Randy Mueller | Former NFL Executive of the Year

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One year upgrade requires Go 5G Next plan, financing new qualifying device and upgrading in good condition after six months with half paid off. Randy Mueller, who's a long time NFL GM and front office executive now with the athletic, has the football GM pod. We're about to kick off week six, Randy, which is kind of crazy. At this point, what type of measuring sticks or gauges might you use for a team? We've seen a ton of inconsistency, always do early in the year, so what are you looking for now? As a GM, you're kind of looking to what identifies with your team.

What is your identity on either side of the ball? I think that's the big thing and sometimes that takes six, seven weeks. I think it's great that a few years back the NFL moved the trade deadline back. It used to be six weeks forever.

Now it's after week eight. I always thought, I don't even know my team yet before four or five weeks. They're asking us to make deals before week six.

It's just impossible. For that reason, there's a lot more trades now and there seems like a lot more willingness to make moves to fill maybe some injury voids or really to look forward for the last half of the season. I think moving the trade deadline back is a really good thing and that helps you when I say you identify what you have.

You know your weaknesses and strengths by the time that trade deadline comes around. We've had a bunch of teams in the last couple weeks get their first wins, right? Weirdly enough, two weekends ago we had all four winless teams facing each other and so two of them were bound to get their wins. Finally, you've been scuffling.

It's not working. Maybe you're coming up short by just a tad like the Vikings. All their losses have come by such slim margins. What does it feel like to finally get your first win to start a season?

Well, I'll tell you what. It is hard and you work hard to get it. I think people fail to realize sometimes how good the other teams are in the league. We don't get to play a homecoming game against a team that hasn't won in years. We don't get that. In the NFL, it's hard to come by.

I guess the team that jumps out to me as probably felt the best that week was the Chicago Bears because they had lost, what, 14 in a row or something like that. That gets taxing. That is heavy on your shoulders.

I've been there. We had a long losing streak when I was in Miami as their GM my last year and it takes the toll on everybody involved. Players, coaches, families, kids. Everybody sees it when you lose that many games. When you get to have double-digit losses in a row, that's hard. So I was probably happiest for Chicago but it is a big relief. There's no doubt.

No matter what they say, it's a relief. In the middle of a season, what would it take for you to change coaches or even get rid of coordinators and replace them? Yeah, it seems like that happens more often, Amy. Back when I was a GM, I never believed in that. I think you have to always ask tough questions. You have to have the awkward conversations sometimes with coaches and you maybe have to be willing to tweak and just be honest about where we're at. I think you see the short leash of patients nowadays but that's society and that kind of ticked over into the NFL. Everybody wants changes. Everybody wants it to happen overnight but I do think in a lot of NFL places they don't ask the tough questions and I think comes from ownership to start with to be honest with you. You've got to have owners that are involved that really care and I always felt like I did my best work when the owner was holding me accountable, was asking me the right questions or any questions.

I had to be prepared every day for that. So I think it's the environment, the ownership that you feed off of them and I think it makes us all better and that's the goal. But I don't think change overnight or change because the media asks for it or change because the fans are screaming at the offensive coordinator for the last month. I don't think that warrants. That doesn't warrant change necessarily.

You know internally what the issues are and if you can't get them fixed, then apple, mountain, and tongue apple amount of time, then obviously change happens. We're so excited to have Randy Mueller back on the show. It's been too long. Gosh, not sure how that happened but we always appreciate his insight. He's a long time NFL GM and front office executive now with the athletic and has the football GM pod.

It's after hours with Amy Lawrence on CBS Sports Radio. The San Francisco 49ers right now most consistent, one of the undefeateds and I have been trying to get an answer to this question so I'm going to throw it out for you Randy and you tell me what you think. How did so many teams miss on Brock Purdy and all of them did to the point where he was still there the last pick of the NFL draft? You know if I had to explain it Amy, I would say it's the hardest part of the skill set to evaluate when you're looking at quarterbacks.

It's the ability to process and what makes you tick inside. I think the reason teams didn't draft him earlier is you know he's not 6'4, he doesn't weigh 230, he doesn't run 465 in a 40. So those special physical traits aren't as evident but he has the accuracy, he has timing, he has anticipation. The same reason that some of these great quarterbacks and we know the one in New England that played there for 20 years, same thing.

Didn't get drafted high because of the physical aspects that are easiest to judge but how players, what's inside them and how they process information and how timely they process it, I think that's what separates them and it's not an exact science when you evaluate players and we find it out every year with many guys who get drafted late and become stars sooner than anybody ever expected. Other than Brock, what impresses you about the Niners' start? Well I think their defense is dominating. We saw it against Dallas the other night. I mean they held Dallas eight first downs. Dallas had nine plays inside the 49ers' side of the 50.

That's crazy. You just don't see that in the NFL and I like them on all three levels. I think the 49ers' pass rush, we know about it. I think their linebackers are as good as they are in football now. They just don't seem to have a weakness really on either side of the ball so I'm with you. I think they're the class of the NFL right now but I really like their defense and the way they can do things to affect really from a physical standpoint what offenses are trying to do to them. When you see what the Niners' defense was able to do against the Cowboys kind of reminds people that Dallas has been inconsistent not just to start this year but through the tenure of Dak Prescott as a quarterback.

There are always high expectations. At times he can look like the best of the best and then against the Niners that offense it stalled. It went nowhere.

It seems so unproductive. What do you see with Dak Prescott and with the Cowboys even as they made some changes this year in terms of their play calling in the offense? This has been like you said throughout his tenure maybe even a little bit before they really struggle hand in prosperity in my opinion Amy. They get on a roll. They all of a sudden kind of feel themselves as being this and hear everything that's being said good about them and then there's the deflating of the balloons and they either look really bad in a game like they did against the 49ers or they lose to a team that they should be like Arizona you know or somebody like that. So they just can't stand prosperity for whatever reason. I think with regarding Dak his inconsistencies have to be considered and I know they've Terry Jones has said he wants him to be his quarterback forever.

I get it. Nobody likes to forecast change especially at that position but the amount of money they're going to have to pay for an extension I think is you know almost problematic especially if you're going to get these kind of results. It's been up and down. I think the biggest thing I see when I look at Dak is he's not quite as athletic as he was a couple years ago. He's not extending plays when he was at the peak of his career and then he's just not seen the whole field and we had the same conversation a year and a half ago when he hurt himself when he had the leg injury he came back and he was really rusty and it looked cloudy. His vision didn't seem to be right and I think we're seeing a little bit of that now especially in big games people seem to to kind of throw curve balls at him and by the time he figures it out it's too late. So I love Dak's intangibles.

I love everything about him as a person as a player. It's just not you know I don't know that it's a lot above average right now and I think the Cowboys have to consider what are we going to do contract wise. Like I say he's obviously the fair-haired boy and somebody that Jerry loves. I just don't know how they go about constructing a contract of 40 million dollars for this kind of performance. So that's the Dak question but going back to what you said about the Cowboys not being great front runners how do you fix that inside of a locker room? Well I think and I know Mike McCarthy well. Mike was our offensive coordinator in New Orleans when I was the GM there and I think his personality is such that he doesn't get satisfied easy. I think it's just a mindset you have to keep grinding on guys. You have to keep coaching them hard and I think sometimes you know when they can bypass the coach and go right to the GM slash owner that's not always good. I don't know that that they get to and I'm not saying beat them down but you've got to coach them hard. You've got to hold them accountable. You've got to reel them in constantly and that's an organizational job not just the head coach.

So somehow that that'll change at some point. I don't know it seems like it's been like you said over the last several years yeah they struggle they struggle when they win. Randy Mueller is with us from the Pacific Northwest makes his home in Seattle now spent some time with the Seahawks, the Saints, the Dolphins, former NFL executive of the year. It's after hours here on CBS Sports Radio. There are many sports talk radio shows debating but if you're the New York Jets do you go out and get a different quarterback? The name Kirk Cousins right now is floating around.

Randy what would you be doing? I think they're on the right course right now and that may sound crazy. I understand Jets fans and their frustrations with Zach Wilson. I've thought all along if they could change the offense slightly to do some things that he does best and I think Nathaniel Hackett has finally done that the last couple weeks and I think that's why we see the progress. I think they're headed in the right direction with Zach and I think doesn't mean that that they couldn't still look for a veteran that upgrades them over what they have but I think if the defense continues to to play good and I think the pressure is really as much on them they've got to find ways to play better. We've talked about how great the Jets defense is in the past.

I haven't seen it so they need to stand up and actually play good instead of just having people talking about them and you're seeing some of that so I think Zach is is fine for what they have right now and I like that coming out so I understood where you his skill set was but I always thought that they needed to tailor make some things to fit that skill set and I think they've done that the last couple weeks. In that same division a lot of consternation around the Patriots. There's rumblings of Bob Kraft finding a way to let Belichick go which would have been unheard of even three four years ago. I mean that's sacrilegious right but Matt Jones has been benched two weeks in a row.

Where do you start trying to fix that mess Randy? Well I don't know that it could be fixed this year because I see a pretty big gap with talent compared to the better teams in the league and I think that's where it starts and I guess to identify that problem it's probably that said that Bill Belichick the GM might not be helping Bill Belichick the head coach as much as as we would hope and as he has as he has in the past so that's an issue I just I don't see the talent really on either side of the ball they're kind of slow on the perimeter their offensive line has been shaky I don't know that the guys they brought in there we can just say and they've drafted four young offensive line in the last couple years and their take has always been we'll get them to play better I think that's pie in the sky I just don't see them improving like that so they've got to make some changes personnel wise and as you know Amy you can't do that during the season that's an off-season task and I thought Bill said it best and it may have been an indictment of himself after the game the other day he said we need to start over well I get it and I agree it's probably a rebuild but that doesn't say well say a lot for the guys who built this team and that's the same guys that are there. Randy Mueller with us here after hours CBS Sports Radio another team that you spent time with the Dolphins they've not had a playoff win in over 20 years they've made the playoffs a couple of times but not a win since the turn of the century we've seen this team hang 70 on the Denver Broncos they can get up and down the field they seriously look like they're having a blast what do you see with the dolphins? I see a surgical execution and I know they get a lot of run because of the athleticism and speed and the explosiveness I get it but I think the thing people fail to see with them because of the bright shiny objects they have the way that they block the pad level and the execution of their running game when you run for as many yards as they have and it's a ton it's just not easy to describe what they do but I think and Mike McDaniel's was kind of labeled this when he came there as being a really a run game guru well you still see that you see simplistic types old school pullback two tight ends some power plays some you know quarterback counters and things like that it's old school but they executed at such a high level that that's to me what makes them tick and yeah it helps when you can get 80 yard touchdown from your receivers about anytime you want but I think that's the unnoticed part of them is how structurally sound they are from a technique especially in the running game standpoint dolphins deserve a ton of credit they're out of the gate fast it's been a long time for that fan base but same thing applies to the lions and Dan Campbell has been a catalyst he has changed things in the motor city what about this head coach has been so good for the lions well I think his identity clearly is how this team is built and how it plays now and the job him and Brad Holmes have done and kind of changing the whole focus on on the kind of players they're looking for hey they've let a couple good players go but maybe they just weren't their kind of players and I love that about Dan but he's only as good as assistant coaches as well and Ben Johnson's been awesome on offense we know that yes the part of it that that's really surprising to me is the defense because as we sit here now a year ago their defense was a mess and it was run by Aaron Glenn there was questions about the scheme there were a lot of things that nobody really knew about it's come full circle now to be one of the better defenses in the league and I don't know that Aiden Hutchinson can be credited with everything but he can go a long ways toward it but they're playing good at all levels too and there's something to be said for playing hard playing sound football and that's what they're doing on defense that's been the biggest surprise to me okay you're gonna laugh at me and that is okay I welcome laughter I have thrown Jared Goff out there as an early dark horse MVP candidate I know I know Randy I know hey I'm with you I think and again it just didn't start this year he had a really good year last year so I think you're not alone in that putting him at least in the conversation so much to the point where I think and they drafted a kid from from Tennessee this year Hendon Hooker a quarterback who was injured and won't play this year but they drafted him I believe in the third round I think Goff has played so much that Hooker might be trade bait for someplace else then and that that's you know because I see an extension on in the her on the horizon for Jared Goff and nobody would have thought that two years ago so he's up this game again a great scheme for him the OC has made it fit and made it work and I think they've got a lot of things now if they can minimize some of that change and I changing quarterbacks now would not be recommended in any way and especially the way Goff's playing I don't think your projection is outlandish at all I mean I wouldn't laugh at that I'd stick to your guns certainly helpful in the NFC north when you have a run game and they finally have got that in David Montgomery who obviously was in the north before the Lions so interesting the way that things play out sometimes all right I have to ask you this question Randy because we're seeing the NFL more and more send its product to overseas it's not just about a couple of games now in London it's Germany as well there's a series the Jags actually stay over there for more than a week to play two games as an NFL GM or a front office exec when you find out that you're a team that's going to London what's your reaction I think we all thought it was awesome when it started I know we took the dolphin team over there and played the first regular season game I forget the year we played the Giants the first year they won the Super Bowl it was exciting it was really cool and I think it's still that but I think the art of travel makes all the difference in the world and you mentioned Jacksonville got to go and stay two weeks now that's the first time the league has done that guess what they won both games and I think this week against Buffalo the prime you know reason they won is because they were there they were fresh they were more energetic they were more athletic Buffalo traveled after a Thursday practice and showed up Friday morning just didn't have their legs in them so I love the idea of these games being over there I think teams are going to figure out different ways to to deal with the travel and maybe it's just me Amy but I think London eventually is going to have a team well I think it makes I just think it makes sense from from a revenue standpoint to take it a city uh really a country you can even call it all Great Britain they're going to end up really having a big slice of the NFL pie from a revenue standpoint and let's face it we all know that that's what the NFL is about it's about making money I don't know how they'll do it yet but I wouldn't be opposed to it I thought all along you can make the logistics work and so I just think this Jacksonville being there the last two weeks solved a lot of checked a lot of boxes I should say for the league in that this could happen uh logistically it's not far-fetched all right at some point we'll talk about that because that would be intriguing but Randy before I let you go I can think of a few surprises that jump out at me in the first five weeks what are a couple of surprises maybe you didn't see them coming in this first month I surely on the negative part didn't see the Giants struggling like they are I thought they had made pretty good good progress not only are they struggling offensively but they're struggling defensively too so that one got me a little bit and I know the Steelers are in first place but I thought they would be better than they are I thought they would be a well-oiled machine more so especially on defense so there there's a couple teams that have let me down and maybe Pittsburgh will find a way to keep it going I don't know on the other end of it I guess you just thought the Colts would be a little better they're struggling obviously with a rookie quarterback that's hard I see more surprises of letdown than hey all of a sudden this team is great this is one of the teams I thought Jacksonville would be good they're finally coming around to that so I can't say that they're surprising and I think they'll be a playoff team before it's said and done so maybe them now trending a little bit you know Norse I think they could end up being one of the better AFC teams by the time the season's over one how about Baker Mayfield with a resurgence in Tampa Bay and and I know it's not just him the defense is really good and the division's wide open but gosh that might be one of the funnier storylines to start this season well you gotta love Baker his personality the way he comes across see the teammates like him there's no doubt about that and Todd Bowles is always gonna have a good defense to get a win like they did the other day and New Orleans is giant we'll see if it holds up the whole the long run I still probably see New Orleans as being the team to beat but you're right it sure is wide open good stuff we're about to kick off week six which kind of blows me away but it goes fast once you get into the season so find Randy Mueller on Twitter at randymueller underscore former NFL executive of the year GM experience also in many different front offices and we love his insight you can hear it actually the football GM pie with the athletic make sure you catch the stuff that he writes to there so Randy we appreciate a couple of minutes thank you so much thanks Amy great to catch up facts are facts like how contributing to employees financial security makes them want to work harder for their company in fact according to a 2023 study by principle 87 percent of employers say that better employee financial security means employees are more engaged and productive at work the fact of the matter is that employees want to feel financially secure in their future so consider this principle helps you invest in your employees by providing customized benefits and retirement plans to help keep your employees more engaged and productive when you take care of your team they take care of business that's a fact learn how principle can help you find the right benefits and retirement plan for your team at principle dot com slash benefits products 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