Thread: How about a FA GM?

Elevated to General Manager in 1989, Casserly sustained the Redskins' history of uncovering high-quality players in the later rounds of the draft. He used a fifth-round draft pick in 1990 to select Southwest Louisiana quarterback Brian Mitchell. Washington then converted Mitchell into a running back/kick returner, where he later joined Jim Brown as the only players in NFL history to lead the league in combined net yards four times. In 1996, Casserly plucked Auburn University running back Stephen Davis in the fourth round. Davis paced the NFC in rushing in 1999 with 1,450 yards. Casserly also drafted future Pro Bowlers in wide receiver Keenan McCardell (12th round, 1991) and tight end Frank Wycheck (sixth round, 1993). During the 1999 off-season, Casserly acquired veteran quarterback Brad Johnson who responded with a Pro Bowl season.

In 1999, Sports Illustrated, Pro Football Weekly, The Sporting News and USA Today named Casserly their NFL Executive of the Year at mid-season. On draft day in 1999, Casserly acquired all of the New Orleans Saints 1999 selections, plus their first and third-round picks in 2000 by simply swapping the Redskins' fifth selection in the first round for the Saints' 12th choice. He still managed to obtain the player that Washington wanted, selecting future Pro Bowl cornerback Champ Bailey.

[edit] Houston Texans

During his five years leading the Houston Texans in the NFL draft (2002-06), Casserly continued his long history of identifying NFL caliber talent. Houston's first four selections in the 2002 NFL Draft, David Carr, Jabbar Gaffney, Chester Pitts, and Fred Weary each continue to enjoy long NFL careers, with Gaffney having contributed to the New England Patriots Super Bowl Championship, Pitts and Weary anchoring the Texans' offensive line for six full seasons, and Carr having thrown for over 14,000 yards in his five years as a Texan before moving on to the Carolina Panthers and subsequently the Super Bowl Champion New York Giants.

Casserly was "4-for'4" in the drafts of 2003 through 2006, as the Texans drafted four eventual Pro-Bowlers: Andre Johnson (WR, 2003), Dunta Robinson (CB, 2004), Jerome Mathis (WR/KR, 2005) and DeMeco Ryans (LB, 2006). Ryans was also named the NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year in 2006. Other draft selections that continued to be significant contributors to the Texans include Travis Johnson (DT, 2005), Mario Williams (DE, 2006), Eric Winston (OT, 2006), and Owen Daniels (TE, 2006).

Noteably, in 2006 Casserly defied conventional wisdom and enormous fan pressure by selecting defensive end Mario Williams from North Carolina State as the #1 pick in the 2006 NFL Draft over Houston hometown favorite and University of Texas QB Vince Young or USC Heisman Trophy Winning RB Reggie Bush. Both Young and Bush struggled through their first two years in the NFL while Williams flourished, becoming a sack leader and shutting down Bush when the Texans faced the Saints in 2007. Many believe that Mario Williams may prove to be the last in a long line of Casserly draft picks to reach the Pro-Bowl.

During Casserly's tenure, the combination of draft selections and free-agent acquistions put the Texans on a path of steady improvement as an expansion team, going 4-12 in their 2002 inaugural season, 5-11 in 2003 and 7-9 in 2004 before slumping to a disappointing 2-14 season in 2005 because of coaching staff changes and injuries. After a head coaching change in 2006 in which former Denver Broncos Offensive Coordinator Gary Kubiak replaced Dom Capers, the Texans bounced back to a 6-10 season in 2006, led by offensive standouts David Carr, Andre Johnson, Owen Daniels, Chester Pitts, Fred Weary and Eric Winston, and defensive standouts Dunta Robinson, Travis Johnson, Mario Williams and DeMeco Ryans; all Texans' original draft selections.

Subsequent to the Texans' 2006 NFL Draft, Casserly left the Texans on June 1, 2006 to join the National Football League front office, and was succeeded as General Manger by Rick Smith.

Course, Forbes would say stick with JA.

http://www.forbes.com/2007/03/02/sports-gr..._0302gms_2.html

sounds like a good plan to me.

bumping 2008 threads, you know hitting new boredom lows......