The list of candidates for the Tennessee general manager position has been pared down from eight names to three, according to The Tennessean and the Nashville City Paper.
The three finalists are Charles Bailey, the director of pro personnel for the Jacksonville Jaguars, Mike Reinfeldt, vice president of football operations for the Seattle Seahawks, and Ruston Webster, vice president of player personnel for the Seahawks.
Bailey is scheduled to meet with Titans owner Bud Adams in Houston on Saturday. There’s no word yet on when Reinfeldt and Webster will meet with Adams, though I suspect all the interviews should be completed by Tuesday.
I like Bailey and Reinfeldt. Watching the Jaguars play the Titans twice a year and having a chance to closely observe their talent, it’s easy to see Bailey’s skill in the decision-making process of player evaluation. Their roster has a lot of studs.
I like Reinfeldt for going to graduate school to earn his M.B.A. in management and finance, not something your typical NFL player does. Another example that dispels the myth that jocks can’t also be intelligent. Besides his expertise in salary cap, league issues, and financial matters, Reinfeldt also participated in player evaluations with the Packers and Seahawks.
This is not a knock on Webster. I simply am not familiar enough with him yet to make an informed opinion on his qualifications. They do seem above average, on the surface, and if he survived the first round of interviews with Steve Underwood and Jeff Fisher then he must have some pretty good qualities.
The City Paper claimed it has a league source who says Reinfeldt is the front-runner. I don’t put much stock in that. The same reporter also said Titans scout Blake Beddingfield, who did not interview, would be a candidate.
If Adams makes a decision by Tuesday, it should hopefully be just a matter of days before contract negotiations are completed and an announcement made.
While I don’t want to see the quality of the decision sacrificed for the sake of expediency, I would like to see this put to bed in a timely manner. There’s lots of work to be done in February which will have a strong impact on the season.
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