Last week, the New York Jets fired Joe Douglas, making him the first NFL general manager of the season to lose his job.
Douglas will not likely be the last, as underachieving teams abound 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 three to five teams will hire new general managers this offseason, hoping that a change at the leading personnel position can spark improvement.
As the regular season reaches its final full month, several owners are weighing difficult decisions. Which general managers seemingly find themselves on shaky footing as their franchises’ hopes evaporate?
Hot seats
Trent Baalke, Jacksonville Jaguars
Baalke has been blessed with high draft picks, ample cap space and the patience and support of owner Shad Khan, yet he has failed to turn the Jaguars into a contender. Charged with addressing the team’s most pressing areas of need, Baalke has repeatedly swung and missed and now is headed for his second double-digit-loss season in four years. He’s 23-39 in three-plus regular seasons.
After a 2023 campaign marked by regression and a second-half collapse, the Jaguars hoped to regain their 2022 playoff form, but instead have gotten even worse. Jacksonville is 2-9 and in the mix for the No. 1 pick in the draft. Even Trevor Lawrence — regarded as a generational talent when Jacksonville drafted him first overall in 2021, who this summer signed a five-year, $275 million contract extension — has regressed mightily on Baalke and Doug Pederson’s watch. Lawrence hasn’t played since Nov. 3 because of a shoulder injury, but he was 2-7 even before getting hurt. With each dismal performance by 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 by quarterback Anthony Richardson could help Ballard’s cause, but for the time being, an uneasiness hangs over the Colts. They enter Week 13 with a 5-7 record and are in danger of missing the playoffs for a fourth straight season. Richardson, whom Ballard drafted fourth overall in 2023, may have enviable physical gifts. But accuracy and decision-making are among his glaring weaknesses, and thus far, the quarterback — benched earlier this season before reclaiming his job — looks like a huge reach.
Richardson has failed to achieve the level of consistency necessary to shine at quarterback in the NFL. If he and the Colts can’t make a playoff push in the final month of the season, owner Jim Irsay could opt for a change at GM for the first time since 2017.
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Joe Schoen, New York Giants
Giants owner John Mara said Oct. 23 that Schoen and coach Brian Daboll’s jobs were safe despite a gravely disappointing 2024 campaign. But Schoen, who became GM in 2022, now has two epic failures hanging over him: Quarterback Daniel Jones’ benching and release, and running back Saquon Barkley’s dominating season for the Philadelphia Eagles after Schoen deemed him unworthy of a handsome contract extension.
The Giants have regressed ever since their surprising playoff run in 2022. Their roster remains sorely talent deficient, and Schoen hasn’t displayed an 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. That creates scrutiny around Telesco and Antonio Pierce, who was hired as the permanent head coach in January after an encouraging interim stint. Pierce is on the shakiest footing, though he continues to argue that a weak quarterback situation is the biggest thing holding the Raiders back. Gardner Minshew was 2-7 this season before suffering a broken collarbone on Sunday; the Raiders are preparing to start Aidan O’Connell (0-2) Friday for the first time since he suffered a broken thumb Oct. 20.
Tom Telesco is in his first season as Raiders GM. (Kirby Lee / Imagn Images)
Could Tom Brady, who now has great influence within the organization as a minority owner, want his own guy running the show at coach and GM? If so, that could lead to a short stint for Telesco as well. For now, though, the GM can hang his hat on the fact that he drafted promising starters with his first three selections last spring (tight end Brock Bowers, center Jackson Powers-Johnson and right tackle Delmar Glaze).
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Andrew Berry, Cleveland Browns
The huge swing-and-miss on Deshaun Watson is a black eye on the Browns franchise, and that failed move has caused some league insiders to wonder about the stability of Berry’s job. Berry, hired in 2020, will likely receive more time. For now, the bulk of the pressure rides on coach Kevin Stefanski, who thus far has struggled 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 season-ending ruptured right Achilles tendon. His injuries (he has played in 13 total games the last two seasons) and those along the offensive line haven’t made things easy. But the Browns still owe Watson another $92 million over the next two years, so team officials could look elsewhere for remedies.
So who are some of the leading candidates to fill impending openings? Teams will likely look to successful franchises for someone who could bring winning ways with them to direct reclamation projects. Some highly regarded candidates expected to interview for jobs this hiring cycle:
• Mike Borgonzi, Chiefs assistant general manager
• Mike Martin, Lions director of scouting advancement
• Dwayne Joseph, Lions director of scouting
• Jeff Scott, Eagles vice president of football operations
• Brandon Hunt, Eagles senior director of scouting
• 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 operations
• Glenn Cook, Browns assistant general manager
(Top illustration: Dan Goldfarb / The Athletic; photos of Chris Ballard, Trent Baalke and Joe Schoen: Kevin C. Cox, James Gilbert, Justin Casterline / Getty Images)