Musket Fire » Tom Gamble

New York Jets will interview John Dorsey

Joe Soriano — Fri, 04 Jan 2013 12:27:19 +0000

The New York Jets thorough search for a new GM continues, and Jason La Canfora is reporting that the Jets will interview Green Bay Packers executive John Dorsey this weekend. The NFL insider adds that Dorsey has a “strong shot” at becoming a GM after Andy Reid went to the Kansas City Chiefs, as it is rumored that the two will team up in Kansas City.

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The Jets are focusing on some of the top names on the market right now in San Francisco’s Tom Gamble, Marc Ross of the New York Giants, Atlanta’s David Caldwell, Cleveland’s veteran GM Tom Heckert, and they could even promote one of their own in exec Scott Cohen.

There are plenty of possibilities for the Jets, but the question is whether or not they can nab their preferred candidate by selling this team to them. With Gamble being such a hot name on the open market (the Browns, Chargers, and Jaguars have shown interest), it might be more difficult to grab the New York native.

Dorsey was promoted by the Packers this spring to the role of “director of football operations”, but it seems unlikely that he picks the Jets due to the connection with Andy Reid. If things do indeed fall in place for Reid and the Chiefs, then Scott Pioli will be on his way out and Dorsey on his way into K.C.

You can follow Joe Soriano on Twitter @SorianoJoe.

Cleveland Browns want to interview Tom Gamble

Joe Soriano — Fri, 04 Jan 2013 11:19:02 +0000

After firing GM Tom Heckert on Black Monday, the Cleveland Browns are looking for a new GM to take his place and improve the team with a new head coach helping the cause. Owner Jimmy Haslam made a confusing comment when he stated that the Browns would be looking for a head coach before a GM, which is the opposite of what conventional wisdom states. In the head coaching search, the Browns lead candidate is clearly Oregon Ducks head coach Chip Kelly, who stated after the Ducks huge Fiesta Bowl victory over the Kansas State Wildcats that he is open to leaving for the NFL. Kelly also wants almost total operational control, which is a tough sell for not only him but also for the Browns in trying to add a GM.

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San Francisco 49ers director of player personnel Tom Gamble is one of the hottest names on the market, and he might be “the” biggest name out there up for a GM promotion. According to NFL Network insider Albert Breer, the Browns have asked the 49ers permission to interview Gamble for their vacant GM position.

Gamble is already a top target for the New York Jets (Gamble is a New Yorker), the Jacksonville Jaguars, and the San Diego Chargers.

Now the important thing here is that it gets the rumors wheels churning. I mean, if Haslam wants a coach first but now he wants to interview a GM, does that mean the Browns have already added Chip Kelly? Does that mean Gamble actually wants to be the GM of a team with Kelly making significant personnel decisions as a coach? Because Gamble could probably land with San Diego in a more attractive situation for a GM with a team that likely won’t be giving the new head coach nearly as much personnel power.

Steve Keim, David Caldwell, Jason Licht, John Idzik, Ray Farmer, and Michael Lombardi are also possible GM hires for the Cleveland Browns.

You can follow Joe Soriano on Twitter @SorianoJoe.

Jacksonville Jaguars to interview Steve Keim

Joe Soriano — Wed, 02 Jan 2013 13:47:59 +0000

After the Gene Smith disaster (that’s putting it lightly), the Jacksonville Jaguars have set their goals for their next GM extremely high. According to a tweet from Jason La Canfora, the Jags will be interviewing their third GM candidate in Steve Keim. They have already interviewed David Caldwell and San Francisco 49ers director of player personnel Tom Gamble. All three of these prospective GMs are among the hottest names out there, but Gamble is especially up there as Trent Baalke’s right-hand man in San Francisco.

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Caldwell is an executive for the Atlanta Falcons and is also an excellent talent evaluator and assistant to Thomas Dimitroff. Keim works in the Arizona Cardinals front office and is expected to be promoted to the GM position to fill Rod Graves’s old post. At least, that was the rumor before Graves was fired, and the Cardinals are still showing heavy interest in Keim.

In addition to interest from the Cardinals and now the Jaguars, Keim is being courted for the GM post in San Diego. The Chargers were rejected by the rival Denver Broncos in their request to interview a Broncos executive to help fill A.J. Smith’s old gig, so we’ll see how things press forward for the Chargers.

One thing to note about Caldwell is that he worked with Jaguars head coach Mike Mularkey, so he does hold one advantage. However, I’ve been reading reports (the one from SI’s Don Banks jumps out the most) that Tom Gamble is the early favorite to land the Jaguars job. Either way, all three of those guys sound better than Gene Smith.

You can follow Joe Soriano on Twitter @SorianoJoe.