If I was GM…

“If I was GM…” How many times have you said that, or heard your friends say it? As fans, we’ve all fantasized about what it would be like to run our favorite NFL team. We watch the real general managers make decisions we don’t agree with and think that we would do a better job hiring coaches, drafting players and signing free agents.

Obviously, what I would really do as GM would depend on the status of the team I was running. But, there are a few things I would try to do regardless of record and needs:

* Use free agency judiciously – Free agency is an important tool used in the building of an NFL team, but I’d use it more for filling out my roster and adding depth and role players than I would to try and sign stars to lead my franchise. The history of big-ticket players that have changed teams is mixed at best. For every Reggie White you have an Albert Haynesworth. Many free agents that sign large contracts are asked to take a pay cut after a couple of years or are released. There are other things to worry about as well, such as why a player’s existing team let him get to the market in the first place or how well he’ll fit in with the scheme you run.