Chris Landry used to work in the front office of the Oilers/Titans. He now works as a scouting consultant for NFL and college teams. He was on the radio today (I know some hate Duemig, but this is more about what Landry had to say). He mentioned that he was able to sit in on 5 different NFL teams interviewing both Winston and Mariota. Here's the podcast link...it's quite interesting: http://www.620wdae.com/media/podcast-latest-audio-steveduemig_01/chris-landry-goes-indepth-on-winston-25849582/ Landry mentioned that he also spoke to a bunch of people to gauge their preference on Winston vs Mariota. He spoke to offensive guys that were either head coaches, offensive coordinators, or QB coaches and some GMs. He asked them to speak on which player they liked better. The one caveat was that he said many of these teams haven't spent a ton of time with Winston so it's hard to know how much his background played a factor. Here were the responses he got:For Winston there were 10 people that preferred him (6 coaches and 4 GMs). The coaches were Mike Shula (Panthers), Joe Philbin (Dolphins), Marty Mornhinweg (Ravens), Hue Jackson (Bengals), Jedd Fisch (Jags/The U), and Frank Reich (Chargers). The GMs were Doug Whaley (Bills), Ryan Grigson (Colts), Dave Caldwell (Jags) and Scot McCloughan (Redskins).For Mariota, there were 23 people that preferred him (14 coaches and 9 GMs ). The coaches were Sean Payton (Saints), Darrell Bevell (Seahawks), Gary Kubiak (Broncos), Pep Hamilton (Colts), Doug Pederson (Chiefs), Andy Reid (Cheifs), Bill Lazor (Dolphins), Tom Clements (Packers), Mike McCarthy (Packers), Norv Turner (Vikings), Josh McDaniels (Patriots), Bruce Arians (Cards), Jeff Fischer (Rams), and Bill O'Brien (Texans). O'Brien actually likes Bryce Petty, Mariota, and Winston in that order. The GMs were Les Snead (Rams), John Schnieder (Seahawks), Trent Baalke (49ers), Steve Keim (Cards), Ted Thompson (Packers), Jerry Reese (Giants), Ozzie Newsome (Ravens), Kevin Colbert (Steelers), and Tom Telesco (Chargers).During the season I really like Mariota, but his ability to transition to the NFL started to worry me. I felt (if Winston could put his troubles behind him) that Winston was more NFL ready and would be a lesser risk. So I had been leaning towards Winston.With that said, looking at which people like Mariota...that is eye opening and definitely makes me rethink my choice. A ton of successful coaches and GMa are backing Mariota. Who knows how much smoke blowing was going on...but I have to imagine Landry knows a lot of people. Listening to this definitely makes me think more about Mariota. I am back on the fence again.
