The Chiefs, Ravens, Lions, and 49ers are one victory away from winning Super Bowl LVIII for eight main reasons:
Brett Veach, Eric DeCosta, Brad Holmes, John Lynch, and Patrick Mahomes, along with Lamar Jackson, Jared Goff, and Brock Purdy.
The first four are elite quarterbacks who throw touchdowns in the middle of the field; they are all under 30. The final four hold much greater significance.
They are general managers who, in the background, hit long balls and keep the organisation from striking out.
These GMs included three former scouts. The proverbial “lifers who breathe football” The other man is an All-Star.
Andy Reid hired 46-year-old Veach as a coach in the Eagles’ early years. He later moved into scouting, accompanied Reid to Kansas City in 2013, and eventually joined the Chiefs as general manager in 2017. In his seven years as general manager, he has been to three Super Bowls, won two of them, and will play in his sixth consecutive AFC title game this Sunday in Baltimore.
DeCosta, 52, started as a 25-year-old intern in the personnel department under the legendary Ozzie Newsome, who developed DeCosta into an assistant general manager, scouting director, player personnel director, and two-time Super Bowl champion in Baltimore while he was an intern.Not only does DeCosta’s team have the second-best record in the league since 2018 (68-37,.648), but it also features the league’s most anticipated MVP in Jackson, 27, for the second time in his career. Not to mention, their defence led the league in fewest points allowed (16.5), sacks (60), and takeaways (31) this season.
The 44-year-old Holmes began his career in 2003 as an intern in public relations for the Rams. He advanced rapidly through the ranks to become the team’s director of college scouting for eight seasons before being hired as the general manager of the Lions in 2021. After three seasons, Detroit is headed to San Francisco to try to play in its first Super Bowl after winning its first division title in thirty years and its first two playoff games in thirty-two.
After 15 seasons as a Hall of Fame safety, Lynch, 52, departed the broadcast booth in 2017 to take a job as general manager of the 49ers. The team is headed to the NFC title game for the third consecutive year and the fourth time in the previous five seasons thanks to his prompt hiring of Kyle Shanahan as coach.
Each person in charge was involved in the most crucial task for a good general manager: selecting a quarterback for the team.
Back in 2017, when Reid was getting on board with trade up from 27th overall to 10th, Veach reportedly hammered the table for Mahomes loud enough. At the time, too many people (see: Chicago Bears) saw Mahomes as a dangerous system quarterback with weird mechanics and terrible footwork. Although Reid already had a favourite quarterback in Alex Smith, he acquired the cornerstone of the current NFL dynasty. And all it cost was a first-round pick (16th overall) in 2018 and a third-round pick in 2017.
When the Ravens traded back into the first round with Philadelphia to draft Jackson 32nd overall, DeCosta was serving as Newsome’s assistant for the final time. All they had to pay for it was a trade of 2018 fourth-round selections for second-round picks in both 2018 and 2019.
Lynch had two QB swings: a big one in 2021 that didn’t work out (Trey Lance), and a little one in 2022 (Purdy) that kept his team, his reputation, and most likely his job in the long run. When he moved up nine spots to choose the North Dakota State quarterback third overall with three first-round selections and a third-round pick, he blew it on Minnesota native Lance. After making just eight appearances and finishing 2-2 as a starter, Lance was traded to Dallas in exchange for a fourth-round selection. However, Purdy—the 262nd and last choice in the 2021 draft—has made the Lance gaffe meaningless with one of the most surprising career debuts in NFL history.
