ChiefsPlanet - Okay you Carl lovers....what do you think of this?

I don't think too much of Carl. I was surprised to find him that far down the list.

http://www.allheadlinenews.com/articles/7006545951

Ranking The NFL's General Managers

February 22, 2007 4:02 p.m. EST

Eric Williams - All Headline News Staff Writer

West Palm Beach, FL. (AHN) - The Chicago Bears don't want to pay head coach Lovie Smith what he's worth, despite the fact the Smith just led the team to their first Super Bowl appearance in 21 years. The San Diego Chargers fired head coach Marty Schottenheimer weeks after they lost both coordinators and announced that Schottenheimer would return for the 2007.

With all of the peculiar transactions and coaching changes that have taken place in the few weeks since Super Bowl XLI ended, particularly in San Diego and Chicago, we at AHN thought it would be interesting to rank each NFL general manager on the basis of their past, present - and possibly, future performances.

In order, here are the best general managers in the NFL.

New England Patriots Bill Belichick/ Scott PioliThe Patriots have been at the head of the class when it comes to structuring an organization built for the long haul. The combination of head coach Belichick and GM, Pioli has been nothing short of masterful in molding the Patriots into the best team in all of football over the last half-decade.

Denver Broncos: Ted Sundquist/Mike Shanahan
The Broncos perennially do one of the best jobs in the league at drafting "unknown" players who come into the Broncos fold and turn out to be fine NFL players. No matter who holds the GM title in Denver, the Broncos organization as a whole - led by Shanahan - does a wonderful personnel job every year.

Philadelphia Eagles: Tom Heckert/Andy Reid
Although Heckert was named the team's general manager in January of 2006, it is Reid who has the final say on all personnel decision. While I don't necessarily agree with how the Eagles franchise treats some of their veteran players, Reid has built the Eagles into a perennial double-digit win team for the last seven seasons. The Eagles also do an excellent job at drafting young players who turn out to be solid pros at some point in their respective careers.

Chicago Bears: Jerry Angelo/Lovie Smith
It's pretty ironic the Bears' situation with Smith has disintegrated into what it currently is. Chicago has done a wonderful job drafting young players who have quickly become some of best impact players in the league at their respective positions.
It's no coincidence that the Bears have managed to turn around their performance on the field - and in the front office - since they hired Smith to be their head coach three years ago.

Pittsburgh Steelers: Kevin Colbert/Mike Tomlin
Just like the Broncos and Patriots, the Steelers do one of the best jobs every year of drafting young players who turn out to be solid NFL players - if not genuine stars.
It's not a coincidence that Pittsburgh has been one of the best teams in all of football during Cowher's long tenure in Pittsburgh.
Now that Cowher is gone, it should be interesting to see how well Colbert does running the show himself until new head coach Mike Tomlin gets up to speed.

Tennessee Titans: Floyd Reese/Jeff Fisher
Make no mistake about it - Floyd Reese knows football talent. The Titans brain trust is rebuilding a franchise that, not too long ago, was one of the best teams in the league. Don't look now, but I expect the Titans to be back among the elite teams in the league inside of the next three years.

Cincinnati Bengals: Marvin Lewis
Lewis has altered the entire mindset of the Bengals organization starting from the front office on down. Yes Cincinnati had a very horrific year with off-field incidents this past season, but Lewis has also drafted extremely well and has the Bengals in position to be legitimate Super Bowl contenders for years to come.

New York Jets: Mike Tannenbaum/Eric Mangini
Although Tannenbaum is only 36-years-old, he is another "football guy" who knows talent when he sees it. The combination of Tannenbaum and equally young head coach, Eric Mangini has already performed miracles this season in getting the rebuilding Jets to overachieve all season and better yet - play their hearts out in every contest, except one. I wouldn't be surprised at all to see the Jets back among the AFC playoff teams again next season.

San Diego Chargers: A.J. Smith
Smith has done a positively excellent job in building this team into legitimate Super Bowl contenders. The Chargers have drafted well on both sides of the ball and appear to be set at several key positions for years to come - thanks to Smith's amazing foresight.
His inability to get along with former head coach Marty Schottenheimer ultimately led to the veteran coach's dismissal, despite finishing with a league-best record of 14-2. Now the pressure will be on Smith and new head coach Norv Turner to take the Chargers to the next level.

New York Giants: Ernie Acorsi
Acorsi is as fine a football mind as there is in the game today. The Giants aren't necessarily overflowing with talent, but they have drafted fairly well under Acorsi and would appear to at least be in a position to be legitimate playoff participants for the next few years as well.

Carolina Panthers: Marty Hurney/John Fox
I know that Fox has a lot of say in the personnel decisions in Carolina and this combination of Fox and Hurney just seems to keep plugging along and pumping out quality players - especially on the defensive side of the ball.

Jacksonville Jaguars: James Harris/ Jack Del Rio
The Jaguars have also done a pretty good job of sustaining their moderate success by drafting young players who have come in and done a good job as NFL players - especially on the defensive side of the ball also. If the Jags can ever get their offense up to snuff, they could really take off some day. I will say that the combination of Harris and Del Rio, both former NFL players, seems to recognize NFL talent when they see it.

Dallas Cowboys: Jerry Jones/Bill Parcells
Owner Jerry Jones may hold the GM title, along with every other title besides head coach, but it is clearly Bill Parcells who was the more knowledgeable football man and the person responsible for bringing in players like DeMarcus Ware, Marcus Spears and both, Julius Jones and Marion Barber. Unfortunately, Parcells tired of Jones' dizzying act, won't be around to see his work in progress completed.
Jones will once again take sole control of the player personnel while Wade Phillips will be in charge of the on-field product.

Indianapolis Colts: Bill Polian/ Tony Dungy
Polian is one of the most knowledgeable personnel men in the annals of NFL history. Combined with Dungy, this pair knows how to build a winner. Of course it helps when you have a quarterback like Peyton Manning. However, the pair are responsible for drafting many of the same players who helped lead the Colts to this season's Super Bowl title.

Buffalo Bills: Marv Levy
I know Levy just completed his first season in this new role, but the man obviously has an eye for NFL talent. Buffalo played very respectable football this year despite having a new head coach and a ton of young players who are still learning the ropes in the NFL. I wouldn't be surprised at all to see the Bills return to their former glory days with Levy in his new role in a couple of years.

Atlanta Falcons: Rich McKay
McKay has been around the game for a long time and he knows football talent when he sees it. Unfortunately, Atlanta still hasn't figured out that their supremely athletic quarterback Michael Vick still doesn't know how to operate an NFL offense out of the pocket. I'm going on record right now to say that the Falcons backup quarterback, Matt Schaub, would be better suited to running new head coach, Bobby Petrino's offense than Vick.

Seattle Seahawks: Tim Ruskell/ Mike Holmgren
I don't know why I have Holmgren's name next to Ruskell's on this list because he was absolutely atrocious in the GM role for years before finally relenting and giving up the title altogether.

New Orleans Saints: Mickey Loomis/ Sean Payton
Loomis is a huge reason why the Saints have been so resurgent this year. His decision to sign quarterback Drew Brees despite his coming off shoulder surgery made him look like a genius (and Nick Saban look foolish). The Saints also have some young players on their roster that are much better than you'd think. Simply put, this team is only going to get better with each passing game. Of course, it helps when a player like Reggie Bush drops into your laps unexpectedly.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Bruce Allen/Jon Gruden
The Buccaneers combination of Allen and Gruden has done some very good things (Cadillac Williams and Bruce Gradowski) and some not so good things during their time together in Tampa Bay. On the whole, the Bucs seem to make fairly knowledgeable personnel decisions, although they took a fairly sizeable step backwards this past season.

Minnesota Vikings: Rob Brzezinski/ Brad Childress
Brezinski and Childress certainly seem to know exactly what it will take to move this team forward in the next couple of seasons. With a nice mix of veteran leadership and exuberant youth, Minnesota is going to be a team to be feared with this tandem at the helm in the NFC North.

St. Louis Rams: Charley Armey/Scott Linehan
Although the Rams underachieved immensely this past season, I'd have to say Armey and Linehan have a tangible plan to move the St. Louis franchise forward into the next decade. The transformation from the "Greatest show on turf" to a more balanced offensive team - with a more aggressive defense - seems to be working like a charm.

Washington Redskins: Vinny Cerrato/ Joe Gibbs
Cerrato and Gibbs have not added much young talent to the Redskins roster in the three years that Gibbs has been back roaming the sidelines. Worse yet - the Skins appear to be going backwards faster than my receding hairline.

Miami Dolphins: Randy Mueller/Cam Cameron
After his first season in Miami, many people (including myself) were hailing Saban as the greatest thing since sliced bread. However, his decision (and it was his decision and not Mueller's) to forgo Drew Brees in favor of Daunte Culpepper was very foolish.
His selection of running back Ronnie Brown with the number two selection of the draft two years ago isn't looking much better - not to mention the fact that Miami's offensive line literally couldn't block their way out of a plastic Wal-Mart shopping bag. Mueller may hold the GM title here, but it is clearly Saban who made the personnel calls in South Beach.
Now that Saban is in Alabama, Mueller and new head coach Cam Cameron, will combine their vast experience to get the Dolphins back on the right track.

San Francisco 49ers: Mike Nolan
Nolan has done a credible job in his time with the franchise. San Francisco actually has several young players on the roster that would appear to have promising futures, particularly running back Frank Gore. If the Niners can build on their talent base in the next couple of seasons, Nolan's general managerial stock will undoubtedly rise.

Kansas City Chiefs: Carl Peterson/ Herman Edwards
Carl Peterson was the man responsible for bringing many of the Chiefs talented players into the fold, but it has been a long time since he really helped this team with some solid personnel moves. Besides drafting Larry Johnson a few years back, the Chiefs haven't selected any top-notch NFL starters. Kansas City needs some defensive players in the worst way and Peterson has failed year after year to get them.

Arizona Cardinals: Rod Graves/ Ken Whisenhunt
The combination of Graves and Green was almost as inept as any in the entire league. Were it not for their decision to draft Matt Leinart with the 10th pick in last year's draft, I'd say Graves should have gotten the fired along with Green.

Cleveland Browns: Phil Savage/Romeo Crennel
The Browns haven't gotten much better with Savage and Crennel's personnel decisions, although they do have some young talent on the roster. Maybe it's me, but have the Browns drafted any quality defensive players in the last few years?
One more losing season, and it will be Crennel who bears the brunt of the blame for the team's poor personnel decisions.

Baltimore Ravens: Ozzie Newsome
Newsome is utterly perplexing. One moment, he's acquiring Steve McNair (great) and the next, he's re-signing fading running back Jamal Lewis (huh?) after Lewis flat-out quit on the team two seasons ago - and after he signed free agent - Mike Anderson. These transactions typify the lack of judgment Newsome has occasionally shown in his tenure as the Ravens' GM. That - and not firing head coach, Brian Billick.

Green Bay Packers: Ted Thompson/Mike McCarthy
I hate to lay all of the Packers problems at the feet of Thompson, because this team was in a downward spiral way before he ever took on the role of general manager. However, he hasn't helped to improve the team much, as the Packers still need help at far too many positions to be a serious contender in 2007.

Houston Texans: Rick Smith
The Texans made a wise move by hiring offensive-minded head coach, Gary Kubiak to straighten out their floundering franchise. However, I have to rip Smith and the Texans big time for passing on sure-fire NFL talents like Reggie Bush and Vince Young in favor of Mario Williams. This foolhardy decision could go down in history as one of the biggest gaffes of all-time.

Oakland Raiders: Michael Lombardi
It really doesn't matter who holds the GM title for Oakland. The Raiders have been utterly inept with their personnel decisions for at least the last half-decade now. If anyone is expecting Lombardi or new head coach, Lane Kiffin to clean this mess up any time soon, they had better think again.

Detroit Lions: Matt Millen
Millen is hands-down, the most incompetent general manager in the NFL and arguably, in all of professional sports. Maybe it's me, but I don't understand why he wasn't given the boot a long, long time ago.