine Winfield Jr. to Chris Godwin‘s recent re-up — and that will help earn the veteran exec a promotion.

The Bucs are also making an outside hire, adding Zach Beistline as director of football research. Beistline will come over from the Jags, whose James Gladstone GM hire has led to steady changes — including the departure of Jacksonville AGM Ethan Waugh. Originally reported by Fox Sports’ Greg Auman, the Beistline hire comes after he spent 12 years with the Jags. He most recently served as the AFC South team’s director of game management.

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Buccaneers OC Liam Coen “Gaining Traction” For HC Gigs

By | at December 21, 2024 9:49 am

Liam Coen has helped elevate the Buccaneers offense into one of the top-scoring units in the NFL. The offensive coordinator may be able to parlay that performance into a promotion. Per ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, Coen has been “gaining traction” for head coaching gigs. At the very least, the coach is expected to be heavily involved in the interview circuit.

After spending a few years in the college ranks, Coen made a name for himself working alongside Sean McVay in Los Angeles. Coen first served as the Rams wide receivers coach, when he helped guide Cooper Kupp to his breakout season in 2019. Coen later worked closely with Matthew Stafford as the team’s assistant QBs coach.

Coen left for Kentucky in 2021 to become the school’s offensive coordinator, but he returned to the Rams in 2022 to replace Kevin O’Connell as OC. Coen went back to Kentucky for a second stint in 2023 before getting hired as Dave Canales‘ replacement in Tampa Bay ahead of the 2024 campaign.

While the Buccaneers already had a formidable offense, Coen has helped take the unit to another level. The offense is averaging more than 28 points per game despite Chris Godwin being lost for the season and Mike Evans missing a handful of games. Coen has also helped turn around the team’s running game; after ranking towards the bottom of the NFL in 2022 and 2023, the Buccaneers currently rank second in yards per carry (5.2) and fifth in rushing yards (2,021).

Considering Coen’s success in multiple stops, it’s not a huge surprise that he’ll be a hot name on the coaching carousel. The offensive coordinator will be relatively new to the HC interview cycle, and considering his limited track record, some longer-tenured coordinators will likely get the first crack at open jobs. Still, it’s a positive development for Coen’s career trajectory that he’s already being considered for these types of gigs.

As Fowler notes, Coen won’t be the only popular name in Tampa Bay. Assistant GM John Spytek will once again be considered for GM jobs, and fellow assistant GM Mike Greenberg could also be a popular name (with Fowler specifically pointing to the Jets gig). Fowler also points to vice president of football research Jacqueline Davidson and director of player personnel Rob McCartney as names to watch, even if they don’t get long looks this offseason.

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Buccaneers Promote Mike Greenberg, John Spytek To Assistant GMs

By | at June 29, 2023 7:12 pm

The Buccaneers made a few notable changes to their front office today. The team announced that Vice President of Football Administration Mike Greenberg and Vice President of Player Personnel John Spytek will now serve as assistant general managers.

Greenberg has spent 16 years in the NFL, the majority of them with Tampa Bay. Per the team’s release, the executive often worked alongside general manager Jason Licht when it came to salary cap management, contract negotiations, Collective Bargaining Agreement compliance, and the organization’s financial/strategic planning.

Spytek, who will be entering his eighth season with the Buccaneers, was worked alongside Licht on the NFL Draft, “key free-agent acquisitions,” and other personnel decisions. In his role as Vice President of Player Personnel, the executive oversaw the college and pro scouting departments.

The team also announced that Jackie Davidson has been named Vice President of Football Research and Shane Scannell has been named Director of Pro Scouting. Davidson was previously a senior director and will support both the front office and coaching staff “in roster and strategy decisions through research and development of analytical tools and methods.” Scannell was promoted from assistant director and will work alongside Director of Player Personnel Rob McCartney on “advance scouting.”

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Buccaneers, Vikings Announce Updates To Front Office, Scouting Departments

By | at June 12, 2022 10:09 pm

Buccaneers general manager Jason Licht announced a litany of promotions and new titles in the front office and scouting department this weekend, according to Greg Auman of The Athletic. Rob McCartney and Mike Biehl have both been granted the role of director of player personnel, promotions from their previous roles of director of pro scouting and director of college scouting, respectively. They’ll likely continue to focus on those areas of scouting, but with additional responsibilities added, as well.

Byron Kiefer has been promoted from senior national scout to assistant director of college scouting, Antwan Murray and Tony Hardie have both been promoted from area scouts to national scouts, and Shannon Hogue has been promoted from scouting assistant to scouting analyst. Cesar Rivera and Brian McLaughlin have both been made college scouts, after previously serving as scouting coordinator and NFS/combine scout, respectively, and Zach Smith will step into McLaughlin’s role as combine scout, a step up from his previous role of scouting assistant. Former Jaguars director of college scouting Mark Ellenz has been hired as a college scout and former football operations intern Peighton Roth has been officially brought on as a scouting coordinator.

The Vikings also announced the finishing touches to new general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah‘s staff this weekend. The team added two new hires in pro scout Donovan Jackson and national scout David Williams. Chisom Opara has been promoted from national scout to assistant director of player personnel, Chris Blanco has been promoted from assistant director of pro scouting to director of pro personnel, and Taylor Brooks has been promoted from scouting associate to player personnel analyst.

There were a number of updated title announcements, as well. We knew that former Colts general manager Ryan Grigson would be joining Adofo-Mensah in Minnesota, but we now know he will be in the role of senior vice president of player personnel. Ryan Monnens and Jamaal Stephenson have gone from co-directors of player personnel to director of player personnel and senior personnel executive, respectively, Imarjaye Albury has moved from the coaching role of assistant defensive line coach to pro scout, Sean Gustus has gone from area scout to national scout, and Kaitlin Zarecki has gone from manager of player development/special assistant to the general manager to football operations manager & special assistant to the general manager & head coach.

Finally, Minnesota announced some title changes to the analytics team with director of football analytics & pro scout Scott Kuhn dropping “analytics” for the more specific “quantitative methods.” Similarly, Rex Johnson has gone from research manager to football quantitative methods manager and Chris French has gone from football analyst to football quantitative methods analyst.

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