I kind of can. I'm sure it'll be a joint effort but O'Brien isn't some big name who's ideas should go unquestioned. Smith has been doing the group drafting strategy for awhile now and it's nearly gotten him fired. For whatever reason McNair still believes in him so I imagine he'll get more say.
I doubt Smith will ever have final say... nor should he. He has absolutely zero credentials to warrant it. At least O'Brien has player evaluation experience with recruiting, and he knows the type of player that succeeds in his system. Smith's only job should be to manage the cap (which he's done poorly), re-sign players to fair deals/extensions (also done poorly), and go out and be able to be the closer to get free agents (Ed Reed... woo!). Also, I strongly believe a coach should be able to get the players he feels are best. "If they want you to cook the dinner, they should at least let you shop for some of the groceries."
From what I've read _ Smith doesn't handle the cap... They have a cap guy. And we have no concert evidence that Smith brought in Reed. I believe that was a McNair/Kubiak move... And you just had Kubiak (and Wade) doing the grocery shopping and they brought home a kicker in the 5th round. A pass rusher in the 1st round with no pass rush moves. Reed in the 2nd round. Montgomery. And then last year Kubiak went out and drafted the slowest black receiver he could find in the first round _ Kevin Walter 2.0. Hopefully Smith and O'Brien will work better together.
So what is it? Smith is apparently being kept on because everybody believes in all the talent he's accumulated... yet you're saying he didn't accumulate any of it, and shouldn't be held responsible for the bad picks, bad signings, bad decisions to let go of players, bad decisions to extend players who didn't need extending. In my best office space voice... "What would you say he does here?" Seriously.... people will be able to break it down any way to fit the argument. In my opinion, Smith hasn't even accomplished the bare minimum of what he should as a GM (i.e. - keep the cap manageable... I don't care if another "numbers" guy is there, its his responsibility... and keep a competitive roster on the field via draft/contract extensions/free agent signings).
Rick Smith - "I deal with the god damn customers so the engineers don't have to. I have people skills; I am good at dealing with people. Can't you understand that? What the hell is wrong with you people?"
I don't think anybody is this thread has a firm grasp on what a NFL GM does. Generally, he's the liasion between what the coaching staff wants/needs and the team's scouts (all of whom he manages). If the coach wants a blazing 6'4" WR, the GM will work with his scouts to prepare a slew of possible candidates and collectively, they'll pick/sign the best fit. I promise you, Wade Phillips didn't "discover" JJ Watt independent of Rick Smith; Smith and the scouts very likely had him listed on their board because he met Wade's specs. There was probably a time when GMs were more powerful- but I would wager the days when a GM drafts whoever they want and tells the coach to make it work are gone. It's a team effort, top to bottom; the GM working with scouts; the GM working with the coaching staff. I'm not advocating for Smith - but I kind of like that he's not an O'Brien guy and (probably) has enough power to at least constructively challenge the HC's ideas/decisions. My guess (simply that) is that he probably didn't have that authority with Gary.
