Overview of The Athletic Football Show: What Does an NFL GM Actually Do?
This episode is a deep dive into the modern NFL general manager role with former Eagles executive Jake Rosenberg. The conversation argues that the best NFL GM is not simply a super-scout, but an executive who can synthesize information, manage departments, balance short- and long-term priorities, and lead an entire football operation. A major theme is that many teams still hire from the wrong candidate pool and use flawed interview processes that overvalue familiarity, titles, and scouting reputation over broad organizational leadership.
What an NFL GM Really Does
The GM as the chief football executive
Rosenberg frames the GM as the top decision-maker on the football side — essentially the “CEO” of the football operation. The job is less about personally scouting every player and more about:
- Synthesizing input from scouting, analytics, coaching, and cap/contract staff
- Managing roster construction and long-term strategy
- Setting organizational tone and standards
- Balancing immediate competitiveness with future flexibility
- Leading a complex department with many strong personalities
Player evaluation is only one part of the job
A key point: player evaluation may be only a small portion of a modern GM’s actual workload. Rosenberg argues that if someone is still spending most of their day grinding tape as a “super scout,” they are probably not fully prepared for the broader executive responsibilities of the role.
Ownership, Structure, and the Eagles Example
Ownership matters more than most people realize
Rosenberg emphasizes that ownership shapes nearly everything in the building:
- Spending willingness
- Organizational cadence and pressure
- Job security and decision-making freedom
- Whether winning is truly the top priority
He points to Jeffrey Lurie and the Eagles as an example of ownership that removes friction by trusting the football people and prioritizing winning.
Why the Eagles’ cap strategy is misunderstood
He pushes back on the idea that Philadelphia’s success is simply because ownership is willing to write big checks. Instead, he says the real edge is structural and financial strategy:
- Using cap proration effectively
- Preserving flexibility year to year
- Treating cap space like a “free option”
- Keeping future spending power available when needed
In other words, the Eagles’ advantage is not just cash — it’s how they deploy resources.
Common Hiring Mistakes NFL Teams Make
Starting with the wrong candidate pool
Rosenberg argues that many teams begin the GM search by looking for the best scout, when they should first define the job and then find the person who fits it.
Bad interview processes
He is sharply critical of how teams interview for major football jobs:
- Interviews are often too social and too shallow
- Search firms and insiders are over-relied upon
- Titles are inflated and don’t reveal true competence
- Teams often already have a preferred candidate and just go through the motions
Familiarity is overrated
One of his strongest takes is that familiarity between a coach and GM is wildly overvalued. Knowing someone from a prior stop does not guarantee they can work effectively together. He argues that competence, not comfort, should drive hiring.
Beware the “someone else will hire him” effect
He also warns that some candidates become attractive to other teams simply because their current organization wants to move on from them cheaply. That does not necessarily mean they are the best choice.
What Teams Should Look For Instead
Ideal traits in a modern GM candidate
Rosenberg says the best candidates often come from roles that expose them to the broadest range of football operations, such as:
- Assistant GM roles
- Cap/contract management roles
- Broad football ops leadership positions
- Jobs where they’ve managed multiple departments and built relationships across the organization
The ideal candidate should have:
- Leadership ability
- Strategic thinking
- Organizational skill
- Credibility with scouts, coaches, agents, and players
- Experience seeing a successful operation up close
Two key hires underneath the GM
If the GM is the chief executive, the most important support hires are:
-
A trusted evaluator/scouting lead
Someone organized, credible, and capable of running scouting infrastructure. -
A strong cap/contracts leader
Someone who understands negotiations, relationships, roster math, and can explain decisions credibly to agents, players, and coaches.
Analytics and Leadership
Analytics is important, but not sufficient
Rosenberg does not dismiss analytics, but he rejects the idea that a background in analytics alone makes someone ready for a GM job. The same applies to scouting alone.
His view:
- Analytics people can become excellent GMs
- Scouts can become excellent GMs
- What matters most is leadership and the ability to learn, communicate, and unify people
The real requirement: leadership
The GM must be able to:
- Build repeatable processes
- Organize information
- Create alignment across departments
- Handle conflict with coaches
- Make decisions under pressure
He stresses that the role is fundamentally about leading people, not just being the smartest person in the room.
Process Improvements Teams Should Make
Better preparation before the search
Rosenberg believes teams should maintain ongoing “ready lists” for coaching and personnel roles rather than scrambling after a firing.
More deliberate evaluation
He recommends:
- Defining the job before evaluating candidates
- Studying what the organization actually needs
- Doing real reference work
- Using interviews to test judgment and process, not just personality
Build for accountability
One recurring theme is that everyone in the building should have real accountability. Structures that shield some people from consequences while letting them claim credit for success create dysfunction.
Key Takeaways
- A modern NFL GM is an executive, not just a talent evaluator.
- Ownership is a major competitive advantage when it’s aligned with football leadership.
- The best teams hire for broad competence, not just scouting pedigree.
- Familiarity, titles, and “insider” reputation are often overrated in hiring.
- Analytics and scouting both matter, but leadership and organizational design matter more.
- Successful football operations are built on clear roles, strong process, and accountability.
Bottom Line
The episode’s central argument is that NFL teams often approach GM hiring too narrowly. Instead of searching for the best scout, they should look for the best football executive — someone who can manage complexity, lead people, integrate different forms of information, and build an organization that can sustain success.