Matt Maiocco just tweeted that the 49ers interviewed Tony Softl for their GM position today. My plan was to spread these GM candidate posts over several days, but given how quickly this interview process has developed, that won't be the case. Softli most recently was VP of player personnel for the St. Louis Rams and before that was Director of College Scouting for the Carolina Panthers. From my brief research thus far, it sounds like Softli got the Rams job in part because of his ability to grab Julius Peppers, Steve Smith, and Kris Jenkins while in Carolina.
My new favorite search option is finding people's LinkedIn profiles. The site can be a bit self-serving but it gives us some insight into the various roles an individual played throughout his career. After the jump I've pasted some of Softli's resume material. Here's a quick list of all the jobs he's held that are listed on LinkedIn:
- VP Player Personnel at St. Louis Rams
- Director of College Scouting at Carolina Panthers
- Coaching at University of Washington
- Head Coach/Director of Player Personnel at Flyde Falcons - Great Britian Football Club
- Systems Analyst/Computing at Boeing
- Purchasing Assistant at University of Washington Purchasing
- Sales Rep at Nordstroms
- District Manager & Outdoor Sales Rep at Black Tie Formal Wear
I'll be honest, I love the fact that he has his Nordstroms sales job listed. It may have nothing to do with anything, but it just struck me as awesome that he still has some of those early jobs listed.
Maiocco just posted that he spoke with Softli and Softli felt "Everything went well and I'm excited about this opportunity." I wouldn't expect a whole lot else out of him at this point given how early it is in the process. We'll keep an eye on whether he gets a second interview, or what exactly happens.
I've broken down the block paragraphs to make it a little easier to read.
VP Player Personnel, St. Louis Rams
My work experience and responsibility within my tenure with the St. Louis Rams; Chief evaluator for the Player Personnel department; Oversaw both College & Pro Scouting departments, managing Director of Player Personnel, Director of Football Administration, six Area Scouts and two in-house scouting assistants; Manage scouts preformance, scheduling, reports and travel;
Created and published St. Louis Rams Player Personnel Scouting Manual 2006; Managed College & Pro department budgets totaling over two million dollars; Managed and conducted yearly NFL Draft and Free Agency; Oversaw Advanced Scouting; scheduled visits, workouts and physicals for prospective free-agents acquisitions; Daily evaluation of NFL wavier wire and Practice Squad listings; Managed and updated Emergency listing;
Organized and conducted yearly NFL Draft inconjuction with General Manager, Head Coach and Presidents; Tracking and evaluating all 31 NFL teams personnel additions, subtractions and injury history; Developed yearly Player Personnel plan and Calendars; Reported directly to General Manager, worked with Head Coach, Presidents, COO, Contract negotiator/Salary Cap planner, Football Operations staff, Team Operations staff, Medical & Training staff, Video Director, Player Development, Marketing & Sales staff, Community Outreach; Continue to address on a yearly basis the key principles of developing a winning Team;
Created and presented a complete outline and structure for Rams computing programs for College and Pro departments along with the CAP system; Proposed outline for new department of Quantitative Analysis the method of studying history; Learning and gathering knowledge and interpretation of CBA (Collective Bargining Agreement) issues as they relate to all componets of Club Football Operations; Member of NFL CAC College Advisory Committe for Underclassmen, NFF National Football Foundation - St. Louis Chapter; United Way, St Judes, Jazz St. Louis Gala Committee
Director of College Scouting
As the top College talent evaluator I also oversaw the College Scouting department while managing eight scouts and two in-house scouting assistants, was instrumental in the evaluation and selection of NFL Draft prospects with multiple Pro Bowl players.
Resonsible for; Stacking of Draft board; Organizing,managing and conducting the yearly NFL Draft; Managed scouts performance, scheduling, reports, travel, and approval of expeditures along with yearly scouts performance reviews. Developed yearly personnel plan & calendars;
Worked directly with Head Coach and General Manager on strategic ideas and methodologies; System analyst/computing for eleven years,managed college database, future development, testing and implementation for all College computer systems; Had vision and insight in computer technology to incorporate hand held computers for college scouts use in everyday evaluation;
Created first ever Digital Draft Board while striving to maintain the competitive edge thru technology; Published College Scouting manual; Member of CAC - College Advisory Committee, NFS - National Football Scouting Executive Committee