With Howie Roseman turning in an absolutely fantastic offseason, it’s time to revisit our arbitrary ranking of Philadelphia sports player-personnel executives.

Our list:

  1. Ernst Tanner
  2. Howie Roseman
  3. Daryl Morey
  4. Dave Dombrowski
  5. Paul Day
  6. whomever else runs a team in the Delaware Valley
  7. Chuck Fletcher

Thoughts on each:

Ernst Tanner

Tanner retains the #1 overall ranking for turning the Philadelphia Union into an MLS Cup contender. Under his watch, the Union won the 2020 Supporter’s Shield, made the semifinals of the CONCACAF Champion’s League, and would have been in the MLS Cup final last season if it wasn’t for fugazi fucking MLS COVID rules that kept 11 players out of the lineup. Tanner has transformed a meandering club into a well-oiled machine with a clear identity and track record of turning local academy kids into stars. He runs the most consistent and competitive team in the region.

 

Howie Roseman

Howie has always been a top-third NFL GM, draft blunders aside. He has now redeemed himself with the moves for A.J. Brown and James Bradberry, and the additions of DeVonta Smith, Landon Dickerson, Jordan Davis, and Nakobe Dean comprise two slam dunks and two more possible slam dunks on paper.

The Eagles will always be competitive with Roseman running the show, despite his flaws. When you look over the rest of the National Football League, you have to be happy with the job Howie has done during his tenure, especially since being reinstalled following the Chip Kelly-era banishing to Storage Closet B.

 

Daryl Morey

Morey retains the #3 spot despite taking a step back in year number two at the Sixers’ helm.

The move for a possibly-cooked James Harden is TBD on final evaluation, but he left the Sixers with little bench depth or athleticism going into the playoffs this season. Still, Morey’s stroke of genius to move Al Horford and Josh Richardson turned the Sixers into the #1 seed last season and gave Doc Rivers a team that SHOULD have gone to the Eastern Conference Finals. This team is relevant, competitive, and still has a shot at the conference finals is Morey can properly maneuver through the shrinking window that constitutes Joel Embiid’s prime.

 

Dave Dombrowski

Getting John Middleton to spend stupid money and go over the luxury tax threshold may be enough to move Dombrowski above Morey at this point, though the results on the field are largely average. 82-80 last season, 17-19 this season. We need to see his work translate into consistent winning before elevating him in the rankings.

You could attach a modifier to all of that and blame the manager or the depleted minor league system Dombrowski has inherited, though his pedigree and resume lend thought to the idea that he could move way up this list at some point in the near future, perhaps even into the #2 spot.

 

Paul Day

Day guided the Wings to a playoff berth this season, where the team lost 9-8 to a good San Diego team. The Wings were 8-6 in 2020 and would have made the postseason had the campaign not been scrapped due to COVID.

The Wings have been competitive under the guidance of Day, who doubles as head coach. They win close games and rarely ever get blown out. This year they lost four games by two goals or less and the year prior had three one-goal losses, one of which was in overtime.

 

whomever else runs a team in the Delaware Valley

You know who you are. The local frisbee team. The college recruiters. We don’t pay super close attention but we know you’ve been going better than the Flyers and deserve the 6th spot.

 

Chuck Fletcher

Oversaw one of the worst seasons in Flyers history. The coach was fired, the stars were injured, and the moves mostly did not work out. We were all excited for the shakeup that saw Jake Voracek and Nolan Patrick exit, with Cam Atkinson and Ryan Ellis coming to Philadelphia. Atkinson played well while Ellis did not play for 99.9% of the season, Claude Giroux was traded, and a dog shit on center ice. Everything the Flyers touched this year turned to poop, but the good thing is you can only go up from here.