I have said I'm in favor of keeping Licht, that opinion is based on the fact that his experience is invaluable. I think he knows what he is doing. But nevertheless he's on the hotseat, and here are the likely candidates according to the 2019 General Manager Candidate Study by Inside the Pylon:
Kevin Abrams – vice president of football operations/assistant gm – New York Giants
20-year veteran of NYG, including 17 years as Assistant GM and primary contract negotiator
Mike Borgonzi – director of football operations – Kansas City Chiefs
10 year NFL scout. Has been promoted every year or two in Kansas City.
Trey Brown – executive vice president of football operations – Memphis Express (AAF)
8 year NFL scout. Spent first 3 years with NE before being hired by PHI.
Nick Caserio – director of player personnel – New England Patriots
18-year NE staffer, including one year as WR coach and 11 years as Director of Player Personnel
Ryan Cowden – vice president of player personnel – Tennessee Titans
18 year NFL scout, 16 in CAR. Was Assistant Director of College Scouting with CAR
Lake Dawson – assistant director of college scouting – Buffalo Bills
Former NFL player with 24 years of NFL experience. Held position of Vice President of Player Personnel with the Titans.
Ed Dodds – assistant general manager – Indianapolis Colts
16 year NFL scout. Spent 10 years with SEA, holding position of senior personnel executive. Has also worked for Raiders and Texas A&M-Kingsville.
Joe Douglas – vice president of player personnel – Philadelphia Eagles
20-year NFL scout who spent 16 seasons with BLT, then a year with CHI as Director of College Scouting before joining PHI
Scott Fitterer – co-director of player personnel – Seattle Seahawks
21-year NFL scout, with 18 seasons in SEA and three with NYG. College QB and Pitcher (UCLA/LSU)
Joe Hortiz – director of college scouting – Baltimore Ravens
21 year NFL scout, all with Baltimore, with 10 as Director of College Scouting director
Brandon Hunt – pro scouting coordinator – Pittsburgh Steelers
14 year NFL scout who has worked primarily in pro scouting with HST and now PIT.
Jeff Ireland – assistant general manager – New Orleans Saints
Six-year MIA GM and 23-year scout for KC, DAL, MIA, and now NO. Former college coach.
Trent Kirchner – co-director of player personnel – Seattle Seahawks
19-year NFL scout who has experience in pro scouting with CAR/SEA and college scouting with the Seahawks
Josh Lucas – director of player personnel – Chicago Bears
16 year NFL scout. Began with JAX, then 10 years in NO, primarily in college scouting
Will McClay – vice president of player personnel – Dallas Cowboys
16-year DAL scout, who has been promoted 3 times in the past 5 years. Spent 11 years as player/coach in the Arena Football league
Terry McDonough – vice president of player personnel – Arizona Cardinals
27-year NFL veteran, including time with SF, CLE/BLT, JAX, and ARZ, and in the World League
Monti Ossenfort – director of college scouting – New England Patriots
17 year NFL scout, with 14 in NE and the others in HST. Has been Director of College Scouting since 2014.
George Paton – vice president of player personnel/assistant gm – Minnesota Vikings
22-year NFL veteran with experience in pro and college scouting for CHI, MIA, and MIN. Has been Assistant General Manager for MIN since 2012.
Scott Pioli – assistant general manager – Atlanta Falcons
Four-year KC GM and 26-year NFL scout for CLE/BLT, NYJ, NE, KC, and ATL. Hired as Assistant General Manager in ATL in 2014.
Jimmy Raye III – senior personnel executive – Detroit Lions
24 year scouting veteran with stops in DET, HST, IND, SD, and KC. Former NFL player and son of NFL coach Jimmy Raye II. Has also worked in coaching.
Louis Riddick – nfl analyst – ESPN
20-year NFL player and scout who has Pro Scouting Director experience with WAS/PHI
Marc Ross – unknown – none known
20-year NFL scout with PHI, BUF, and NYG, primarily on the college scouting side
Jamaal Stephenson – director of college scouting – Minnesota Vikings
20 year NFL scout, 17 of which with MIN, including 5 as Director of College Scouting. Has also worked for HST and WAS.
Duke Tobin – director of player personnel – Cincinnati Bengals
Tenured CIN team builder, scout and former college QB. Son of longtime scout Bill Tobin.
Eliot Wolf – assistant general manager – Cleveland Browns
15-year NFL scout. Has worked on the pro and college sides. Promoted to Assistant General Manager with CLE. Son of HOF GM Ron Wolf
Brian Xanders – senior personnel executive – Los Angeles Rams
Four-year DEN GM and 25-year NFL scout for ATL, DEN, DET, and LAR. Football systems specialist
From Inside the Pylon: Who is qualified for the (GM) job? To answer that, you need to understand the job. NFL analyst Pat Kirwan aptly summarized the difficulties of the GM position:
“[r]unning an NFL franchise isn’t easy. Can you evaluate personnel, manage a salary cap, negotiate contracts, select a head coach, handle the media, make tough decisions, cooperate with an owner, deal with the league office and, most importantly, carry out a vision for a winning franchise? If so, then you qualify for the job.”
Finding someone withthe experience to handle this multifaceted job better than Licht will be hard. If you look at that list there aren't a lot with previous GM experience. Then if you find them you have to get them to take the job. Good luck with that.
But anyway this guy seems confident that any new GM hire will come from this list of candidates.
