Honestly, I haven't seen him do much of anything to warrant any kind of evaluation. Plus, the GM position gets a one-year honeymoon because it takes that long to see if the decisions he made (be it FA, signing our own or not, draft, hiring a HC etc..) have come to fruition. To many moving parts to make a 3,6, 9 month evaluation.
Kwesi was brought in with the "wall-street analytics whiz kid" hype so every decision he makes will be a smarter decision then most of us "regular" folks can comprehend...until they aren't deemed smart and the honeymoon is over
.
I am a skeptic first and foremost....I like people who have proven track records in the fields they are in but the Wilf's have decided to go progressive change with the hiring of Kwesi and in-turn our new HC. Kwesi's NFL football experience is 'lite" and so is KOC HC/play-calling experience. It will be more evident as a HC to see the bumps and bruises along the way and Kwesi will have a cushion. I have been in the corporate world for a few decades and about 8 at an executive level - that was 15 years ago. I have seen numerous "prodigies'" flip and flop like the rest of us commoners and I have seen a few excel. I have seen way more examples of the Peter Principle then I have seen the cream rising to the top - again corporate world/politics.
Also, I think the Wilf's and our experienced executive search team had a heavy hand in hiring Kwesi and also had a strong influence over Kwesi to hire KOC and extend Kirk. They had a plan and Kwesi was the guy to implement that plan for now. I think (and certainly hope) that our new GM will become much more autonomous over time but that has to be earned. Obviously Spelly wielded a lot of power that I am sure the surrounding executives and Wilf's realized may have been over the top especially if you can't even talk to/communicate with your first HC hire. In the end, Spelly's ship was tied to Zimmer (which I didn't think it was, I wanted Zimmer gone for several years with Spelly at 50/50) and it sunk in a small Titanic fashion but it did take years too long to make the change.
Back to several months of Kwesi as our new GM executive:
initial splashes to me have been:
Spalsh 1) Cousins' decision - extension - I am not a fan of pushing the buck into next season which might end up being a Matt Ryan record dead cap hit for us next year.
Splash 2) what to do about Hunter? We shifted money around and gave him an 18 million roster bonus to bring him happily back into the fold. That is a decision I think makes sense, he is too young at a key premium position to not work with IMO.
Splash 3) signing (FA) D Smith to help transition to a new 3-4. Initially, I was surprised of this move but then when the contract details were revealed it really seemed like we got a potentially great deal/hometown discount (former coaches) for a guy who has huge potential when healthy.
Splash 4) will be the draft. I think, at 12, we are in a perfect position, to move down pick up picks for this/next year and still get a starter. Spelly did an excellent job of that just last season when he moved down and still got the guy I wanted
in Darrisaw plus get two more picks for the drop down. Now those 2 more picks are W. Davis and Mond so jury is still out but it does look like we solidified our LT position with Darrisaw. How many years has it been when no one is even talking about drafting a T for the Vikings????
If Kwesi, were able to pull off a similar feet this draft he will knighted as boy genius
Let's say we all agree that our biggest need is a starting CB. Sauce and Sting are gone at 12 and we are able to trade back to Pitt at 20 (QB) or even KC at 29 and 30 who want a WR. We still get Booth or maybe even McDuffie who come in and start right away and we also get a couple of other picks. So similar move Spelly pulled off last year. But Spelly is gone now and that was just an OK move and Kwesi is our new shiny executive who can do no wrong............yet
Lastly, I do not like Jim Harbaugh as an NFL HC after his hiatus. There is a reason he fled back to the college ranks years ago. I think our executive team whittled down the HC list then when they decided on Kwesi as GM gave him there candidates and Kwesi added Harbaugh back to the interview list. I think that was a little fiasco (not smart) but that is just my opinion based on the order of how things went down and no actual intel.
So Kwesi, to me, is in a very similar boat as our new HC which is -way too early to evaluate - like judging a first round pick in training camp.
