The NFL Players Association has officially started its search for a new executive director, kicking off a process that could shape the union's future for years.
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The job listing went live last month, complete with a dramatic pitch aimed at grabbing the attention of potential candidates, as relayed by Pro Football Talk's Mike Florio, via Pablo Torre.
"The greatest athletes on Earth seek a champion," the posting begins. "A true leader to understand us, galvanize us, fight for us."
From there, it rolls into a marathon string of descriptors that would make Dwight Schrute proud, Florio wrote. The next leader must be "accountable, devoted, decisive, driven, respected, relentless, trustworthy, transparent, selfless, smart, strategic, tenacious, persistent," and on and on.
The real intrigue sits with the timing. The NFLPA will elect a new president in March, along with new player reps and new Executive Committee members.
So will the union move quickly to hire an executive director before those elections, keeping the process in the hands of the current leadership? Or will they wait, allowing the newly elected group to play a role in the biggest hire the union will make?
Some around the league believe the current regime may try to push the process through early, potentially removing the "interim" tag from David White's title.
But nothing is certain, and transparency isn't a strong suit here, Florio opined. TurnkeyZRG — not Russell Reynolds, which oversaw the last search — is running this one, and early signs point to another tightly guarded process with little insight into who's being considered.
There's no rule preventing the NFLPA from finishing the hire before March elections. But given the stakes, it may make far more sense to wait until the union knows exactly who its next leaders will be.
