[SFREDSKIN]

Originally Posted by mooby

I'm a big Kyle Smith fan too, he's the best FO talent evaluator we've had in a while.

But the reality is, if Rivera doesn't know him well enough yet or hasn't developed trust with him, it's a hard sell to keep him if GM gets addressed next year. Keim mentioned Smith doesn't have the history with Rivera that others have, and I think that's a big driving factor. It's not to say that trust can't be developed, but it sounds like Ron isn't ready to hand him the GM job yet. Keim also mentioned a scenario where Ron hires a GM (probably someone he knows intimately) and Smith stays on in his current role to keep learning. With the way the league is I wouldn't be surprised if Smith gets a GM offer from somebody else, and if that happens we need to be prepared to let him advance his career elsewhere.

The #1 key thing you have to have is a partnership and trust between the GM and HC. That's why Carroll/Schneider are successful, yes Carroll probably has final say over Schneider but a coach/GM partnership will never work if the trust isn't there.

I think best case scenario Ron hires a GM and Kyle Smith stays on in his current role. Worst case? Kyle leaves. But the more we hear about this the more I think Ron isn't ready to have Kyle as his partner yet. (It could happen someday but I think Ron needs to see more).

Kyle grew up with a GM father and knows the in’s and out’s of being a GM. My point is I know there are many smart NFL people out there. In my opinion from what I’ve seen, Kyle is probably the smartest and one of the youngest talent evaluators, why give him away when you already have him. If Ron can’t see Kyle’s work, then I have a problem with Ron and this would be the only time that I wouldn’t mind little Danny stepping in. Kyle has a keen eye that I don’t see others have.