saintsfan1976

I'm not convinced the owners you listed "cede all operational decisions".

Boston Saint

He wasn’t mentioned by Guido, but I’m guessing Kraft isn’t exactly a “hands off” owner either. He wants to know what’s going on with the Pats day to day.

AsylumGuido

Check out these rankings on NFL owners and the short descriptions of each. We know that both Benson and Rooney are very hands off when it comes to day to day operations. I forgot to mention Clark Hunt and the Chiefs, another very successful franchise since Hunt handed the reins over to Andy Reid.


1. Robert Kraft - Patriots

Since purchasing the Patriots in 1994, Kraft has overseen 10 runs to the Super Bowl and six championships. His greatest strength has been keeping his voice out of football decisions and allowing the people he's hired to run the team. In 26 years of ownership, Kraft has hired two head coaches, and both went on to lift a Lombardi Trophy: Pete Carroll and Bill Belichick. In 2017, Kraft made the Patriots the first NFL team with its own plane, adding to the first-class nature of the organization that many players have spoken about after playing in New England. Solicitation charges in 2019 blemish his record, but not enough to knock him from No. 1 in the rankings.

4. Steve Bisciotti - Ravens

In a league that typically favors outdated data models, the Ravens became a progressive franchise with their dive into the analytics world. It was Bisciotti's faith in a new approach that allowed Baltimore to revamp its roster-construction methods and identify Lamar Jackson as a future MVP quarterback. Bisciotti has rarely interfered in football operations, and his emphasis on continuity has resulted in minimal changes to the Ravens' structure.

6. Clark Hunt - Chiefs

Moves to bring in risky characters, such as Tyreek Hill and Frank Clark, helped Kansas City capture Super Bowl LIV, and Hunt was the man who signed off on them. Since hiring Andy Reid as head coach, Hunt has stayed away from meddling, and he's been rewarded with a perennial contender. He also signed off on the Chiefs moving up in the draft to select Patrick Mahomes when they already appeared set with Alex Smith, and we all know how that turned out.

“The pessimist sees difficulty in every opportunity. The optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.” — Winston Churchill

saintsfan1976

Some owners have elite head coaches that afford them the luxury of not having to make critical decisions around the direction of a franchise. I'll bet you they still make their voices heard if not.

That's not to say there AREN'T egomaniacal billionaires living out their dream from the front office.