Rams GM Les Snead claims prestigious PFWAs 2024 Jack Horrigan Award

It's one thing to be very good at what you do. It's another thing to be willing to share that knowledge, that vision of what you do, and risk empowering others to the point where you teach yourself right out of a job. But it's the risk you must take for the good of the organization. And LA Rams GM Les Snead has always been a source of testing boundaries, holding that future-view in the moment, and in generously sharing as much as he can about what he sees and what he plans to strategize for the team.

And then, he goes out and just does it in a matter of fact style that seems like it was something he's done all along. Whether it's a new wrinkle, or a wildly speculative high-risk high-reward strategy that could pay off winning a Super Bowl, or crippling the team for years to come, Les Snead does not falter. He does, basking in the confidence that if something breaks, he has the knowledge and the tools to fix it.

The track record of the Rams since hiring HC Sean McVay is no accident. Snead is a leader of a Rams personnel department that has its own successful branches. It's no coincidence that former Rams personnel executive Brad Holmes is flourishing as the GM of the Detroit Lions.

He is so successful because he adopted the same philosophy and strategies as Rams GM Les Snead, and merely applied them in the Detroit Lions football organization.

This honor is a huge honor for NFL executives, as it acknowledges the appreciation and respect bestowed by the Professional Football Writers Association for an NFL executive, coach, or player who has been open and accessible to writers in a manner that allows unique and insightful access to authors who want to learn, understand, and share that insight and thought process to the benefit of readers and football fans.

In many ways, the honor presented to Rams GM Les Snead was a result of The Athletic's Jourdan Rodrigue. This is a result not just of Les Snead's willingness to share, but of Jourdan Rodrigue's relentless efforts to acknowledge Snead and his amazing willingness to bring writers along for the ride:

Having followed Snead since his arrival to the Rams football organization in February 2012, I can attest to the fact that right or wrong, he has never shirked his role in creating a succesful Rams roster. Perhaps more importantly, he adheres to as much transparency as possible, given the limits of his role so as not to tip off 31 other NFL teams as to what the Rams have planned.

This is not just pomp and ceremony. I have often cited how Snead dropped kernels of information, and how he elevates the understanding of the inner workings of an NFL front office and operation. Just one example that comes to mind is how he shared the impact during the 2024 NFL Draft of getting Jared Verse on the phone to welcome Braden Fiske to the Rams roster.

I absolutely agree that Rams GM Les Snead is most deserving of this award. Congratulations Les!

And as always, thank you for reading.