There have been many successful young NFL general managers in recent years, such as Thomas Dimitroff of the Falcons and Les Snead of the Rams, a trend expected to continue.

"You have to be able to manage people, to trust people, and to trust the relationships you've built," said one NFC GM. "If you make everyone feel like they have a legitimate voice, you've got the best shot to make it work. If you start locking people out of the room, you make it difficult for them to buy in."

The next crop of GM candidates include:

Nick Caserio, New England Patriots director of player personnel

David Caldwell, Atlanta Falcons director of player personnel

Eric DeCosta, Baltimore Ravens assistant GM

Brian Gaine, Miami Dolphins assistant GM

Tom Gamble, San Francisco 49ers director of player personnel

Dennis Hickey, Tampa Bay Buccaneers director of player personnel

John Idzik, Seattle Seahawks vice president of football administration

George Paton, Minnesota Vikings assistant GM

Steve Keim, Arizona Cardinals vice president of player personnel

Omar Khan, Pittsburgh Steelers director of football and business administration

Jason Licht, Arizona Cardinals director of player personnel

Jimmy Raye, San Diego Chargers director of player personnel

Marc Ross, New York Giants director of college scouting

Tom Telesco, Indianapolis Colts vice president of football operations