"I have never felt that a vibe similar to this before," said one prominent agent. "I think Goodell has put down the hammer and these teams are receiving the message."
In the past Graves has broached the topic of pushing all hires back until after the Super Bowl to attempt to level the playing area to this in and outside of the game, providing the rules that govern the sport. However, numerous coaches and GMs being let go in-season this past year -- creating a more robust cycle of interviews while games were still being played -- is a dynamic that also could foster diversity.
"The early conclusions being made by owners, in a bid to get a head start, may turn into more of a fad moving forward," Graves said.
Of course, this is not about just one hiring cycle, or one blip. It's about a path correction in how owners think and function. And Graves wants to expand the range of the believing into all aspects below the NFL's umbrella: NFL Films, NFL Media, and most of ventures of the sort. He, and many more, want to observe exactly the exact same management-level opportunities provided in those ventures as well, and is currently working on a presentation to this end for the spring meeting in March.
Check out http://www.mmoexp.com for more details.