The AAF (Alliance of American Football) is putting an emphasis on putting a quality football product on the field. That should come as no surprise. One of the co-founders of the league is Hall of Fame executive Bill Polian. Polian worked in some capacity in professional football for 33 years. In that span, he worked in three different professional leagues, the CFL (Canadian Football League), USFL (United States Football League), and the NFL (National Football League).
He will most be remembered for his work in the NFL though. He was the executive of the year twice with the Buffalo Bills. As the general manager of the Carolina Panthers, the Panthers reached the NFC Championship game only in the Panthers second season of existence. Finally, as the president and the general manager of the Indianapolis Colts, he oversaw the franchise when it won Super Bowl XLI. Now as one of the founders of the AAF, along with Charlie Ebersol, he has hired some of the best football minds to lead the AAF franchises. AAF general managers bring a wealthy of football knowledge.
AAF General Managers Bring a Wealth of Football Knowledge
One of the reasons that many football experts believe that the AAF has a chance to succeed is due to the people who are in charge of the football product. Polian isn’t relying on a scouting service to provide the football players that will make up the upstart AAF. Instead, Polian has hired people as the AAF general managers that have evaluated talent at the college and NFL levels. The AAF general managers that have been put into place bring all sorts of different experience to their jobs.
Several are former longtime NFL executives, others were in charge of Power Five college football rosters. Another was a former All-Pro NFL player, and another was a longtime NFL assistant coach. All of them understand the pro game and will use their knowledge to make sure the quality of play is up to the standards football fans desire.
Here is a list of the AAF general managers and the backgrounds they bring to the AAF.
Phil Savage, Arizona Hotshots
Savage brings 19 years experience as an NFL scout and executive to the Hotshots. Savage started his career as an assistant coach before moving into a scouting role. He was the Baltimore Ravens director of scouting from 1996-2002. In 2003, he was promoted to the Ravens director of player personnel role. Because of his work under Ravens general manager Ozzie Newsome, he was hired as the Cleveland Browns general manager in 2005, a position he held until 2008.
Most recently, he served as executive director of the Senior Bowl. The Senior Bowl is the top bowl game for players who have finished their colligate career and are auditioning for the NFL Draft. Savage held this position from 2012-2018. This position will give Savage a leg up on other AAF general managers. While others have been out of football, Savage has had the opportunity to evaluate some of the best college players in the nation.
With only being 53 years old, it wouldn’t be surprising if Savage gets another shot as an NFL player evaluator. If things go well for the Hotshots, it could help Savage’s chance in returning to the NFL.
Billy Devaney, Atlanta Legends
Devaney is a long-time NFL scout and executive. He has 32 years of experience working in the NFL. He worked under legendary NFL executive Bobby Beathard with the San Diego Chargers where he served as Beathard’s director of player personnel. He held that position from 1990-2000.
In 2008, after being the Atlanta Falcons assistant general manager, Devaney was hired as the St. Louis Rams general manager. He held that position from 2008-2011. Most recently, 2016-2017, he was the University of Nebraska’s executive director of player personnel.
Joe Pendry, Birmingham Iron
While most of the AAF general managers have a background in scouting and as NFL executives, Pendry brings a different element to the job. While he was never a scout, Pendry spent 39 years as either an assistant or head coach at either the college or professional level.
He was an assistant with seven different NFL teams. He held many different positions with those seven clubs. He was a running backs coach, quarterbacks coach, as well as an offensive line coach. He was also the offensive coordinator for the Browns, Kansas City Chiefs, the Panthers, and the Bills.
While Pendry wasn’t a scout, he does have recent experience dealing with college players. From 2007-2010, he worked as the assistant head coach/offensive line under Nick Saban at the University of Alabama.
Will Lewis, Memphis Express
Express head coach Mike Singletary will be working with former NFL player, former assistant coach, and former NFL executive Will Lewis as his general manager.
Lewis brings a wealth experience as a player, an assistant coach, and as a player evaluator. He had a career that spanned from 1980-1989. During that time, he played in three different leagues. After his playing career, he was an assistant coach with the New York/New Jersey Knights of the WLAF (World League of American Football), an assistant at the University of Maine, and finally an assistant with the Falcons.
His first job as a player evaluator came in 1997 when Hall of Fame executive Ron Wolf hired him as a scout for the Green Bay Packers. He would later move on to the Seattle Seahawks where he held the positions of director of pro personnel and vice president of football operations. He was with the Seahawks from 1999-2012.
Most recently, Lewis was with the Chiefs. He was there from 2013-2017 and held the position of pro scouting.
Tim Ruskell, Orlando Apollos
This will be the fourth different professional football league that Ruskell has worked in. He started out as a scout in the CFL before moving onto the Tampa Bay Bandits of the USFL in 1985. While working with the Bandits, he worked with current Apollos head coach Steve Spurrier. Spurrier was the Bandits head coach from 1983-1985.
After his time in the USFL, he went on to work in the NFL from 1987-2017. During his time in the NFL, he worked for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Falcons, Seahawks, Chicago Bears, and most recently as an area scout for the Tennessee Titans. While with the Seahawks from 2005-2009, he was the president and general manager. He worked alongside fellow AAF general manager Will Lewis while he was in charge of the Seahawks franchise.
Randy Mueller, Salt Lake City Stallions
Mueller is one of several AAF general managers who worked for the Seahawks. He was with the Seahawks from 1983-1999. He held three different titles while with Seattle.
Along with his time in the Pacific Northwest, Mueller was the general manager for the New Orleans Saints and the Miami Dolphins. Most recently, from 2003-2010, he was a senior executive for the Chargers.
Like with Ruskell and Spurrier, Mueller has experience with his current head coach. From 1995-1999, while Muller was the vice president of football operations, Stallions head coach Dennis Erickson was the Seahawks head coach.
Daryl Johnston, San Antonio Commanders
The Commanders general manager is no stranger to Texas football fans. Daryl “Moose” Johnston was a fullback for the Dallas Cowboys from 1989-1999. During that time, he was a part of three Super Bowl winning teams. He was also voted to the Pro Bowl two times.
While Johnston hasn’t been a scout, an executive, or an assistant coach like some of his other AAF general managers, he has been around the game. Since 2013, Johnston has been a color analyst for Fox Sports covering the NFL.
His lack of player evaluating might not be a detriment to his ability as one of the AAF general managers. John Lynch, who also worked for Fox Sports, is now the general manager for the San Francisco 49ers and has done a decent job since being named.
Dave Boller, San Diego Fleet
Out of all the AAF general managers, Boller is the least known to football fans. Most recently, he was the director of player personnel for Syracuse University. Along with his time at Syracuse, he held positions with the University of Louisville and Arizona State University.
He has spent some time as a player evaluator in the NFL as well. He has worked with five different NFL teams is some type of scouting capacity. He was a scout with the Rams when Fleet head coach Mike Martz was the Rams head coach. Along with that, he was working with the Detroit Lions when Martz was the Lions offensive coordinator.
It wouldn’t be surprising if Martz had a major hand in the personnel decisions for the Fleet.
