NFL targets agents’ influence on coaching and general manager recruiting process

Most #longreads contain a lot of fluff that only adds to the word count and requires a magnifying glass to unearth the rare tidbits of actual news. A new paper from ESPN.com’s Kalyn Kahler on the influence of agents on the hiring of coaches and general managers has very little fat in and around the meat.

If you are interested in how NFL sausage is made, take the time to read everything. The most important takeaway is this: After years of not noticing or caring that agents are kingmakers when it comes to NFL coaches and general managers, the league is paying attention — and hoping make changes.

Kahler says it really started in Indy two years ago. Six coaching agents (Trace Armstrong, Bob Lamonte, Jimmy Sexton, Jason Fletcher, Brian Levy and Kennard McGuire) met with Commissioner Roger Goodell and others to discuss diversity, equity and inclusion in the coaching process. hiring.

The problem, the league says, is that the habit of “blanket deals” involving clients of the same company makes it even more difficult for minority coaches to have a fair chance at the top jobs.

“The fix is ​​here,” Fletcher told Kahler. “I think a lot of guys — I’m not pointing fingers — I think there’s a strong energy that if this person gets a general manager job, they’ll hire someone of the same brand. That happens a lot in this profession.

Indeed, it is. Much of the article focuses on Armstrong’s longtime influence on the Bears, where he currently represents general manager Ryan Poles. Armstrong’s company, Athletes First, also represents (according to Kahler) former Bears head coaches Matt Nagy and Eberflus, as well as former Bears offensive coordinators Mark Helfrich, Luke Getsy and Shane Waldron.

Armstrong also represents Bills offensive coordinator Joe Brady, one of several candidates for Chicago’s head coaching vacancy.

“The company is completely contaminated,” Fletcher told Kahler. “It’s a relationship-driven business, and you’ll have individuals who are experienced and deserving of opportunities who won’t get them. And then you’re going to allow people who didn’t deserve these opportunities to get opportunities.

The NFL has begun informing teams of this dynamic, with this message included in materials distributed to various franchises: “Look beyond your ‘usual suspects’ or ‘hot person’ of the season.” . . . Specifically ask for a diverse set of names. . . . Be careful of conflicts of interest and bias in any referrals, especially to agents or the media.

On one level, the league only has itself to blame. Because coaches do not want to have the same type of union that players have, there is no one to directly regulate the agents who represent coaches. A union could implement rules regarding coach representation, such as preventing agents who represent coaches from representing general managers.

That said, the NFL Players Association does not prevent agents from representing players and coaches, so there is no guarantee that a coaches union would address the issue.

The deeper problem is that when it’s time for owners with little or no direct knowledge of the sport to hire from a large pool of candidates, other factors (like relationships with agents) could have a impact on the final analysis. This is one of the fundamental realities of multi-billion dollar football operations run like family food trucks. Many owners don’t know what they don’t know, so they find people they can trust to help them develop the confidence to make decisions.

So while the league office may complain about agents’ influence over the hiring of coaches and general managers, the main problem is that, despite its best efforts, 345 Park Avenue will never be able to sufficiently gather the 32 felines who regularly abandon. their Fancy Feast for catnip.