Candidate Questions

[Goodell]

As we get closer to the end of this season and planning for the next, there will likely be some GM spots to fill as there are every year. Possibly even league expansion possibilities (but only if I can figure out some of the manual statistics and playoff entry workload) depending upon how many people are looking for a spot.

We've had a somewhat informal process of posting to a 'Wait List' forum and I'd go through those and contact those on the list when openings came up. They also tell me a little about themselves when first signing up.

But I'm thinking might be helpful (especially if/when we expand) to have a more quantitative way of separating the strongest candidates and moving them to the front of the lines for openings to ensure the strongest participation across the leagues.

I have some questions in mind that might give some insight into basic knowledge of some of the more detailed process of the NFL that we incorporate here (salary cap, practice squad, cap hits, draft, signing bonuses, contracts) as well as perhaps seeing how familiar a GM candidate was with some of the non-skill position players since building a strong defense and offensive line are very important here also but not household names normally.

Some of the application process might look like a quiz to separate the cream from the crop, but won't make it overly complex to where it knocks good GMs out of the running or was so difficult most current GMs wouldn't do well on. We'd also have some more subjective questions on there about their experiences in fantasy/sim leagues, questions geared toward figuring their attitude and how they might get along with other GMs in certain situations, etc. Some of the quiz-like questions could end up being be things someone could look up online perhaps, but even if so that speaks to their ability to do that and weeds out others who either can't or don't care and just wanted to sign up anyway.

I was starting to put some of those together, but thought it would be a good idea to open it up for suggestions also. Let me know if there are certain topics you'd like to see us try to make sure new GMs came aboard with a good understanding. If you have a great question you think potential new GMs should be asked, I'd love to hear them and have a stronger and more formalized candidate screening process.

We'll also have a lot better documentation next year, so that'll help new GMs no matter their knowledge coming in. Last year we had the lockout and did some quick changes on the fly, but now that the NFL has a 10-year deal and rules should be fairly stable I want to nail down a strong set of rules and guidelines to help with some of the complex team-management items that come up.

[Jared A]

A suggestion that comes from some baseball sim leagues is this. Candidates for openings must write some sort of essay describing what qualifies them to run the team, what direction they would take the team, and how/where they view the team in 1-3 years.


What that will do is allow you to see if a newly entering GM has a grasp of what to do, and at the same time what level of seriousness they're taking the application process.

I would say that with new leagues, this isn't really required. But, moving into an existing league, a "newbie" is at a major disadvantage. Their learning curve and commitment must be great to become competitive.



Another suggestion Troy is to take volunteers to handle this process. I for one would be very happy to help out in any way shape or form that I can. There's a lot of guys here that are willing and able to help out. That'd also allow you to tackle more important things like playoff stats, and new leagues.

[Strategist]

Personally I feel like our football system is very easy to pick up if you put the time and effort into it. I think we should have more of a standard that a team should have so many wins in a 3 year period to ensure that people are running there teams correctly instead of trying to weed them out in the beginning. I believe 99% of peopel should get a chance.

[Jared A]

Personally I feel like our football system is very easy to pick up if you put the time and effort into it. I think we should have more of a standard that a team should have so many wins in a 3 year period to ensure that people are running there teams correctly instead of trying to weed them out in the beggining. I believe 99% of peopel should get a chance.

I think the system is simple, but the most important part (the trading) is not. Values are something that's learned and also established from league to league. Another important thing to gauge is commitment. I'm definately not against people being moved because of lack of activity, but that's a different discussion.

[Ulrich82]

I don't think anyone should be rejected based on this question, but if you want to try to distinguish the best players you could ask something very subjective such as "Name 3 offensive lineman you'd want on your roster." The answer could tell you a lot about how closely they study all aspects of the game. I'd be more impressed by a candidate who named 3 guys near the top of the madden ratings or players who appear to be young up-and-comers than someone who names 3 lineman from their favorite NFL team or 3 probowlers. Offensive line just seems like a good way to do this because the best lineman don't get their names called out too often unlike other positions. In my opinion, good knowledge of quality offensive line players indicates good knowledge of the league.

[Strategist]

But everything is subjective. Personally I am a huge steelers fan and given the choice between a steelers player that is slightly worse than another player I would choose the Steelers player. In fact if we started another league I would pay for the steelers which would lead to me having all steelers!!! lol.

[hoopie44641]

Why have someone tell you where they see the team in 3 yrs or right an easy to own a team when the simple fact it does not matter because everyone is different and if you require a number of wins thats just crazy because in the nfl the browns suck every year so if you they went by what has been posted so far they would have a new owner every 3 yrs.

there is know way to ensure you will get a good owner. but you could say that owns must check in so many times a week or post on the forums a certain number of times.

I do feel that the commissioner should allow people who can help him to help in any way they can.
like have a person for each league to over see it to make sure its ran as it is suppose to.

from what i have read the commissioner is doing a hell of a good job.

this is the best leagues i have seen.

[Strategist]

You are not the owner. You are the GM and as for your example how many coaches/GMs have the browns gone through?

[hoopie44641]

You are not the owner. You are the GM and as for your example how many coaches/GMs have the browns gone through?

I meant GM and the browns have been through to many thats the point.

[Jared A]

Hoopie...


I understand what you're saying, but at the same time, we need to protect the league. We want GM's that take some time to know the rules and have a plan in place....