Have Guys Like Howie Roseman Won in the NFL?
Howie Roseman is the jawn. He’s calling the personnel shots for the Philadelphia Eagles. How much of the personnel decisions in the past were his call, no one truly knows. Here’s what we do know. Roseman is an attorney, who started in football as an intern in the personnel department of the NY Jets. A year later, he was an intern with the Eagles working on salary cap matters. Three years later, he was named the Eagles Director of Football Administration. Those were his early steps on his way to his current position.
It’s understandable for Eagles’ fans to be incredulous about Roseman’s ability to build a Super Bowl winning roster. After all, he’s a lawyer and a numbers-cruncher , whether it’s salary caps issues or analyzing stats. Most football fans would agree that they want the head of their team’s personnel department to be able to analyze stats, but to also have had some experience of playing, coaching, or scouting. That seems reasonable.
This begs the question, has any “non-football guy” GM, such as Roseman, actually ever won a Super Bowl in the past thirty years? Surprisingly, three of them.
JERRY VAINISI – 1985 – Chicago Bears
Vainisi was a both a lawyer and a numbers guy. He might be the OG of Roseman types. He set a high standard as those 1985 Bears may have been the best team I’ve ever seen in my lifetime. Vainisi was the Treasurer and In-House Counsel for the Bears for eleven years before becoming GM. In 1983 he became GM and led the Bears to their only Super Bowl. Two years later he went on to be the GM for the Lions for 13 years. The Lions tenure isn’t memorable, aside from the drafting of Barry Sanders.
RICH McKAY – 2002 – Tampa Bay Buccaneers
McKay is another attorney who became a GM, but this was all about nepotism. McKay’s father was the legendary Buccaneers coach John McKay. Rich was a ballboy with the team. After he graduated from law school, the team’s owner Hugh Culverhouse hired McKay for his law firm and then transitioned him to the team’s front office and eventually named him GM. Rich McKay won the Super Bowl in 2002. McKay was the GM from 1993-2003. Between ’97 and ’02 the Bucs had a league high 41 Pro Bowl selections.
Mickey Loomis – 2009 – New Orleans Saints
Loomis is an accountant. He spent fifteen years with the Seattle Seahawks before moving to the Saints in 2000. While with the Seahawks, Loomis held the positions of Business Manager, VP/Finance, Executive Vice President. In 2000, he was named Director of Football Administration for the Saints and then GM in 2002. Loomis and the Saints on the Super Bowl in 2009.
See, it’s possible. Three of the last thirty Super Bowl Champions were led by number-crunching GMs. That’s 10%! Look on the bright side, it’s not…
Eagles fans, we got life with Roseman as GM. I thought Loomis was the only non-football GM in the past few decades to win. Might as well sit back and enjoy the ride. There’s nothing else we can do. Lurie is going Roseman or bust, let’s hope he’s right. The odds are better than I thought.
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