SI ranks top 5 and bottom 5 owners (1 Viewer)

[Fiddles]

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2009/foot...ex.html?eref=T1

 

[Multiple Scores]

I would have agreed with the 49ers being listed low here a couple years ago. I feel they are turning it around and putting in effort to turn this around, probably starting with the signing of Nate Clements was the day I started getting faith, I am pleased with the choice of Singletary as the coach. Why are the 49ers on here and the Rams aren't? I can think of several teams that belong here more.

 

[drummer]

I would have agreed with the 49ers being listed low here a couple years ago. I feel they are turning it around and putting in effort to turn this around, probably starting with the signing of Nate Clements was the day I started getting faith, I am pleased with the choice of Singletary as the coach. Why are the 49ers on here and the Rams aren't? I can think of several teams that belong here more.

I think the Rams are going through a transition of ownership since Frontiere has passed on. Going into your 4th Head Coach in a short period of time doesn't make them look very competent, since they haven't made the playoffs since York Sr. fired Mooch.

 

[T Bell]

There's plenty to criticize Snyder about, but bottom 5? And lower than Mike Brown?

 

[Ghost of Bill Walsh]

While I agree things are looking up and appears(used loosely) that the team is making an effort to turn it around, I still can't stand the Yorks and pray for the day when they no longer have a stranglehold on this storied franchise. What a sour#### look on Denise Yorks face, oh that's her natural look on a daily basis. Her pic would be much better with a on her head.

 

[mikel0254]

The Lions are going in the right direction, but Bill Ford should definitely be the #1 ahead of Al Davis

 

[Godsbrother]

Snyder is a good businessman and spares no expense with one of the most profitable franchises in sports. But maybe that's the problem: The young billionaire runs the team more like a first-time fantasy-football manager.

This is an insult to first-time fantasy-football managers everywhere...

 

[pollardsvision]

I think putting Davis below Ford is pretty unfair. There was a time in which Davis was one of the better owners in the league. Really, he's a great owner that just hung around too long. Even including him on this list just feels unfair.

Ford, on the other hand, has run a truly miserable franchise for 45 years and then pulled off the elusive 0-16.

Davis' level of futility in the past 7-8 senile years really only matches what Ford has done for going on 5 decades.

Also, DeBartolo's sister looks like one evil lady.

 

[stevegamer]

Davis doesn't deserve being last.

Yes, the game has passed him by, but it did have to catch up to him in the first place. That's not true of Ford, York, Brown (the much-lesser), or Snyder who've never been ahead of the game in the first place. If you consider Davis the GM, who do you want as your GM-owner: Al Davis or Mike Brown?

I was disappointed Green Bay wasn't on there.

 

[T Bell]

I think putting Davis below Ford is pretty unfair. There was a time in which Davis was one of the better owners in the league. Really, he's a great owner that just hung around too long. Even including him on this list just feels unfair.Ford, on the other hand, has run a truly miserable franchise for 45 years and then pulled off the elusive 0-16. Davis' level of futility in the past 7-8 senile years really only matches what Ford has done for going on 5 decades.Also, DeBartolo's sister looks like one evil lady.

This is all about current events, and Davis' Raiders are horrendously dysfunctional. While the history is undeniable, the Lions seem like they're on the way up from where they were even last year. You just can't say the same thing about the Raiders. And yeah, they sure found a doozie of a pic of DeBartolo-York, didn't they?

 

[Christo]

Raiders' purchase price $180,000

Steelers' purchase price $2500

Giants' purchase price $500

 

[FUBAR]

Ford = 1 post season win in 45 years.

Davis = 3 Super Bowls.

Who's #1?

 

[CletiusMaximus]

Robert Boland from the National Football Post did a four part series that ranked the NFL organizations last month.

part I

part II

part III

part IV (including the final rankings):

The Best

With the draft looming this weekend, the better organizations will probably demonstrate why they are highly ranked, and the middle and bottom tier franchises will leave their fans and commentators grasping for the hope of improvement. While nothing offers the chance for a new start for football fans like the draft, no other event so publicly exposes the organizational short comings of franchises either.

So with draft day in mind, [1] we conclude our look at the best owners and organizations in the NFL. Last year’s playoff teams were scattered throughout the ranks of the middle and bottom tier franchises, indicating that won-loss record was only one of several important criteria in rating owner and organizational success. But in the top tier, sustained success on the field becomes a key factor in differentiating these organizations. So while winning is far from the only thing, to paraphrase the great Vince Lombardi, it is, in a sense, everything to be at the top level.

The Top Tier

Pittsburgh Steelers: Dan Rooney & Art Rooney II No. 1

The Lombardi Trophy resides in Pittsburgh — and it has more times in the Super Bowl era than anywhere else — in spite of market size, income disparities and all other limitations. In running down the hallmarks of enlightened ownership while looking at the Rooneys, I kept using the word “check.” “Connects past, present and future,” check… “manages for the long term,” check…”knows the economics of the sport,” double check.

In short, despite a hundred possible excuses, the Steelers for the better part of the last 40 years have been one of the best-owned and best-run franchises in all of sports. Contrast them with their baseball neighbors the Pirates. And over that same period, Dan Rooney has emerged as the most important owner in the NFL. As far as knowing the economics of his sport, he, along with the commissioners, has been the chief proponent for keeping the fragile revenue sharing agreement together. His appointment as Ambassador to Ireland may actually be a detriment to the league because it means one of its most respected and calming voices will be serving his country instead of the interests of football fans.

To belong in the top tier, an owner and an organization must also have accounted for some innovation, and the Steelers have two that should inform other franchises. First, they have established a plan of coaching stability. It’s standard Rooney practice, as Joe Bach and Walt Kiesling were loyally allowed to coach the Steelers during less than stellar times before revenue sharing and television money made Pittsburgh viable. Since the hiring of Chuck Noll in 1969, the Steelers have had three head coaches in 40 years and 30 winning seasons, and each coach has rewarded the Rooneys and the fans with Super Bowl victories.

Do the Rooney’s choose better? Maybe, but they unquestionably support their coach better. The Rooneys seem to remember what most other owners forget, that a coach who can win 12 games is a coach who can win 12 games, even though he might occasionally go 6-10. Merely having head coach stability in a league that doesn’t ensures that players can’t just wait out a coach, unless they plan on being George Blanda, and that the coach has a clear mandate to do his job.

Which brings us to the second major innovation of the Rooney organization — having a consistent approach to scouting, drafting, evaluation and free agency. The Steelers don’t draft to find immediate starters beyond the first round, they look for internal replacements for players who may be lost to free agency in a season or two. This gives the Steelers the tremendous luxury to replace players from within their existing system for much less money and to not be hamstrung by losses in free agency. It also lets them use the later rounds of the draft more effectively than other teams as it lets them look for players who fit what the Steelers do (3-4 DLs and LBs, run blocking OLs and FBs) rather than drafting solely off whether that player has general potential.

Finally, the Rooneys, despite some public protestations bubbling up last summer, have seemingly been proactive in shaping a compromise to allow Dan to buy out the other heirs of Art Rooney Sr. and consolidate control of the Steelers, managing any inheritance tax liability issues and ensuring that the best-run franchise in the NFL stays in the family.

New York Giants: John Mara & Steven Tisch No. 2

It may be appropriate that as we move into an era of labor uncertainty in the NFL that John Mara has emerged as a force among owners. While the Mara and Tisch families share ownership of the Giants in what was the first and is still the most unique inheritance tax management deal in league history — and they do it easily and without the intrusion of ego or ripple of conflict — the football side of the Giants is unquestionably John Mara’s province, and this may be his moment.

The son and nephew of the two old-guard owners, who forged the first revenue-sharing agreement, Mara has the Giants organization functioning at a high level, and he would seem to have the ability to maintain it. Even his most controversial choices, like hiring and keeping Tom Coughlin as head coach and building a new stadium with the Jets as partners, have been or appear ready to reward with success. There are longtime fans priced out by a higher than expected personal seat license who may argue with such a high placing.

But it’s fear of open competition with the Giants only a year off a Super Bowl win, in a new stadium, as the dominant team, in the league’s largest and wealthiest market that chastens the other owners who believe they can become the George Steinbrenner of their sport. Dan Rooney may have the influence and respect to keep the owners together and get them to consider maintaining labor peace, but it’s Mara who may have the clout to ultimately convince them to maintain the system that has served them well.

Like the Steelers, the Giants have a unified approach to scouting, drafting and player replacement. And perhaps more than any other organization, especially one in the media capital of the world, the Giants are not managed by the wind generated by talk radio or newspaper columns. They are also a symmetrical organization with equal focus on football, business and league governance.

It may not just be purely coincidence that the Rooney and Mara families have intermarried in the current generation.

New England Patriots: Robert Kraft No. 3

While the twin shadows of Bill Belichick and Tom Brady loom large in Foxboro, it is difficult to argue with the overall success of Robert Kraft in taking what had always been a cash-poor franchise, on the verge of moving to St. Louis or to a stadium built in Hartford, and turning it into one of the league’s true bellwether franchises.

Much credit should go to Kraft, who despite an unseemly feud with Bill Parcells and a lack of patience in Pete Carroll, for being visionary enough to recognize the potential of Belichick. Having Parcells, Carroll and Belichick as consecutive head coaches would seem to indicate something good, too. It is Belichick’s development of a balanced roster approach to team construction — building around positions less influenced by salary inflation caused by free agency (ILB, S, OG, TE and FB) — that is the true revolution in cap management that marks New England’s rise.

But it has been in building Gillette Stadium privately and running it as well as he has that is Kraft’s greatest accomplishment. He also emerges as a key swing force in ownership as he is a new guard owner who is highly leveraged but can be brought back to reasonable league-oriented thinking when it is meritorious.

The Next Best

Philadelphia Eagles: Jeffrey Lurie No. 4

These are the good old days for Eagles fans. And while the uniforms don’t hold a candle to the old Bednarik-issue green and silver ones, the Eagles organization has been one of the most innovative in the NFL for a decade. It is also a decade that has seen Philadelphia build a successful new stadium and training complex and show incredible organizational discipline behind president Joe Banner, GM Tom Heckert and coach Andy Reid.

Two innovations the Eagles can take credit for are the practice of successfully extending young players’ contracts before they’re eligible for free agency, establishing low cost roster stability, and feasting off the free-agent mistakes other teams have made in overvaluing players, especially Eagles players. While the Eagles have no championships to show for Lurie’s tenure, they have an enviable run and organizational stability.

Baltimore Ravens: Steve Bisciotti No. 5

Here’s the one you probably weren’t expecting. But while Bisciotti is a curious owner, lacking either an Ivy League pedigree like Kraft or an NFL upbringing like Rooney or Mara, it’s tough to argue with what he’s accomplished and skillfully maintained in Baltimore.

The organization is considered one of the strongest in football under GM Ozzie Newsome, and when lists of candidates for vacancies in other organizations are named publicly, folks from Baltimore usually lead the list. Defensive coordinators Marvin Lewis, Jack Del Rio, Mike Nolan and Rex Ryan are or have been head coaches. Phil Savage and George Kokinis have become GMs. Clearly, the Ravens’ organization has quietly been doing something right under Bisciotti, including recognizing and plucking head coach John Harbaugh from the Eagles, with whom he had been mostly a special teams coach.

Green Bay Packers: Shareholders/Mark Murphy, President & CEO No. 6

Perhaps one of the most visionary theorists on the concept of ownership in professional sports is Clark Griffith, the son of former Minnesota Twins owner Calvin Griffith. Griffith, who went to law school himself in his 30s to better understand how labor law was shaping sports, has eloquently stated that one of the problems with a variety of upstart sports leagues (WUSA, MLS, WNBA) trying to use single entity theory to get around the antitrust laws is that the league is deprived the energy and entrepreneurial spirit that ownership provides to a franchise. Griffith is absolutely correct.

So, after spending the last paragraph (and last two weeks) talking about how important ownership is and what happens when there’s a void in ownership, how can I pick a team that has no active ownership among the top six in the NFL? The Packers are not the absence of ownership. Their owners are present and accounted for and they are big factors in the success of this historic team. But the Packers theoretically also represent the success of focused management. The executive committee picks a president whose job it is to run the franchise. This ensures that the Packers are always run by an executive engaged in, and in charge of, their operations as opposed to an owner who might be in the south of France.

Sure, the head coach and GM in this structure might get too much power, and the team can rise and fall on the talents of several individuals — and this corporate structure can make for slow change. Still, this system has served Green Bay well, and the Packers’ very survival in the smallest market for any major professional sports franchise in the U.S. is nothing short of a miracle created by this structure.

Possibly Sliding Downward

Dallas Cowboys: Jerry Jones No. 7

When Jerry Jones starts to slide, it could be straight from the top to the bottom, and that’s emblematic of how this former oilman does everything in a big way. His current game of big casino is betting everything on the most expensive stadium in human history, at least the most expensive stadium a team not based in New York has ever tried to open. Will it be nice? Unquestionably! But it is also potentially, given the lack of a naming rights sponsor, a bet that not even an ultimate gambler like Jones can cover. The new stadium is the kind of temple of ego they used to make black-and-white movies about. It encloses 10 acres. To give you a point of comparison, the Ballpark in Arlington, where the Texas Rangers play, is built on a 10-acre site. So the image of an elderly Jones wandering the empty corridors of his “stately pleasure dome,” like Orson Welles in “Citizen Kane,” saying “Aikman,” comes to mind. But if Jones can cover, the Dallas Star will shine more brightly than ever.

Still, Dallas remains a franchise that players want to play for and coaches want to coach. For better or worse, Jones has taught the other owners how to make money, and he has probably been the single biggest force in increasing all franchise values since joining the league.

His accomplishments come with some scars, although most of them seem to be related to his failings as a GM, and sometimes erstwhile head coach, rather than as an owner.

Denver Broncos: Pat Bowlen No. 8

The financial and on-field success of the Broncos marks Bowlen as a force to be reckoned with in the league. He has built a franchise that has historically far out-performed its market size.

Two Super Bowls, a state-of-the-art stadium and sustained success have set high expectations, and now the Broncos have come to a crossroads. Having fairly recently replaced their head coach, general manager and quarterback with somewhat unproven replacements, the recent past requires that Bowlen and the Broncos be ranked above the middle of the pack, although this placement is hardly secure going forward. So the pressure is on.

The Rest

9. Indianapolis Colts: Jim Irsay

10. Tampa Bay: Malcolm Glazer & Son

11. Kansas City Chiefs: Clark Hunt

12. Minnesota Vikings: Zygmunt Wilf

13. Seattle Seahawks: Paul Allen

14. Tennessee Titans: Bud Adams

15. Houston Texans: Bob McNair

16. New York Jets: Woody Johnson

17. San Diego Chargers: Alex Spanos & Dean Spanos

18. Carolina Panthers: Jerry Richardson

19. Jacksonville Jaguars: Wayne Weaver

20. Buffalo Bills: Ralph Wilson

21. St. Louis Rams: Chip Rosenbloom

22. Chicago Bears: Virginia McCaskey & Michael McCaskey

23. Atlanta Falcons: Arthur Blank

24. Washington Redskins: Daniel Snyder

25. New Orleans Saints: Tom Benson

26. Cleveland Browns: Randy Lerner

27. San Francisco 49ers: Denise DeBartolo York & John York

28. Arizona Cardinals: William Bidwill & Michael Bidwill

29. Detroit Lions: William Clay Ford, Sr.

30. Oakland Raiders: Al Davis

31. Cincinnati Bengals: Mike Brown

Incomplete: Miami Dolphins: Steve Ross

 

[pollardsvision]

I think putting Davis below Ford is pretty unfair. There was a time in which Davis was one of the better owners in the league. Really, he's a great owner that just hung around too long. Even including him on this list just feels unfair.Ford, on the other hand, has run a truly miserable franchise for 45 years and then pulled off the elusive 0-16. Davis' level of futility in the past 7-8 senile years really only matches what Ford has done for going on 5 decades.Also, DeBartolo's sister looks like one evil lady.

This is all about current events, and Davis' Raiders are horrendously dysfunctional. While the history is undeniable, the Lions seem like they're on the way up from where they were even last year. You just can't say the same thing about the Raiders. And yeah, they sure found a doozie of a pic of DeBartolo-York, didn't they?

I was going to say that Davis should be exempt from this list b/c of his age, but I guess Ralph Wilson still does a decent job at the age of 90. Although, if we're going by recent performance, Ford is the one that, despite possibly being the worst franchise in all of pro sports for 45 years, found a way to have his worst season ever in 2008. Sure, it seems like they're on the way up, but they literally have no other direction at this point.

 

[fatness]

Separated at birth?

1

2

 

[Jason Wood]

As far as lists go, I thought this one was pretty solid. I didn't have any qualms with the Top 5 at all, and thought it was great they didn't hand Jerry Jones a nod for the sake of it; and the bottom, while I agree Davis' 4 championships should permanently exempt him from the last place spot, he IS the worst owner right now in the sport [taking a snapshot in time] and would've ranked in my bottom 5.

 

[Ghost of Bill Walsh]

Separated at birth?

1

2

If Denise York divorced her husband and married Dan Snyder we could call her Dee Snyder the frigging twisted sister. God the 49ers.

 

[T Bell]

Ford = 1 post season win in 45 years. Davis = 3 Super Bowls. Who's #1?

This is still too close to call. What were their high school grades? Anyone?

 

[T Bell]

Separated at birth?

1

2

You got it wrong, chief.

 

[CalBear]

The only problem with the Niners' ranking is that there's someone other than Oakland and Detroit ahead of them.

 

[FUBAR]

As far as lists go, I thought this one was pretty solid. I didn't have any qualms with the Top 5 at all, and thought it was great they didn't hand Jerry Jones a nod for the sake of it; and the bottom, while I agree Davis' 4 championships should permanently exempt him from the last place spot, he IS the worst owner right now in the sport [taking a snapshot in time] and would've ranked in my bottom 5.

I honestly don't know if he's any worse than the 0-16, Millen lovin' Ford.

 

[T Bell]

As far as lists go, I thought this one was pretty solid. I didn't have any qualms with the Top 5 at all, and thought it was great they didn't hand Jerry Jones a nod for the sake of it; and the bottom, while I agree Davis' 4 championships should permanently exempt him from the last place spot, he IS the worst owner right now in the sport [taking a snapshot in time] and would've ranked in my bottom 5.

I honestly don't know if he's any worse than the 0-16, Millen lovin' Ford.

A year ago I couldn't argue that, but Ford got rid of Millen and Mayhew seems to have had a solid six months on the job. Jim Schwartz is an excellent choice for head coach on a defense-poor team. I like where the Lions are headed, though of course they're only at the beginning of their journey upward. You just can't say the same thing about the Raiders who look like they're in business-as-usual mode, drafting fast, under-talented players too early and still otherwise doing the bidding of Al Baby Himself.

 

[trader jake]

I wouldn't trade the Packers "owner" for any of those listed in the top 5.

Great owners can still go off their rockers down the line, face monetary issues, or have inept children.

 

[Holy Schneikes]

Tough call between Ford and Davis. I get arguments both ways.

Davis is not THAT far removed from a Superbowl appearance. The Lions aren't in the same universe as a Superbowl appearance.

But for the sheer embarrassment factor, I'd have to lean toward Davis as the worst RIGHT NOW. Lions may have the most inept management/ownership overall, but doesn't crazy trump stupidity? Has there even been a nuttier public display by an owner than Davis' "Lane Kiffin is the devil" presser? Then the draft this year? Yikes. Not only does the current product suck, but he's literally the laughing stock of the league.

It's kind of sad really, but Davis is just so far removed from reality right now, he'd get my vote.

 

[Biabreakable]

The Lions are going in the right direction

Well that is by default.If the NFL extends the season beyond 16 games then maybe the Lions could be worse.Getting rid of Millen definitly addition by subtraction.

 

[Mark Wimer]

Snyder is a good businessman and spares no expense with one of the most profitable franchises in sports. But maybe that's the problem: The young billionaire runs the team more like a first-time fantasy-football manager.

This is an insult to first-time fantasy-football managers everywhere...

Agreed. Snyder has been flailing around for over a decade now - he doesn't seem able to learn from experience at the NFL level. Most fantasy owners have a better learning curve than "Big Boy Danny Snyder", as we used to call him at NFLTalk.com years ago.

 

[FUBAR]

As far as lists go, I thought this one was pretty solid. I didn't have any qualms with the Top 5 at all, and thought it was great they didn't hand Jerry Jones a nod for the sake of it; and the bottom, while I agree Davis' 4 championships should permanently exempt him from the last place spot, he IS the worst owner right now in the sport [taking a snapshot in time] and would've ranked in my bottom 5.

I honestly don't know if he's any worse than the 0-16, Millen lovin' Ford.

A year ago I couldn't argue that, but Ford got rid of Millen and Mayhew seems to have had a solid six months on the job. Jim Schwartz is an excellent choice for head coach on a defense-poor team. I like where the Lions are headed, though of course they're only at the beginning of their journey upward. You just can't say the same thing about the Raiders who look like they're in business-as-usual mode, drafting fast, under-talented players too early and still otherwise doing the bidding of Al Baby Himself.

I've followed the Lions pretty closely most of my life, and aside from the Barry Sanders era, we haven't had any reason for optimism. So as much as I like Schwartz, my enthusiasm for Ford's moves is tempered.

 

[T Bell]

Snyder is a good businessman and spares no expense with one of the most profitable franchises in sports. But maybe that's the problem: The young billionaire runs the team more like a first-time fantasy-football manager.

This is an insult to first-time fantasy-football managers everywhere...

Agreed. Snyder has been flailing around for over a decade now - he doesn't seem able to learn from experience at the NFL level. Most fantasy owners have a better learning curve than "Big Boy Danny Snyder", as we used to call him at NFLTalk.com years ago.

I'm waiting on any sort of an argument, however, that he should be in the same part of the rankings as the likes of Ford, Brown, Debartolo-York and (nowadays) Davis. Bottom 10-15? Sure, I can see that. But bottom 5? No way. This ranking has more to do with Snyder's and the team's stormy relationship with the media than it does with football operations.

 

[T Bell]

As far as lists go, I thought this one was pretty solid. I didn't have any qualms with the Top 5 at all, and thought it was great they didn't hand Jerry Jones a nod for the sake of it; and the bottom, while I agree Davis' 4 championships should permanently exempt him from the last place spot, he IS the worst owner right now in the sport [taking a snapshot in time] and would've ranked in my bottom 5.

I honestly don't know if he's any worse than the 0-16, Millen lovin' Ford.

A year ago I couldn't argue that, but Ford got rid of Millen and Mayhew seems to have had a solid six months on the job. Jim Schwartz is an excellent choice for head coach on a defense-poor team. I like where the Lions are headed, though of course they're only at the beginning of their journey upward. You just can't say the same thing about the Raiders who look like they're in business-as-usual mode, drafting fast, under-talented players too early and still otherwise doing the bidding of Al Baby Himself.

I've followed the Lions pretty closely most of my life, and aside from the Barry Sanders era, we haven't had any reason for optimism. So as much as I like Schwartz, my enthusiasm for Ford's moves is tempered.

I'm only arguing the comparison with Davis, and in that regard at least the Lions have made moves. The Raiders continue to circle the drain.

 

[dotman]

I think putting Davis below Ford is pretty unfair. There was a time in which Davis was one of the better owners in the league. Really, he's a great owner that just hung around too long. Even including him on this list just feels unfair.Ford, on the other hand, has run a truly miserable franchise for 45 years and then pulled off the elusive 0-16. Davis' level of futility in the past 7-8 senile years really only matches what Ford has done for going on 5 decades.Also, DeBartolo's sister looks like one evil lady.

This is all about current events, and Davis' Raiders are horrendously dysfunctional. While the history is undeniable, the Lions seem like they're on the way up from where they were even last year. You just can't say the same thing about the Raiders.

The Lions are on the way up from last year huh? At least they're setting the bar high.If it's all about current events, the Raiders won 5 more games than the Lions in the most current season that we can go off of (which also was an improvement over 2007 for them). If they are horrendously dysfunctional and can still win 5 games, what does that make the Lions? No matter how you spin it, Ford should be #1 on the worst owners list.

 

[dotman]

As far as lists go, I thought this one was pretty solid. I didn't have any qualms with the Top 5 at all, and thought it was great they didn't hand Jerry Jones a nod for the sake of it; and the bottom, while I agree Davis' 4 championships should permanently exempt him from the last place spot, he IS the worst owner right now in the sport [taking a snapshot in time] and would've ranked in my bottom 5.

I honestly don't know if he's any worse than the 0-16, Millen lovin' Ford.

A year ago I couldn't argue that, but Ford got rid of Millen and Mayhew seems to have had a solid six months on the job. Jim Schwartz is an excellent choice for head coach on a defense-poor team. I like where the Lions are headed, though of course they're only at the beginning of their journey upward. You just can't say the same thing about the Raiders who look like they're in business-as-usual mode, drafting fast, under-talented players too early and still otherwise doing the bidding of Al Baby Himself.

Making a solid move 4 years too late and only after your son speaks out to the media about it does not make you suddenly competent.

 

[T Bell]

As far as lists go, I thought this one was pretty solid. I didn't have any qualms with the Top 5 at all, and thought it was great they didn't hand Jerry Jones a nod for the sake of it; and the bottom, while I agree Davis' 4 championships should permanently exempt him from the last place spot, he IS the worst owner right now in the sport [taking a snapshot in time] and would've ranked in my bottom 5.

I honestly don't know if he's any worse than the 0-16, Millen lovin' Ford.

A year ago I couldn't argue that, but Ford got rid of Millen and Mayhew seems to have had a solid six months on the job. Jim Schwartz is an excellent choice for head coach on a defense-poor team. I like where the Lions are headed, though of course they're only at the beginning of their journey upward. You just can't say the same thing about the Raiders who look like they're in business-as-usual mode, drafting fast, under-talented players too early and still otherwise doing the bidding of Al Baby Himself.

Making a solid move 4 years too late and only after your son speaks out to the media about it does not make you suddenly competent.

I agree, but once again my statement was made only as to the comparison to Davis (not a comparison to competence), and what you outlined is still more than Davis has done in that time. Frankly, but for hiring Gruden (who he subsequently booted, of course) which enabled a Rich Gannon-led team to win for a couple of years, Davis has done nothing right in the last 20-25 years. This stuff about Davis winning championships is comical because of how far back it now goes. The Raiders last championship was 25 years ago, a decade before the modern free agency and salary cap era even began. While more recent than the championship Lions teams from 50 years ago, does it really much matter anymore when we're talking about present levels of organizational dysfunction?

 

[Holy Schneikes]

I think putting Davis below Ford is pretty unfair. There was a time in which Davis was one of the better owners in the league. Really, he's a great owner that just hung around too long. Even including him on this list just feels unfair.Ford, on the other hand, has run a truly miserable franchise for 45 years and then pulled off the elusive 0-16. Davis' level of futility in the past 7-8 senile years really only matches what Ford has done for going on 5 decades.Also, DeBartolo's sister looks like one evil lady.

This is all about current events, and Davis' Raiders are horrendously dysfunctional. While the history is undeniable, the Lions seem like they're on the way up from where they were even last year. You just can't say the same thing about the Raiders.

The Lions are on the way up from last year huh? At least they're setting the bar high.If it's all about current events, the Raiders won 5 more games than the Lions in the most current season that we can go off of (which also was an improvement over 2007 for them). If they are horrendously dysfunctional and can still win 5 games, what does that make the Lions? No matter how you spin it, Ford should be #1 on the worst owners list.

If a one year record is all that matters, why not just rank every team's ownership by the team's wins from the previous year? And then do it again next year. So Arizona has the 2nd best owners in the league right? Doubt you would find too many takers on that position.Again, you can DEFINITELY make a case for Ford, but the list isn't as simple as you make it out to be, or it wouldn't be much of a list.

 

[T Bell]

I think putting Davis below Ford is pretty unfair. There was a time in which Davis was one of the better owners in the league. Really, he's a great owner that just hung around too long. Even including him on this list just feels unfair.Ford, on the other hand, has run a truly miserable franchise for 45 years and then pulled off the elusive 0-16. Davis' level of futility in the past 7-8 senile years really only matches what Ford has done for going on 5 decades.Also, DeBartolo's sister looks like one evil lady.

This is all about current events, and Davis' Raiders are horrendously dysfunctional. While the history is undeniable, the Lions seem like they're on the way up from where they were even last year. You just can't say the same thing about the Raiders.

The Lions are on the way up from last year huh? At least they're setting the bar high.If it's all about current events, the Raiders won 5 more games than the Lions in the most current season that we can go off of (which also was an improvement over 2007 for them). If they are horrendously dysfunctional and can still win 5 games, what does that make the Lions? No matter how you spin it, Ford should be #1 on the worst owners list.

If a one year record is all that matters, why not just rank every team's ownership by the team's wins from the previous year? And then do it again next year. So Arizona has the 2nd best owners in the league right? Doubt you would find too many takers on that position.Again, you can DEFINITELY make a case for Ford, but the list isn't as simple as you make it out to be, or it wouldn't be much of a list.

Exactly. And using the Raiders-Lions example, the Lions had the worst record in football last year and have made important changes to their operations and had a good draft, while the Raiders have had the worst record in football over the last six years, have made no important organizational changes, and had a miserable draft. I fail to see how this isn't a comparison that favors the Lions.

 

[dotman]

As far as lists go, I thought this one was pretty solid. I didn't have any qualms with the Top 5 at all, and thought it was great they didn't hand Jerry Jones a nod for the sake of it; and the bottom, while I agree Davis' 4 championships should permanently exempt him from the last place spot, he IS the worst owner right now in the sport [taking a snapshot in time] and would've ranked in my bottom 5.

I honestly don't know if he's any worse than the 0-16, Millen lovin' Ford.

A year ago I couldn't argue that, but Ford got rid of Millen and Mayhew seems to have had a solid six months on the job. Jim Schwartz is an excellent choice for head coach on a defense-poor team. I like where the Lions are headed, though of course they're only at the beginning of their journey upward. You just can't say the same thing about the Raiders who look like they're in business-as-usual mode, drafting fast, under-talented players too early and still otherwise doing the bidding of Al Baby Himself.

Making a solid move 4 years too late and only after your son speaks out to the media about it does not make you suddenly competent.

I agree, but once again my statement was made only as to the comparison to Davis (not a comparison to competence), and what you outlined is still more than Davis has done in that time. Frankly, but for hiring Gruden (who he subsequently booted, of course) which enabled a Rich Gannon-led team to win for a couple of years, Davis has done nothing right in the last 20-25 years. This stuff about Davis winning championships is comical because of how far back it now goes. The Raiders last championship was 25 years ago, a decade before the modern free agency and salary cap era even began. While more recent than the championship Lions teams from 50 years ago, does it really much matter anymore when we're talking about present levels of organizational dysfunction?

If you're just comparing it to Davis, I think Al would have fired Millen long ago. Al Davis has never his team get as bad as the Lions were just last year, so yeah what happened 25 years ago shouldn't have much bearing on a list of worst owners at this time, but even just looking at what the teams have accomplished recently Al still wins. Especially since if it wasn't for William Clay Ford's son speaking out, Millen might still have a job!

 

[T Bell]

If you're just comparing it to Davis, I think Al would have fired Millen long ago. Al Davis has never his team get as bad as the Lions were just last year, so yeah what happened 25 years ago shouldn't have much bearing on a list of worst owners at this time, but even just looking at what the teams have accomplished recently Al still wins. Especially since if it wasn't for William Clay Ford's son speaking out, Millen might still have a job!

Agreed that Millen should have been fired long ago, but a major point you're missing in this comparison is that Ford doesn't run the football operations himself while Davis still does. Whoever it was that spoke up and caused Millen's belated firing, it happened.Who is going to speak up and get Al Davis fired? (Here's a hint, and no, it's not a Raiders fan.)

 

[dotman]

I think putting Davis below Ford is pretty unfair. There was a time in which Davis was one of the better owners in the league. Really, he's a great owner that just hung around too long. Even including him on this list just feels unfair.Ford, on the other hand, has run a truly miserable franchise for 45 years and then pulled off the elusive 0-16. Davis' level of futility in the past 7-8 senile years really only matches what Ford has done for going on 5 decades.Also, DeBartolo's sister looks like one evil lady.

This is all about current events, and Davis' Raiders are horrendously dysfunctional. While the history is undeniable, the Lions seem like they're on the way up from where they were even last year. You just can't say the same thing about the Raiders.

The Lions are on the way up from last year huh? At least they're setting the bar high.If it's all about current events, the Raiders won 5 more games than the Lions in the most current season that we can go off of (which also was an improvement over 2007 for them). If they are horrendously dysfunctional and can still win 5 games, what does that make the Lions? No matter how you spin it, Ford should be #1 on the worst owners list.

If a one year record is all that matters, why not just rank every team's ownership by the team's wins from the previous year? And then do it again next year. So Arizona has the 2nd best owners in the league right? Doubt you would find too many takers on that position.Again, you can DEFINITELY make a case for Ford, but the list isn't as simple as you make it out to be, or it wouldn't be much of a list.

You are right it's not that simple, it was T Bell who said we should be looking at current events, I feel last season's results are pretty current. Bottom line though, those results are facts, they are something tangible that we can base opinions on. We really have no idea if the Lions had a good draft or not, and won't know for a couple years. You may think they did or didn't, but you don't know and any judgement about it is merely a perception. The Lions 0-16 season wasn't the only thing I was basing my opinion on, but it does matter.

 

[dotman]

If you're just comparing it to Davis, I think Al would have fired Millen long ago. Al Davis has never his team get as bad as the Lions were just last year, so yeah what happened 25 years ago shouldn't have much bearing on a list of worst owners at this time, but even just looking at what the teams have accomplished recently Al still wins. Especially since if it wasn't for William Clay Ford's son speaking out, Millen might still have a job!

Agreed that Millen should have been fired long ago, but a major point you're missing in this comparison is that Ford doesn't run the football operations himself while Davis still does. Whoever it was that spoke up and caused Millen's belated firing, it happened.Who is going to speak up and get Al Davis fired? (Here's a hint, and no, it's not a Raiders fan.)

When I read your question, immediately the grim reaper popped into my head. In fact I even was about to look for a picture when I thought to myself "I better click his link first".....sure enough

 

[Holy Schneikes]

I think putting Davis below Ford is pretty unfair. There was a time in which Davis was one of the better owners in the league. Really, he's a great owner that just hung around too long. Even including him on this list just feels unfair.Ford, on the other hand, has run a truly miserable franchise for 45 years and then pulled off the elusive 0-16. Davis' level of futility in the past 7-8 senile years really only matches what Ford has done for going on 5 decades.Also, DeBartolo's sister looks like one evil lady.

This is all about current events, and Davis' Raiders are horrendously dysfunctional. While the history is undeniable, the Lions seem like they're on the way up from where they were even last year. You just can't say the same thing about the Raiders.

The Lions are on the way up from last year huh? At least they're setting the bar high.If it's all about current events, the Raiders won 5 more games than the Lions in the most current season that we can go off of (which also was an improvement over 2007 for them). If they are horrendously dysfunctional and can still win 5 games, what does that make the Lions? No matter how you spin it, Ford should be #1 on the worst owners list.

If a one year record is all that matters, why not just rank every team's ownership by the team's wins from the previous year? And then do it again next year. So Arizona has the 2nd best owners in the league right? Doubt you would find too many takers on that position.Again, you can DEFINITELY make a case for Ford, but the list isn't as simple as you make it out to be, or it wouldn't be much of a list.

You are right it's not that simple, it was T Bell who said we should be looking at current events, I feel last season's results are pretty current. Bottom line though, those results are facts, they are something tangible that we can base opinions on. We really have no idea if the Lions had a good draft or not, and won't know for a couple years. You may think they did or didn't, but you don't know and any judgement about it is merely a perception. The Lions 0-16 season wasn't the only thing I was basing my opinion on, but it does matter.

The Lions draft is WAY up in the air at this point, I agree. But the Raiders' really isn't. Even if the guys they took at the top of their draft turn out to be the two best players in NFL history, it was still a horrible draft, due to the simple fact that they could have gotten a lot MORE and still landed those guys. And that is 100% Davis by all accounts.And again, the 0-16 is a HUGE embarrassment, there is no doubt about that. But Davis HIMSELF was a huge embarrassment last season, in ADDITION to the team's sad performance. Who else can you say that about? Not Ford. His team blows, but at least he didn't go on national television and make a complete ### of himself. That's got to factor in somewhere.Then there's the fact that depending on which years you use, the Lions have shockingly had MORE overall success in "recent" seasons than the Raiders (which T Bell pointed out, and the list actually mentions). And that's in some ways emphasized by the fact that they were a super-bowl caliber team not that long ago (I know that cuts both ways). Really the only thing in Ford's "favor" is the one absolutely horrible season.I'm out. As I said from the start, I totally get the Ford argument too. I just lean in the other direction.

 

[Biabreakable]

If you're just comparing it to Davis, I think Al would have fired Millen long ago. Al Davis has never his team get as bad as the Lions were just last year, so yeah what happened 25 years ago shouldn't have much bearing on a list of worst owners at this time, but even just looking at what the teams have accomplished recently Al still wins. Especially since if it wasn't for William Clay Ford's son speaking out, Millen might still have a job!

Agreed that Millen should have been fired long ago, but a major point you're missing in this comparison is that Ford doesn't run the football operations himself while Davis still does. Whoever it was that spoke up and caused Millen's belated firing, it happened.Who is going to speak up and get Al Davis fired? (Here's a hint, and no, it's not a Raiders fan.)

Even Death can't cut Al Davis. I think they have a contract or something from back in the 1800's.

 

[Addai's Adidas]

Ford and it's nor even close.

 

[CalBear]

If you're just comparing it to Davis, I think Al would have fired Millen long ago. Al Davis has never his team get as bad as the Lions were just last year, so yeah what happened 25 years ago shouldn't have much bearing on a list of worst owners at this time, but even just looking at what the teams have accomplished recently Al still wins.

The 2008 Lions scored 100 more points than the 2006 Raiders.

 

[Mark Wimer]

Snyder is a good businessman and spares no expense with one of the most profitable franchises in sports. But maybe that's the problem: The young billionaire runs the team more like a first-time fantasy-football manager.

This is an insult to first-time fantasy-football managers everywhere...

Agreed. Snyder has been flailing around for over a decade now - he doesn't seem able to learn from experience at the NFL level. Most fantasy owners have a better learning curve than "Big Boy Danny Snyder", as we used to call him at NFLTalk.com years ago.

I'm waiting on any sort of an argument, however, that he should be in the same part of the rankings as the likes of Ford, Brown, Debartolo-York and (nowadays) Davis. Bottom 10-15? Sure, I can see that. But bottom 5? No way. This ranking has more to do with Snyder's and the team's stormy relationship with the media than it does with football operations.

I disagree - given the enormous amount of money on players expended by the Redskins since Snyder took over operations, they should have been in contention much more often than they have been. Allow me to discourse:Snyder bought the team in May 1999. Under his leadership, the team has been to the playoffs twice (they did go in 1999 under Norv Turner, but I don't think that season "counts" as under his leadership) - both times more due to Joe Gibbs than anything that Snyder may have done (except, of course, for convincing Gibbs to come back to coach the team again).

There have been numerous big name free agents signed by the team at Snyder's behest (most recently, Jason Taylor, but also Deion Sanders, etc ad nauseum) that have all failed to lift the team to a legit Super Bowl shot.

In short, the Redskins have been, at best, barely qualifying for the post season and their usual MO is to be around .500 (or worse) and miss the playoffs since Snyder took over. Given the amount of money spent in free agency by this club, they should have been in serious contention much more often, as I said above - but they don't do a good job of player evaluation. This holds true in the draft as well (Devin Thomas and Malcolm Kelly, anyone?).

Snyder deserves to be ranked among the worst NFL owners. He's wasted a ton of money in free agency and doesn't have diddly to show for it in terms of championships.*

*Edit to add - they haven't even won a NFC East championship since Turner won one for the team in 1999, and as I have indicated since Snyder bought the team in May 1999 I don't think he gets credit for that NFC East crown.

 

[T Bell]

I disagree - given the enormous amount of money on players expended by the Redskins since Snyder took over operations, they should have been in contention much more often than they have been. Allow me to discourse:

Snyder bought the team in May 1999. Under his leadership, the team has been to the playoffs twice (they did go in 1999 under Norv Turner, but I don't think that season "counts" as under his leadership) - both times more due to Joe Gibbs than anything that Snyder may have done (except, of course, for convincing Gibbs to come back to coach the team again).

There have been numerous big name free agents signed by the team at Snyder's behest (most recently, Jason Taylor, but also Deion Sanders, etc ad nauseum) that have all failed to lift the team to a legit Super Bowl shot.

In short, the Redskins have been, at best, barely qualifying for the post season and their usual MO is to be around .500 (or worse) and miss the playoffs since Snyder took over. Given the amount of money spent in free agency by this club, they should have been in serious contention much more often, as I said above - but they don't do a good job of player evaluation. This holds true in the draft as well (Devin Thomas and Malcolm Kelly, anyone?).

Snyder deserves to be ranked among the worst NFL owners. He's wasted a ton of money in free agency and doesn't have diddly to show for it in terms of championships.*

*Edit to add - they haven't even won a NFC East championship since Turner won one for the team in 1999, and as I have indicated since Snyder bought the team in May 1999 I don't think he gets credit for that NFC East crown.

Mark, where do you think Pat Bowlen should be ranked then? Since 1999 (Snyder's first year as owner) Bowlen's Broncos have spent to the cap each year*, just like the Redskins have, and are 1-4 versus the Redskins' 2-3 in the playoffs during that time, the majority of which was in an inferior division. This past offseason he failed to rescue the relationship between the first franchise QB they've had since Elway, resulting in a trade of Cutler to the Bears. Because Bowlen courts the media and is liked by them, he gets a pass for this, but objectively speaking his record is a carbon copy of Snyder's over that time. This is precisely what I'm talking about this being more of a perception problem than a performance problem with this particular ranking, and I say that as someone who has freely and harshly criticized Snyder over the years.

*including famously trying to buy a new, expensive D-line each year via FA - how many Browns DL's did they end up buying over the years anyway?

 

[Fear & Loathing]

Any list that doesn't have Mike Brown last is bollocks.

The National Football Post's report was much more in-depth and spot on.

 

[Mark Wimer]

I disagree - given the enormous amount of money on players expended by the Redskins since Snyder took over operations, they should have been in contention much more often than they have been. Allow me to discourse:

Snyder bought the team in May 1999. Under his leadership, the team has been to the playoffs twice (they did go in 1999 under Norv Turner, but I don't think that season "counts" as under his leadership) - both times more due to Joe Gibbs than anything that Snyder may have done (except, of course, for convincing Gibbs to come back to coach the team again).

There have been numerous big name free agents signed by the team at Snyder's behest (most recently, Jason Taylor, but also Deion Sanders, etc ad nauseum) that have all failed to lift the team to a legit Super Bowl shot.

In short, the Redskins have been, at best, barely qualifying for the post season and their usual MO is to be around .500 (or worse) and miss the playoffs since Snyder took over. Given the amount of money spent in free agency by this club, they should have been in serious contention much more often, as I said above - but they don't do a good job of player evaluation. This holds true in the draft as well (Devin Thomas and Malcolm Kelly, anyone?).

Snyder deserves to be ranked among the worst NFL owners. He's wasted a ton of money in free agency and doesn't have diddly to show for it in terms of championships.*

*Edit to add - they haven't even won a NFC East championship since Turner won one for the team in 1999, and as I have indicated since Snyder bought the team in May 1999 I don't think he gets credit for that NFC East crown.

Mark, where do you think Pat Bowlen should be ranked then? Since 1999 (Snyder's first year as owner) Bowlen's Broncos have spent to the cap each year*, just like the Redskins have, and are 1-4 versus the Redskins' 2-3 in the playoffs during that time, the majority of which was in an inferior division. This past offseason he failed to rescue the relationship between the first franchise QB they've had since Elway, resulting in a trade of Cutler to the Bears. Because Bowlen courts the media and is liked by them, he gets a pass for this, but objectively speaking his record is a carbon copy of Snyder's over that time. This is precisely what I'm talking about this being more of a perception problem than a performance problem with this particular ranking, and I say that as someone who has freely and harshly criticized Snyder over the years.

*including famously trying to buy a new, expensive D-line each year via FA - how many Browns DL's did they end up buying over the years anyway?

There's no question that the Broncos post Elway have been a disappointment - however, they haven't cycled through quite the diversity of free agents that the Redskins have - though they have missed on, as you point out, a lot of D-linemen. Bowlen and his organization haven't done much better than the Redskins in the specified time span - however, they did win back to back Superbowls just prior to 1999, so they've got more bragging rights than the Redskins have over the past 15 years - IIRC the last WAS SB win was 1991 with Rypien at QB and Joe Gibbs at the helm.

Public perception of the owners is part of the game at this level, and as you admit, Snyder doesn't do well in that arena. Just another reason he should be lower on the list than Bowlen, IMO.