Head coaches get all the attention. But general managers are probably the most important hires NFL owners will make. That’s why it’s important for any informed fan to know the top 2022 GM candidates. No amount of coaching can overcome bad talent. And in some team structures, the general manager is also the one who hires the head coach.
Look at the recent Super Bowl participants — the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the Kansas City Chiefs, the San Francisco 49ers, the New England Patriots, and the Los Angeles Rams –, and the one thing they all have in common is really good players. And those players were picked by smart executives.
To keep up to date with all the latest news around available GM and HC opportunities, make sure to check out our 2022 NFL Head Coach Tracker.
Potential 2022 NFL General Manager Candidates
We don’t know the full list of teams that will make a GM hire in the coming weeks. But they all will have fallen far short of their ultimate 2021 goal and hope their new general manager will succeed where their predecessors failed. Here are just a few of the names we expect to get considered.
Mike Borgonzi, Assistant General Manager, Kansas City Chiefs
Is this the year someone steals Borgonzi away from KC? The Chiefs lifer’s name pops up every cycle, but each time he’s remained with the organization. Kansas City’s roster has been chock full of high-level talent for years. The Chiefs have become a bit of a GM factory, and Mike Borgonzi has followed a familiar path.
He’s spent more than a decade within the organization learning the ropes. He served as the team’s director of football operations before getting a promotion in 2021. His fingerprints have been all over some of the franchise’s biggest acquisitions. It’s only a matter of time that he gets to call the shots somewhere.
Morocco Brown, Director of College Scouting, Indianapolis Colts
Morocco Brown is a familiar name to anyone who follows NFL personnel department news. He got an interview for the Falcons’ GM opening last year, and while the job ultimately went to Terry Fontenot, Brown certainly was better for the experience.
Brown has more than two decades of experience in the NFL, spending time with the Browns, Washington, and Bears before joining the Colts. He’s had a big say in the Colts selecting major pieces like Quenton Nelson, Darius Leonard, Jonathan Taylor, and Grover Stewart in recent years.
Thomas Dimitroff, Former General Manager, Atlanta Falcons
If a team wants someone who knows what it takes to get to the Super Bowl, they could do a lot worse than Thomas Dimitroff, who has been out of football since the Falcons fired him and coach Dan Quinn one month into the 2020 season.
Quinn has rehabilitated his image by transforming the Cowboys’ defense into one of the best in football. Does Dimitroff deserve a chance to do the same? He built a roster that made six playoff appearances in 13 years, including in 2016 when the Falcons not only reached the Super Bowl but led the game by 25 points before seeing it all slip away.
Dimitroff’s long list of draft picks includes Matt Ryan, Julio Jones, Calvin Ridley, and Grady Jarrett.
Ed Dodds, Assistant General Manager, Indianapolis Colts
It seems one of the league’s most respected talent evaluators is finally going to get the chance to run his own team. Ed Dodds interviewed for the Lions’ GM job last year, but it went to Brad Holmes. It’s hard to see him getting passed over again.
Dodds has been Chris Ballard’s right-hand man since 2017. Prior to that, Dodds helped build Seattle’s Super Bowl roster during a 10-year run with the Seahawks. The Panthers also had interest in Dodds last cycle, but he ultimately withdrew his name from consideration.
Louis Riddick, Former Director of Pro Personnel, Philadelphia Eagles
Long before he was a fixture on ESPN, Louis Riddick was a respected personnel man who spent more than a decade in the league with Washington and Philadelphia. He served as the Eagles’ director of pro personnel from 2010-2013. Riddick knows the game, and he knows how to communicate. It’s time some team made him the face of a franchise.
Other 2022 NFL General Manager Candidates
The names below should not be forgotten when discussing possible GM candidates in the 2022 hiring cycle.
Dan Morgan, Assistant General Manager, Carolina Panthers
What a meteoric rise. Dan Morgan’s second act might be better than his first. He’s currently got his dream job — Morgan was an All-Pro linebacker for Carolina before injuries cut his playing career short — and it would likely take the perfect scenario for him to leave. But the sense around football is he’s worth breaking the bank for.
One year after his premature retirement, Morgan interned for the Seahawks. They eventually brought him aboard as their assistant director of pro personnel. He was soon running the department and then did the same for the Bills from 2018-2020. Then, Panthers GM Scott Fitterer picked him from a pool of at least four candidates to be his assistant GM.
Joe Schoen, Assistant General Manager, Buffalo Bills
Update: Joe Schoen has officially been hired as the new GM for the New York Giants.
Joe Schoen is another name that’s been through the rumor mill at least once already. He was up for a couple of top jobs last offseason, but nothing ultimately materialized.
Schoen has been Brandon Beane’s top lieutenant the last five years, helping build a roster that has added Josh Allen, Stefon Diggs, Devin Singletary, Tre’Davious White, and many other cornerstone pieces. Before joining the Bills, Schoen worked for the Dolphins for a decade. He worked his way up to director of player personnel before leaving for Miami’s division rival.
Eliot Wolf, Front Office Consultant, New England Patriots
Bill Belichick has hiring instincts. And the fact that he brought aboard Eliot Wolf in 2020 even though the two men had never before worked together should tell you something.
Wolf joined the Patriots after 14 seasons with the Green Bay Packers and two with the Cleveland Browns, who made him their assistant general manager in 2018. While with the Packers, Wolf was the director of three different departments at varying times: pro personnel, player personnel, and football operations.
Dave Ziegler, Director of Player Personnel, New England Patriots
Another rising star in Foxboro, Dave Ziegler has learned at Belichick’s knee for the last nine years. Before running the player personnel department, he was the director of pro personnel. Prior to joining the Patriots, Ziegler — a former high school special teams coordinator — spent three seasons with the Broncos.