Giants, Colts and Jaguars have NFL GMs on the hot seat, while the pressure mounts for others
Last week, the New York Jets fired Joe Douglas, making him the first NFL general manager of the season to lose his job.
Douglas is unlikely to be the last as there are underperforming teams this season. Seventeen of the NFL’s 32 teams entered Week 13 with losing records. And nearly a dozen of those teams are dangerously close to posting double-digit losses.
People around the league predict that three to five teams will hire new general managers this season, hoping a change at the leadership personnel position can lead to improvement.
As the regular season approaches its final full month, several owners face tough decisions. Which general managers are seemingly on shaky ground as their franchises’ hopes evaporate?
Hot seats
Trent Baalke, Jacksonville Jaguars
Baalke has been blessed with deep picks, ample cap space and the patience and support of owner Shad Khan, but he has failed to turn the Jaguars into a contender. Charged with addressing the team’s most pressing issues, Baalke has swung and missed repeatedly and is now heading for his second double-digit season in four years. He is 23-39 in three-plus regular seasons.
After a 2023 season marked by regression and a second-half collapse, the Jaguars were hoping to regain their 2022 playoff form, but instead they’ve gotten even worse. Jacksonville is 2-9 and in the mix for the No. 1 pick in the draft. Even Trevor Lawrence — who was considered a generational talent when Jacksonville drafted him first overall in 2021 and signed a five-year, $275 million contract extension this summer — has regressed tremendously under Baalke and Doug Pederson. Lawrence hasn’t played since Nov. 3 due to a shoulder injury, but he was 2-7 before the injury. With each dismal performance from the Jags this season, it has become clear that Khan needs to clean house, starting with the GM and coach.
Chris Ballard, Indianapolis Colts
A late-season rebound from quarterback Anthony Richardson could help Ballard’s cause, but for now there’s an uneasiness hanging over the Colts. They enter Week 13 with a 5-7 record and are in danger of missing the playoffs for the fourth straight season. Richardson, who was drafted fourth overall by Ballard in 2023, may have enviable physical gifts. But accuracy and decision-making are among his glaring weaknesses, and so far the quarterback — who was benched earlier this season before getting his job back — appears to have tremendous range.
Richardson has failed to achieve the level of consistency needed to shine as a quarterback in the NFL. If he and the Colts fail to make the playoffs in the final month of the season, owner Jim Irsay could opt for a move at GM for the first time since 2017.
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Joe Schoen, New York Giants
Giants owner John Mara said on Oct. 23 that Schoen and coach Brian Daboll’s jobs were safe despite a severely disappointing 2024 season. But Schoen, who became general manager in 2022, now has two epic failures hanging over him: the benching and release of quarterback Daniel Jones, and reversing Saquon Barkley’s dominant season for the Philadelphia Eagles after Schoen deemed him unworthy of a handsome contract extension.
The Giants have regressed since their surprising playoff run in 2022. Their roster remains severely lacking in talent, and Schoen has not shown the ability to get things back on track. As the season continues to crash and burn — the Giants are 2-9 — drastic changes seem necessary.
Pressure mounting
Tom Telesco, Las Vegas Raiders
Telesco is still in his first season with the Raiders, but they are 2-9 and have taken steps backward. This causes criticism around Telesco and Antonio Pierce, who was hired as permanent head coach in January after an encouraging interim period. Pierce is on shaky ground, though he continues to argue that a weak quarterback situation is the biggest problem holding the Raiders back. Gardner Minshew was 2-7 this season before suffering a broken collarbone on Sunday; the Raiders prepare to start Aidan O’Connell (0-2) on Friday for the first time since he suffered a broken thumb on Oct. 20.
Tom Telesco is in his first season as the Raiders GM. (Kirby Lee/Imagn Images)
Would Tom Brady, who now has major influence within the organization as a minority owner, want his own man running the show at coach and GM? If so, it could also lead to a short period for Telesco. But for now, the GM can hang his hat on the fact that he drafted promising starters with his first three selections (tight end Brock Bowers, center Jackson Powers-Johnson and right tackle Delmar Glaze) last spring.
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Andrew Berry, Cleveland Browns
Deshaun Watson’s huge swing-and-miss is a black eye for the Browns franchise, and that failed move has led some insiders to wonder about the stability of Berry’s job. Berry, hired in 2020, will likely get more time. For now, most of the pressure is on coach Kevin Stefanski, who has struggled thus far to help Watson find comfort in his system and play like the franchise quarterback the Browns are paying him to be. Watson was 1-6 when he suffered a torn right Achilles tendon late in the season. His injuries (he has played a total of thirteen games over the past two seasons) and those along the offensive line have not made things easy. But the Browns owe Watson another $92 million over the next two years, so team officials may look elsewhere for solutions.
So who are some of the top candidates to fill looming vacancies? Teams will likely look to successful franchises for someone who can bring winning ways to lead reclamation projects. Some highly ranked candidates expected to show up for interviews during this hiring cycle:
• Mike Borgonzi, Chiefs assistant general manager
• Mike Martin, Lions director of Scouting Advance
• Dwayne Joseph, Lions scouting director
• Jeff Scott, Eagles vice president of football operations
• Brandon Hunt, Eagles senior scouting director
• John Spytek, Buccaneers assistant general manager
• Chad Alexander, Chargers assistant general manager
• Ian Cunningham, Bears assistant general manager
• Josh Williams, 49ers director of scouting and football
• Glenn Cook, Browns assistant general manager
(Top illustration: Dan Goldfarb / The Athletics; photos by Chris Ballard, Trent Baalke and Joe Schoen: Kevin C. Cox, James Gilbert, Justin Casterline / Getty Images)
