Best and Worst Sports Executives

[ironchapman]

10 Best Execs (FOXSports.com)

The best executives are those that put their teams into position to win year after year after year. The players still have to play and the coaches still have to coach. (For the sake of this ranking, we excluded general managers that also coach. That is a separate category.)

Here's how they rank them. I have taken the liberty of summing it up without the extensive stories included with them:

1. John Schuerholz, executive vice president and general manager, Atlanta Braves

2. Bill Polian, president and general manager, Indianapolis Colts

3. Joe Dumars, president of basketball operations, Detroit Pistons

4. Scott Pioli, vice president, player personnel, New England Patriots

5. R.C. Buford, general manager, San Antonio Spurs

6. Pierre Lacroix, president and general manager, Colorado Avalanche

7. Rich McKay, president and general manager, Atlanta Falcons

8. Ken Holland, general manager, Detroit Red Wings

9. Walt Jocketty, general manager, St. Louis Cardinals

10. Marty Hurney, general manager, Carolina Panthers

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For me, it seems fairly accurate. John Schuerholz certainly deserves his spot if you ask me. Building and leading a team like he has isn't an easy task.

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These 10 are absolute wrecks of an exec

We set out to compile a list of the 10 worst executives in professional sports. We looked past the most recent seasons and examined the whole track record.

Some obvious candidates, like Los Angeles Clippers general manager Elgin Baylor, temporarily removed themselves from consideration by building a strong team. Some, like Pittsburgh Penguins president Craig Patrick, got a pass because they have built champions in the past.

Once again, I took the liberty of summing it up:

1. Matt Millen, president, Detroit Lions

2. Mike Milbury, departing president and general manager, New York Islanders

3. John York, co-owner, San Francisco 49ers

4. Bob Vander Weide, president, Orlando Magic

5. Dan O'Dowd, general manager, Colorado Rockies

6. Mike Keenan, general manager, Florida Panthers

7. Isiah Thomas, president, basketball operations, New York Knicks

8. Mike O'Connell, general manager, Boston Bruins

9. Bob Pulford, senior vice president, Chicago Blackhawks

10. Richard Peddie, president and CEO, Toronto Raptors

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No argument there from me.

Just remember that this is only the ranking of one site and essentially one man (the author of the articles, Jeff Gordon). That said, he probably has access to far more sources and is probably a little more knowledgeable on the subject than many of us.

So, any thoughts? The rankings seems pretty accurate to me.

[torgo]

Good to see that Millen is the worst. No arguments here. Hopefully the new coach can turn things around a little bit...

[hood]

Good to see that Millen is the worst. No arguments here. Hopefully the new coach can turn things around a little bit...

I couldn't agree more. Get rid of him and maybe Detroit can begin to recover.

[cheeriokid61]

I know this is about pro sports, but what about that Nashville Rhythm manager that got a little tipsy, and walked on the court during the middle of the game, and fired the coach. That, to me, is not the smartest owner, IMO.

[peaceloveunderstanding]

I agree with both faces of the list.