10 potential general manager candidates for the Washington Football Team

Ryan Cowden seems like a very good option for Washington. He has a couple of key elements that would fit this front office well: Experience working with Ron Rivera and experience building winning teams.

First, Cowden’s experience with Rivera is key here. The two worked together from the start of Rivera’s tenure with the Panthers in 2011 until Cowden took a job with the Titans in 2016. Cowden was one of the architects of the Carolina Panthers’ Super Bowl 50 team that lost to Peyton Manning’s Denver Broncos, so that’s a major plus for him.

Additionally, Cowden’s teams have done a great job of evaluating talent in the draft and in free agency. I noted Cowden’s success with the Panthers and Titans doing so in a recent article.

"As part of the Panthers’ college scouting department, he helped make decisions to pick stars like Cam Newton and Luke Kuechly as first-rounders, but also built an impressive resume of finding gems including Josh Norman, Kawann Short, A.J. Klein, Trai Turner, and Tre Boston. He wasn’t solely responsible for these successes, but he was part of the team that got the Panthers to Super Bowl 50. With the Titans, Cowden has overseen some solid drafts that have built the foundation for the current team, which won the AFC South this year after making the AFC Championship during the 2020 playoffs. The Titans have selected the likes of Jack Conklin, Derrick Henry, A.J. Brown, and Corey Davis to build their offense during Cowden’s tenure as VP of Player Personnel. They have also made some astute moves in free agency and trade, most notably acquiring Ryan Tannehill and giving him a massive extension. That buy-low move turned out to be a good one, so Cowden and the Titans’ brain trust deserves credit for this."

Obviously, Cowden was just one part of the machine in each of these organizations, but the results have been impressive. Perhaps more impressive is that he was able to build the winners in different ways. The Panthers focused on building up their defense and doing so via the draft while the Titans used a big trade and some astute draft picks to build a well-rounded offense.

Cowden seems versatile and his track record is strong. If Washington is hell-bent on adding someone from outside the organization to serve as GM, he is one of the better options available and has 21 years of experience under his belt. You could argue for some other options, but Cowden would likely work well in Washington.