Randy Mueller | Former NFL Executive of the Year

A long time NFL GM and front office executive. In fact, he was the 2000 NFL Executive of the Year. Joining us from Idaho, though, will soon be in Seattle.

Randy Mueller, good to have him back here on the show. All right, Randy, this is the last bit of training camp and preseason. We've got the final preseason schedule of games just ahead of us. When you think about the the timing now, whether it's front offices and coaches, they're collaborating, trying to figure out how to trim the number of guys they've got left down to their final rosters. How difficult is the process when you get down to this last week, these last preseason games?

It actually is a struggle, but it's something you've kind of been going through daily now for the last three weeks. I think the things that have changed, really, the construction of rosters now are helped, and that's always been the case. So you always got to look at where your team is, who's healthy, who's not.

But I think you've actually got more opportunities to really get it right now with all these joint practices that everybody's having. Really, and I've talked to GMs and coaches, they'd rather have these joint practices than play preseason games. I think the preseason games are still a necessity because you've got to watch young guys play football. That means tackle and hit and be physical and all that.

But your veteran players really don't need a ton of that. A little bit of tackling, sure, but they can accomplish more in these joint practices now and not have to share the film with the rest of the world. They can script things. They can somewhat strategically plan them to kind of be ready for everything. And those seem to be kind of the new thing, right? Everybody's doing them.

In fact, I would go this far. If you're not doing them as an NFL team, you're probably doing your team a disservice. How much do you show your hand in joint practices considering that you still have people who are observing who are not part of your own team? Well, you can't have scouts there though.

There's no opposing teams per se. Yeah, obviously at some point you have to bare your hand. If you're going to get the work in, you've got to get prepared for the season.

So you're going to have to show some things, no doubt about it. But I think the thing the joint practices give you is you can do it all without people hitting the ground, without there being a ton of contact. It's the speed of a game without the physicality of it so much. But as you see around the league, these joint practices end up being more than a little skirmish, a little dust up. I think people want to play football and that tends to leak out before the day's over, that's for sure. So then the value is that you're facing a defense or an offense, either one, that has no idea what your playbook is or has very little knowledge of your playbook so you're not facing a unit that already knows what's coming.

No doubt. You still get the element of surprise and you script it out. The coaches get together ahead of time and almost kind of compare and say, hey, I want to see this against that, that against this. And yeah, it gives you a really large array of really things that you can kind of plan out to a point, but the players don't know.

So it's the human element. You still get the surprise attacks, you get all the bells and whistles without the physicality of injuries. So that's the big thing. Well, and you referenced the skirmishes, teams that are really intense. Of course, they're protecting their guys if they feel like the other team is taking too many liberties when it comes to their quarterback or other position players. What was your perspective when you saw fights breaking out in preseason training camp or even something like this where there's a joint practice? Yeah, I just, we never liked it. Again, it comes down to the coaches and kind of their messaging of this. I've been with some coaches that, you know, Mike Holmgren in Seattle, he would threaten our guys. I mean, he wanted no part of this. For one thing, you got to work on your own discipline.

You got to have self-discipline. Plus injuries happen in these skirmishes too. I mean, it's silly. You see guys swinging and who would punch a guy with a helmet on?

That's the dumbest thing I've ever seen. So those kind of things come out. And yeah, you want to be up for these things. Emotions are part of the game.

We all know that. But controlling emotions are also part of the game. So I think it comes down to the coaches and the way they message it and the leadership on each team too. Hey, football is a game where your players police their own selves more than anything else. We're always excited to spend a few minutes with Randy Mueller, a former NFL executive of the year, a general manager, and part of multiple front offices in the league and now has the Football GM podcast for the athletic.

It's after hours here on CBS Sports Radio. When you have to sit down against someone who is so desperately trying to make a team, when you have to deliver that news that he's among the last cuts, how hard is that? Yeah, it's really the hardest part of the job.

I'll be honest with you, sending people out the door that realize their dreams may have come to an end. It's not easy. I think you have to show compassion. You also have to point out the positives as well when you do that.

I always try to give them the good and the bad news. And in this day and age, you never know when you're going to see these people again. You might be calling them back a week later or two weeks later. Don't forget when teams cut their roster to 53, they're going to then add 16 guys to each practice squad. So there's a mad dash for practice squad bodies, for developmental type guys. So you may be sending them out the door one day and depending on what happens, bringing them back a couple days later. So it's a revolving door this time of year. And even when the rosters are set, they're really not set depending on who else becomes available around the league.

So it's a crazy time. It definitely is emotional. And it's, I think one of the hardest parts of the job for sure is really delivering the news to these players that, hey, this is not going to be your day and maybe another day is. I think you got to be honest with them though, and just give them the facts. I think there's no sugarcoating bad news at this point.

So both of them understand that it's a business. I don't think many people realize or most people realize that the average NFL career doesn't even last four years. For the most part, the turnover is drastic in the NFL.

No doubt. And it happens really throughout your roster. And I think on any given year, you're probably looking at a third of your roster flipping over every year, no matter what, no matter if you're rebuilding, building, retooling, at least a third of your roster changes every year. So it seems like the only thing that's for sure is that there's change coming, but hey, change presents opportunity to some players that produces the options for some players. There's a lot of good things that come with change too.

So I always tried to spin it in that way. The last time that we spoke, we were talking about when it comes to the roster shaping and worrying about injuries that might get you in preseason. And I think about what the Niners are facing right now, where they've got a young stud QB. They don't really want to have Jimmy Garoppolo out there on the field if they do something's horribly wrong, but they haven't been able to find a trade partner.

If you're the Niners, what do you do? Do you keep him or do you cut him loose and let some other team get him for nothing? Well, I've said from day one, and I've kind of been on an Island on this one, Amy, I would not let Jimmy G go anywhere. I would want to have him. I think the leap of faith they're taking by turning over the keys to a playoff car to an unproven young, but talented player is risky. And I think you're hedging your bet and just doing your locker room and your whole organization a favor by keeping Jimmy G around, if you can make the cap work. Now they've had months to kind of work through any cap gymnastics they needed to do to be able to keep him. I would have kept him from day one.

I would have found a way. He's not going to be a problem if he's not the starter. He's a professional in every way. I just think it's insurance. And I just don't like to see good players walk out the door if I'm the GM. So if I'm John Lynch or Kyle Shanahan, I have no problem keeping Jimmy G. I don't think you're going to get much for him, if anything, anyway, because nobody else can take on that $22 million salary either. I would rather have him finish with us and then sign somewhere as a free agent if you're going to let him go. And then you'll get a compensatory pick the following year.

So I think you stand to gain more in the long run anyway. I appreciate that you say that, though, because Jimmy Garoppolo compared to some of the other high drama situations around the league this offseason, we haven't heard a peep from him. He obviously wants to play. He obviously wants to start. He believes in himself. He continues to take care of his business. And yet he does not make waves. To me, that's so valuable. Oh, there's no doubt about it. He's the perfect kind of guy for this role.

Let's face it. He was back up to Tom Brady for several years. Yes, he gets it. And he doesn't want to be a backup, but he's a pro. I think he's making himself money.

He's making himself look good in the eyes of all other teams that are looking for a quarterback. But it may not happen until a year from now. So I think it's right.

You never want to burn any bridges. And I don't think Jimmy's anything close to that. So I think it's a positive all the way around. Plus, he's in the same meeting room every day with Trey Lance.

Why is that bad? I think that's value in itself right there. It's After Hours with Amy Lawrence on CBS Sports Radio. We're spending a few more minutes with longtime NFL front office executive and GM Randy Mueller, who's joining us from Idaho, actually. So Randy, when you think about the settlement, are you surprised that the league decided to go ahead with that before any type of a ruling could come down on the appeal?

No, not really. I thought that they would drop another hammer. I thought it would be heavier than it did, actually. But understanding that every one of these cases goes to an arbitrator of some kind. So there's always some kind of negotiation involved that maybe the NFL thought this was as good as they could get.

I'm sure the $5 million fine makes it a little easier to swallow the 11 game suspension. But I still have the same feeling, Amy, I did when it all started. I just had a feeling of sadness. It's just not good in any way. I understand and respect the leaders in Cleveland.

I understand what they're doing. I could have never done that. There's a lot of ways to build your team.

I could not build it this way. I just think it's a career-defining move for Andrew Berry, GM, or Kevin Stefanski, the coach. I think it's a career-defining move that I just think will always be there. And I don't know how they'll ever clear that up. You can say, well, if they win a Super Bowl, they might. But still, I just think there's so many things that have driven negative in this whole case that I wouldn't want it as a big black cloud over my franchise.

So I know they're desperate. I know everybody wants a quarterback. And I hear a mixed bag of messages that came from the Browns when the suspension came out. Deshaun was taking no accountability. Then he apologized.

Then he said he's sticking by his innocence. You have one side of ownership saying he's a heck of a quarterback. The owner's wife saying, well, counseling takes a long time.

The messages are just all over the place. So that tells me that it's not a solid ground decision. And everybody is really still kind of up in arms over it. I don't know that it's ever going to go away, but I just couldn't have done it to my franchise. I had to pick a different route and found a way to build my team. You say career-defining for Andrew Berry.

What does it say about him as a GM? Well, again, I wouldn't want any part of it. I could not do it.

And again, I'm trying to be as honest and upfront as I can. I said it at the time. I couldn't do it. Plus, you didn't guarantee a $230 million contract to this person who has all these cases pending. I couldn't have done that. And I know there's 31 other franchises that are still ticked over the fact that he got a fully guaranteed deal.

And now they have to answer that question every time a negotiation comes up. So just a lot of bad vibes with the whole decision to do this. I didn't like it. I thought it kind of shed bad light on everybody involved.

And it's just one of those things that I wish it would go away, but it's obviously not. Right. When it comes to the Cleveland Browns, they've made this investment in the long term. What's at stake for Baker Mayfield now? The former number one pick, he essentially gets traded for almost nothing. In fact, the Browns seemingly are paying the Panthers to take him.

He does get named the starter. So what's at stake for him as he goes into this final year of his deal? Well, I think it was a really good move for the Panthers to get him.

I think it made sense. They really, like you said, gave up nothing to get him, including salary-wise. I think his salary to them is like $3 million on a one-year deal. Baker's going to be on his best behavior. I think he will do everything he can as a team leader and as a face of that franchise.

I think it's a good bet if I'm them to make at this point. I don't know what it says for Sam Donald who's been there two years and now Baker beats him out in really three weeks, four weeks of play. And Sam has 20-some million on his contract as well.

So who knows how that'll play out. But I think for Baker and for the Panthers, it's a good marriage. I'm surprised there wasn't more of a market for Baker because as it turned out, the money really wasn't a detriment.

The Browns paid a big hunk of it and Baker took less to go. So I think it's a win-win for the Panthers. Randy Mueller with us here after hours on CBS Sports Radio. When we look around the rest of the league, there's so many questions, of course.

I know hope springs eternal everywhere. But maybe a couple of teams that you've watched over the course of the offseason, Randy, that you're impressed with the moves they made and you think they actually could make some noise once the season kicks off. Well, it's hard not to be impressed with what Philly has done and they've gotten a lot of media and attention and I understand that and I'm with it. I think the Eagles are primed to win that division. I think a lot of people believe that it's all on Jalen Hurts.

I think it's a little bit on Hurts, no question, but it's also on Nick Sirianni and his ability to advance that passing game. They've got to be better and I think that's the number one thing. They've got a better roster than they've had. It's a matter of bringing them together now and then advancing that dropback passing game so that they can compete at the highest level. And I would keep it right in Pennsylvania because in the AFC, I like the Steelers.

I think you talk about off-season rules. I know. I love the fact that they got Miles Jack. I love the fact that they upgraded their offensive line. I love the young kids they've got at receiver now and whether it's Mitch Trubisky or the rookie Kenny Pickett, either one of those guys I think makes them a little better than they've been. No pun intended with Ben the last year or so. I think it's a better team than people are giving them credit for in a division where, and this is just my opinion, Cincinnati had all the stars line up for last year.

They had every break. They got a lot of good things going. We just talked about the chaos in Cleveland and how that's going. Who knows what's going to happen in Baltimore. They have obviously a good team, a good roster, but who knows with Lamar where that contract flies. So I think Pittsburgh likes it, but they're kind of hanging around under the radar and it wouldn't surprise me if they won 10 or 11 games and got in the playoffs.

I love those answers. I got to tell you though, Randy, I am so excited to see what plays out in the wild, wild West in both of the AFC and NFC West divisions. We know the NFC has got, well, we talked about the Niners, but they've also got the Super Bowl champions there. In addition, we saw last year how competitive, I mean, Arizona started out hot and faded, but now they've paid their quarterback. And then you think about the AFC West and the number of not just offensive guys like Russell Wilson, Devante Adams, but how about the number of defensive guys that have changed teams and landed in the AFC West? So those two divisions feel like they could be dogfights. I think you might be right.

They may be a dogfight, but I'm betting on the chalk in both of them. Until somebody beats Kansas City, until somebody beats the Rams, I'm not going to buy it. I'll be honest. This is just me. I'm not drinking the Arizona Kool-Aid.

I've just seen this happen so many times. And I respect what they do the first half of the year. They've got to find a way to keep it going in the second half and whether that's Kyler's help, whether it's Cliff having to make changes and adjustments in the second half of the season, for whatever reason, it hasn't happened.

And I just haven't seen Trey Lance enough to say, Hey, I'm going to hitch my wagon to him. So I think Seattle is clearly the fourth team in the NFC West. In the AFC, you're right.

The defensive acronym of the coaches and of the people that are involved there. I think that's going to be the fun division for me to watch. I think the Raiders can beat anybody. I think the chargers are going to be able to beat anybody. And we all know what Kansas City has done in the past.

They've got to be a little more efficient now. They don't have Tyreek Hill. I think Pat Mahomes has to be more of a processor, not just winging it deep and hoping Tyreek runs under it.

That's not going to happen anymore. And you know, I'm a Seattle guy, so I've seen the good and bad of Russell Wilson. And now Denver is going to get Russell, but I'm wondering what Russell they're going to get.

So I have some questions there, but I'm still with the chalk. Kansas City and the Rams in both those Western divisions. What are the emotions that you remember as the season gets close now? We're talking about just a couple weeks away from the real deal. I think you're always emotional that time of year. I know as a GM and as a head coach, you're still nervous about health. I'll be honest, Amy, I was never happy with my team. That was just me, right? That was my personality. I never thought we had enough guys. I never thought we were deep enough. I was always grinding that last few, four or five roster spots, just trying to make sure what if we plan B came alive, plan C, whatever. That's just my makeup.

So I never was relaxed and felt great about it. That's for sure. But I will say this, the opening game, whether it's that Thursday game, which this year I think is phenomenal with the bills and the Rams that we played in that one time when I was in Miami, we played against the Steelers who was a defending Super Bowl chance in Pittsburgh. That game is special. That Thursday night game is something to look forward to. And I remember getting goosebumps during warmups of those first season opening games.

So that feeling is a good feeling. I'll say that. Did you ever sleep during the season? I had no problem sleeping.

I'll be honest with you. I worked so hard. Everybody worked so hard. Sleeping was not a problem for me. Even with all of that stress.

Okay, good to know that Randy wasn't losing sleep. This is why he won the NFL Executive of the Year Award in 2000. And you've got a brand new venture now. You're working with the reboot of the XFL. How much excitement does this kind of give you to be in the game a little bit, a little different, but still putting together rosters? It's a great project for me. You know, when you do what I've done my whole life and that's build teams, this is a chance to build a team from scratch. And you don't get that chance often.

I've always had that box in the back of my head that I wanted to check. You know, when you take over an NFL team, you might get the change, like we said, a third, maybe a half of a roster. And you have to live with really the mistakes from a prior regime. Well, in these cases, these spring leagues, you build from scratch. So you can build it exactly what your vision tells you with your coaches. And in this case, yeah, I'm going to be with the Seattle XFL team on the Seattle guys. So it's a home game for me. Jim Haslett is our head coach.

June Jones is going to run the offense. So it's as much about the people I'm with, you know, and so it's going to be a fun venture. The rock has been awesome as far as the ownership goes. It is a great group of people. And hey, I'm having fun doing it. We're building our team throughout the fall. We'll play in January. And I think a lot of people will enjoy it.

And it's a fun product. And we kind of showed that last time around in the XFL that these spring leagues can be fun. Okay, come on Dish. What's it like to be on a Zoom caller in a meeting with The Rock? Well, I have been in a few off green rooms with him so far. I don't know if I've been in any Zoom calls with him, but he's very engaged.

I'll say that very much in the middle of everything that goes on and wanting to be very passionate about most of the ideas and the kind of revision of football. So it's been fun to hear it. And obviously, he's a marketing genius. So he's a fun guy to kind of hit you on and go for a ride with. What do you call him? Do you call him Dwayne? Do you call him sir? Do you call him The Rock?

I think DJ is the safest acumen to throw out there, DJ. That's fantastic. I love these behind the scenes stories.

This is one of the reasons why we love to have Randy on the show. He's a former NFL executive of the year. He's a general manager with the Saints and Dolphins and worked in other front offices as well. Now part of the reboot of the XFL in 2023. He's got the football GM pod on the athletic.

The man never takes a breath really, but he sleeps great, which is good to know. You can find him on Twitter at Randy Mueller, M-U-E-L-L-E-R underscore. And my friend, it is always good to catch up with you. Happy football season to you. Thanks. Same to you, Amy. I look forward to chatting down the road.