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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.

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Vikings To Name Andrew Healy, Trent Kirchner Assistant GMs

By | at June 12, 2026 10:05 pm

The Vikings announced a number of front office updates yesterday as new general manager Nolan Teasley began to shape the group around him. In some of those updates, Minnesota parted ways with quite a few personnel staffers, chief among them being former assistant general manager Demitrius Washington. According to Tom Pelissero of NFL Network, the team is expected to name his replacement(s) soon.

Per Pelissero, Andrew Healy and Trent Kirchner are expected to be named assistant general managers sometime over the next few days. Pelissero’s NFL Network colleague Ian Rapoport added that Healy “will serve as the team’s secondary football executive,” and Kirchner, who “is widely regarded as one of the NFL’s top talent evaluators,” will be another “top lieutenant” for Teasley. Additionally, Ryan Grigson — who also served as an assistant GM next to Washington under former GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah — will be retained in Minnesota but will serve in a new capacity.

Healy’s entire NFL career has come in Cleveland, where he started as a senior strategist, player personnel in 2016 before getting promoted to vice president, strategy three years later. Before finding his way to the NFL, Healy spent quite a bit of time in academia. After earning Bachelors in Applied Mathematics and Political Science at Yale, Healy spent six years earning his PhD in Economics at MIT. Following his time as a student, Healy worked six years as an Assistant Professor of Economics at Loyola Marymount University and held an Associate Professor of Economics position for four more years before being named Professor of Economics. He held that role for a year before joining the Browns.

Kirchner is following Teasley in the move from Seattle to Minneapolis. Kirchner started his tenure with the Seahawks before Teasley did. A Minnesota-native, Kirchner first found his way to the NFL as an intern for the Seahawks in 2000. After a season as college scouting coordinator for Washington, Kirchner spent eight seasons as a pro scout for the Panthers before returning to Seattle in 2010 as assistant director of player personnel. He earned a series of promotions in his time with the Seahawks, starting with an elevation to pro personnel director in 2013. He was named co-director of player personnel in 2015 then vice president of player personnel in 2019. After last year, Kirchner has now helped build two Super Bowl-winning rosters after winning his first ring in Carolina.

After a short playing career as an offensive tackle, Grigson tried his hand at coaching before turning to scouting in 1998. His first NFL role came the next year as a national scout with the Rams. Grigson joined the Eagles in 2004 and worked his way up the ladder in Philadelphia until being named general manager of the Colts in 2012. In between his final year as GM in 2016 and his first year with the Vikings in 2022, Grigson worked in the same front office as Healy in Cleveland in 2017 then again from 2020-21, working the two vacant years between Browns stints as a senior football consultant in Seattle with Teasley and Kirchner. Grigson won’t retain his title, but with experience working with staffers across the top of the personnel department, he should fair well under new leadership.

1 comment Minnesota Vikings

2021 NFL General Manager Search Tracker

By | at January 12, 2021 8:02 pm

This year’s NFL GM carousel figures to be more active than usual. The Falcons, Lions, Panthers, Texans, and Jaguars are all on the hunt for a new front office leader. And that’s only the official list. The real tally shows six clubs looking for a GM, since the Washington Football Team is expected to install a GM to work alongside head coach Ron Rivera. By mid-January, we could easily see a couple more jobs opening up — that’d put ~25% of the NFL on the market.

We’ll keep track of the GM candidates for each club here, along with their current status. If and when other teams decide to make general manager changes, they’ll be added to this list. Here’s the current breakdown:

Updated 1-19-21 (7:02pm CT)

Atlanta Falcons

Carolina Panthers 

Denver Broncos

Detroit Lions

Houston Texans

Jacksonville Jaguars

Washington Football Team

23 comments Atlanta Falcons Baltimore Ravens Buffalo Bills Carolina Panthers Chicago Bears Cleveland Browns Denver Broncos Detroit Lions Houston Texans Indianapolis Colts Jacksonville Jaguars Kansas City Chiefs Los Angeles Chargers Los Angeles Rams Minnesota Vikings New England Patriots New Orleans Saints New York Giants PFR Originals Philadelphia Eagles Pittsburgh Steelers San Francisco 49ers Seattle Seahawks Tennessee Titans Washington Commanders

Texans Request Scott Cohen, Trent Kirchner Interviews

By | at January 4, 2021 10:10 am

The Texans’ GM search is heating up. On Monday, the team requested interviews with Ravens director of football research Scott Cohen and Seahawks vice president of player personnel Trent Kirchner, as NFL.com’s Mike Garafolo tweets.

[RELATED: Texans To Interview Matt Eberflus]

Kirchner started out as the Seahawks’ assistant director of pro personnel in 2010. After a series of promotions, he was elevated to Vice President of Player Personnel in September. Along with co-lieutenant Scott Fitterer, he’s been a hot candidate for GM jobs for a long time. He’s viewed as an integral part of the Seahawks’ success, and a valuable asset for Seahawks GM John Schneider. In 2017, the Panthers, Colts, and 49ers were all connected to the longtime Seattle exec. This time around, the Texans are exploring multiple candidates from the Seahawks, though Garafolo notes that search firm Korn Ferry is strongly pushing Kirchner.

Cohen, meanwhile, has been with the Ravens since 2015. Before that, he spent time with the Buccaneers, Jets, Eagles, and Jaguars. His first 23 years were spent in player personnel. Over the last six years, he’s worked with the team’s coaching staff on week-to-week scouting.

0 comments Baltimore Ravens Houston Texans Seattle Seahawks

Seahawks Promote Scott Fitterer, Trent Kirchner

By | at September 25, 2020 2:59 pm

Two longtime Seahawks execs have received new titles and, presumably, pay bumps. Scott Fitterer is now the team’s Vice President of Football Operations while Trent Kirchner has been elevated to Vice President of Player Personnel (Twitter link via NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero).

Seahawks GM John Schneider brought Kirchner to Seattle as the team’s assistant director of pro personnel in 2010. In 2013, Kirchner was promoted to director of player personnel before moving to co-Director of Player Personnel in 2015. Fitterer started with Seattle in 2001 and followed a similar trajectory up the ladder, teaming with Kirchner as the co-DPP in ’15.

They’ve been an integral part of the Seahawks’ success over the years, and the rest of the league has taken notice. Kirchner was one of the hottest names in the 2017 GM cycle, drawing consideration from the Panthers, Colts, and 49ers. Fitterer has also gotten lots of calls, including the Chiefs (2017) and the Jets (2019). For the time being, the Seahawks will hold on to both execs.

0 comments Seattle Seahawks

Browns To Interview Ed Dodds For GM Opening

By | at January 11, 2020 12:42 pm

We’ve got our first known candidate for the Browns’ general manager vacancy. NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero reports (via Twitter) that the organization has requested permission to interview Colts assistant GM Ed Dodds. Albert Breer of The MMQB tweets that the Colts have granted the Browns permission to interview the executive.

Perhaps even more notably, NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport reports (via Twitter) that Browns head coaching candidate (and current 49ers defensive coordinator) Robert Saleh showed interest in being paired with Dodds in Cleveland. Saleh and Dodds both worked together during their stint in Seattle. Rapoport adds that

Dodds was considered one of the top scouts in the NFL during his 10 seasons in Seattle. During his time with the Seahawks, he served in a variety of roles, including senior personnel executive. Dodds joined the Colts back in 2017, and he was promoted to assistant GM the following year.

We heard earlier today that the organization was starting to ramp up their efforts to find a replacement for John Dorsey, who the team parted ways with in late December. While the order of operations may sound a bit weird, the Browns had always planned to complete their head coaching search before hiring a GM.

Dodds is the first known contender for the GM opening, and it sounds like the Browns organization has an affinity for former Seahawks executives. We previously heard that Seattle’s co-directors of player personnel, Trent Kirchner and Scott Fitterer, are two well-respected executives who could emerge as leading candidates for the GM gig. Rapoport tweets that the duo could also be paired with Saleh, as could 49ers vice president of player personnel Adam Peters.

9 comments Cleveland Browns Indianapolis Colts

Browns Notes: GM Search, DePodesta, McCarthy, Saleh, Daboll

By | at January 5, 2020 6:58 pm

While the primary focus in Cleveland remains on their search for a new head coach, according to Mike Garafolo of NFL Network, the Browns could have their eyes on a pair of front-office employees with the Seahawks for their general managerial opening. Via Garafolo’s report, Seattle’s co-directors of player personnel, Trent Kirchner and Scott Fitterer, are two well-respected executives that could emerge as leading candidates.

Here’s more notes from the Browns organization:

  • NFL.com’s Ian Rapaport noted that two head coaching candidates in the Browns search that align with Kirchner and Fitterer are former Packers head coach Mike McCarthy and 49ers defensive coordinator Robert Saleh. McCarthy’s connection to the two Seattle executives is unclear, but Saleh started his coaching career in Seattle and has built his defensive scheme upon the Seahawks 4-3 at the peak of the “Legion of Boom.”
  • The Browns pushed back their interview with Bills offensive coordinator Brian Daboll for Cleveland’s head coaching position, according to Ian Rapaport of NFL.com. Daboll remains a candidate, but since the Bills were eliminated from the playoffs in Saturday’s overtime loss to the Texans, the team decided to delay his interview to this week so he could meet more of the team’s current front office staff.
  • Browns chief strategist Paul DePodesta has been the center of a lot of coverage surrounding the power struggle in Cleveland. The onetime assistant general manager of the Oakland Athletics is spearheading the Browns head coach search, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN, but is not under contract with the team beyond next week. With that said, DePodesta is still wanted in Cleveland and the team may want to extend the executive at the same time of the team’s general manager and head coaching hires to put the organization on the same page.
10 comments Buffalo Bills Cleveland Browns San Francisco 49ers Seattle Seahawks

East Notes: Cowboys, Giants, Hackenberg, Jets

By | at December 8, 2017 2:21 pm

Jerry Jones offered a measured response to Roger Goodell‘s new extension when asked about it on Friday morning.

“No, I don’t really [have any comment],” Jones said on 105.3 The Fan (transcript via Jon Machota of the Dallas Morning News). “We’re having a very important [owners] meeting here in Dallas next week beginning Wednesday. That’s very meaningful. I’m looking forward to that. That’ll be very meaningful as we go forward. One of the things that I think that has been mentioned is any role that I might have had in the extension of Roger. As you know, I’ve been on both ends of it as far as any criticism. It’s been my experience in 30 years in the NFL that to make change and to make positive change — every time we all strive to make the NFL better, I include every owner with that — it’s hard. It’s very, very hard. If you really want to make some changes, you usually end up getting a lot of criticism along the way. It’s happened every time with me when we’ve had meaningful change. … We’ll see how it goes forward, but there’s nothing that has surprised me here.”

While Jones seethes behind closed doors, let’s take a look at the latest from the East divisions:

  • Jordan Raanan of ESPN.com spoke with people around the league to size up some potential candidates for the Giants‘ GM vacancy. The names he’s hearing include Eliot Wolf (Packers), Nick Caserio (Patriots), Scott Pioli (Falcons), Trent Kirchner (Seahawks), Dave Gettleman (ex-Panthers GM), Louis Riddick (currently with ESPN), and internal candidates Kevin Abrams and Marc Ross.
  • Can Christian Hackenberg still be the Jets‘ quarterback of the future? The former second round pick has yet to see the field, but Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News won’t rule out the possibility that he could be in the mix next season. For his part, Hackenberg admits that he is anxious to take an NFL snap. “In order to grow and learn, you need to get hit in your mouth,” Hackenberg said. “You need to fail. Then you grow from that. There’s really no intimidation. I got to experience things. I felt like I experienced a lot of really good things this preseason and some things I need to learn from. That’s all part of the process. If you don’t experience both ends of the spectrum, you’re not getting everything out of the adventure.”
4 comments Dallas Cowboys New York Giants New York Jets

Browns Eyeing Ex-Chiefs GM John Dorsey

By | at December 7, 2017 11:12 am

The Browns’ GM search is underway and we already have word on a potential frontrunner for the job. The Browns are eyeing former Chiefs GM John Dorsey and he is expected to emerge as a leading contender for the job, sources tell ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter and Dianna Russini. John Dorsey (vertical)

[RELATED: Browns Fire VP Sashi Brown]

Owner Jimmy Haslam and his wife Dee Haslam are expected to interview candidates as early as this week, sources tell the duo. The early interviews may also include Seahawks executive Trent Kirchner and Packers executive Eliot Wolf, Tom Pelissero of NFL.com reports (on Twitter).

In his statement announcing the firing of Sashi Brown, Haslam said that he would be looking for “someone with strong experience and success in drafting and building consistently winning football teams.” Dorsey fits the bill, though he is not without his critics. Dorsey was canned by Kansas City late last offseason, reportedly because of his overly loose management style. The Chiefs also did a poor job of managing the salary cap, though that supposedly did not factor heavily into Clark Hunt’s decision fire him.

Because of the team is making experience a requirement, it sounds like former NFL quarterback Peyton Manning will not be considered for the job. Throughout the year, there were rumblings of Haslam working to lure Manning, potentially by offering a small stake in the team. Instead, it appears that the Browns will be making a more traditional hire.

Whoever takes over for Brown in Cleveland will have a lot going for them (in theory). In the 2018 draft, the Brows have an enviable stockpile including an extra first-round pick, two additional second round picks, a fourth-round choice, and a fifth-round selection. They could also have nearly $100MM in cap space, though it’s not a given that Haslam will spend it all.

11 comments Cleveland Browns Green Bay Packers Seattle Seahawks

Potential Candidates For Panthers GM Job

By | at July 17, 2017 2:39 pm

To the surprise of many, the Panthers are in search of a new general manager. It’s too early to know who will be in the mix for the job, but speculation is already rampant among those in the know. Here are the early potential candidates for Carolina:

  • Seahawks executive Trent Kirchner spent eight years in Carolina as a scout and could be among those considered, Mike Garafolo of NFL Network tweets. Kirchner interviewed for the Colts and 49ers GM positions earlier this offseason before they went to Chris Ballard and John Lynch, respectively.
  • Titans director of player personnel Ryan Cowden and Panthers director of player personnel Don Gregory are two names to watch, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets. Cowden was among those to interview for the Chiefs vacancy this summer and spent 16 years working for the Panthers before joining Tennessee.
  • The Panthers’ highest ranking personnel executive left in the building Mark Koncz, Adam Caplan of ESPN.com (on Twitter) notes. He was promoted to personnel director in May from pro director.
  • It’s “just a hunch,” but Alex Marvez of The Sporting News (on Twitter) wouldn’t be surprised if former Chiefs GM John Dorsey ultimately becomes the Panthers’ next GM.
  • The Panthers likely going to go with an interim GM rather than rush to a decision one month before the season starts, Joseph Person of the Charlotte Observer tweets. With that in mind, former GM Marty Hurney makes some sense. Hurney, who was relieved of his post as GM during the 2012 season, currently works for ESPN Radio in Charlotte. Under his watch, the Panthers drafted some of the team’s biggest stars, including Cam Newton, Luke Kuechly, and Thomas Davis.
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