Chargers GM Joe Hortiz - Discussion

[powderblueboy]

One of the best GMs in the game. Built the redskins who won multiple titles and the only SD team to go to a Super Bowl. Not a bad surfer either word has it.

of course we got him at the tail end of his career and he seemed to have lost his touch and the battle with Ross made no sense. Spanos chose the GM which the repeated with the AJ Marty spat.

Alex Spanos was a 10x worse meddler then John & Dean combined. Beathard traded away round one picks because he wasn't certain he could sign them to contracts with Spanos holding the purse strings. Beathard famously went to the SDTU to call out Spanos for being the tightwad he was with player contracts.

AG Spanos was the crappiest owner in Charger history who would drag any GM downward.

[dmac_bolt]

Alex Spanos was a 10x worse meddler then John & Dean combined. Beathard traded away round one picks because he wasn't certain he could sign them to contracts with Spanos holding the purse strings. Beathard famously went to the SDSU to call out Spanos for being the tightwad he was with player contracts.

AG Spanos was the crappiest owner in Charger history who would drag any GM downward.

Bobby famously went to SDSU when and said what? I’ve never heard this.

Bobby said very different things in real time to the public. His pattern of trading next year’s 1 for a current 2 goes back to the Redskins, was Spanos hounding him there too? I guess you’re saying Bobby lied to us every year as he destroyed the roster and coaching staff. Bobby was just a small weak puppet stooge who would bark out he was the leader at press conferences but in fact he wasn’t ever in charge of anything?

If thats true, why do you think he was a great GM? Give Alex all credit for getting the Chargers to the SB.

It’s ok some guys think Bobby was great because the Chargers got lucky to trip into one SB and then get completely exposed and outclassed. I think their SB was based on JMO the shear grit and determination of the HC (despite a very mediocre overall roster). We don’t have to agree, I’m not trying to convince you - I’m just saying that this Pro-Bobby view of history is not universal and there is a group of us out here that think Bobby was absolutely horrible and put the Chargers in a giant hole by making one stupid desperate decision after another year after year, and his result took many many many years to dig back out of. Perhaps as big a hole as the Chargers were ever in, even the Svare years.

If some folks can simultaneously give Bobby sole credit for one SB and at the same time say he wasn’t responsible for anything else … more power to ya lol! You won’t find me on that bus either.

[Steve]

Beathard got labeled as the smartest guy in football when he was GM of the Redskins. Then, he kept trying to prove it and used to miss on so many guys. He tried to hit home runs with middle and late round picks, which is where he made the Redskins into a SB contender. For us it just robbed us of depth, and he never enjoyed the success he enjoyed early in his career.

People also forget that he was the primary personnel guy for the Dolphins in 1972-77, they went 26-2 and won 2 SB in 72-73.

I once heard a former NFL personnel guy say that a big part of Beathards success was he was more systematic about the draft and did a lot more leg work then other personnel guys of the time. That was pretty low hanging fruit for other NFL teams, so he lost that edge as everyone else caught up to him in the 1980's. I don't know if it was true, but it seems to fit.

[northerner]

Alex Spanos was a 10x worse meddler then John & Dean combined. Beathard traded away round one picks because he wasn't certain he could sign them to contracts with Spanos holding the purse strings. Beathard famously went to the SDSU to call out Spanos for being the tightwad he was with player contracts.

AG Spanos was the crappiest owner in Charger history who would drag any GM downward.

i was just a kid, but i think Klein destroyed a championship level roster. some of the other guys from that era might chime in on this.

[powderblueboy]

Bobby famously went to SDSU when and said what? I’ve never heard this.

Bobby said very different things in real time to the public. His pattern of trading next year’s 1 for a current 2 goes back to the Redskins, was Spanos hounding him there too? I guess you’re saying Bobby lied to us every year as he destroyed the roster and coaching staff. Bobby was just a small weak puppet stooge who would bark out he was the leader at press conferences but in fact he wasn’t ever in charge of anything?

If thats true, why do you think he was a great GM? Give Alex all credit for getting the Chargers to the SB.

It’s ok some guys think Bobby was great because the Chargers got lucky to trip into one SB and then get completely exposed and outclassed. I think their SB was based on JMO the shear grit and determination of the HC (despite a very mediocre overall roster). We don’t have to agree, I’m not trying to convince you - I’m just saying that this Pro-Bobby view of history is not universal and there is a group of us out here that think Bobby was absolutely horrible and put the Chargers in a giant hole by making one stupid desperate decision after another year after year, and his result took many many many years to dig back out of. Perhaps as big a hole as the Chargers were ever in, even the Svare years.

If some folks can simultaneously give Bobby sole credit for one SB and at the same time say he wasn’t responsible for anything else … more power to ya lol! You won’t find me on that bus either.

Sorry SDTU ... they printed the story. He said that Spanos was cheap and it was hard to assemble a decent roster.
Don't remember if it was before or after the Super Bowl year.

One of his top assistants was quoted as saying he would pretend to be hard at work whenever he heard the boisterous Alex Spanos wandering down the hall.

Beathard of course was wildly successful at Washington under an entirely different organization .... its not just on the GM and it wasn't Beathard alone, of course.

Yeah, he wasted a #1 bringing in Jim Lachey .... crappy move taking advantage of some cheap ownership somewhere. Beathard would trade draft picks for established vets, which is what George Allen did (Redskins didn't have a 1rst round draft pick in the 70s).

[powderblueboy]

i was just a kid, but i think Klein destroyed a championship level roster. some of the other guys from that era might chime in on this.

He could go head to head with Alex Spanos in the tight wad department any day.

[powderblueboy]

Beathard got labeled as the smartest guy in football when he was GM of the Redskins. Then, he kept trying to prove it and used to miss on so many guys. He tried to hit home runs with middle and late round picks, which is where he made the Redskins into a SB contender. For us it just robbed us of depth, and he never enjoyed the success he enjoyed early in his career.

People also forget that he was the primary personnel guy for the Dolphins in 1972-77, they went 26-2 and won 2 SB in 72-73.

I once heard a former NFL personnel guy say that a big part of Beathards success was he was more systematic about the draft and did a lot more leg work then other personnel guys of the time. That was pretty low hanging fruit for other NFL teams, so he lost that edge as everyone else caught up to him in the 1980's. I don't know if it was true, but it seems to fit.

Beathard lost it after the Super Bowl.
Seemed to prefer body surfing and the beach lifestyle after a while. My guess is that he simply got lazy.

Any GM that got the Chargers to the Super Bowl with Alex Spanos as owner, no matter how deficient the team, has got to get a medal.

[jamrock]

Beathard lost it after the Super Bowl.
Seemed to prefer body surfing and the beach lifestyle after a while. My guess is that he simply got lazy.

Any GM that got the Chargers to the Super Bowl with Alex Spanos as owner, no matter how deficient the team, has got to get a medal.

Can't blame him for preferring body surfing and the beach. And yes deserves a medal. We've only been to 1 Super Bowl so he gets that credit. Our successful years have been with guys making their last stop at the Chargers. Beathard falls into the same category as Coryell Butler and Marty. Harbaugh as well probably won't coach elsewhere after the Chargers. Hopefully he's still got enough of the juice left to get us over the hump.

[CanadianBoltFan]

i was just a kid, but i think Klein destroyed a championship level roster. some of the other guys from that era might chime in on this.

I was gonna say Gene Klein was a pretty cheap owner too wasnt he?

[BigBad]

I’m just saying that this Pro-Bobby view of history is not universal and there is a group of us out here that think Bobby was absolutely horrible and put the Chargers in a giant hole by making one stupid desperate decision after another year after year, and his result took many many many years to dig back out of. Perhaps as big a hole as the Chargers were ever in, even the Svare years.
.

I'm in that group.

[dmac_bolt]

Can't blame him for preferring body surfing and the beach. And yes deserves a medal. We've only been to 1 Super Bowl so he gets that credit. Our successful years have been with guys making their last stop at the Chargers. Beathard falls into the same category as Coryell Butler and Marty. Harbaugh as well probably won't coach elsewhere after the Chargers. Hopefully he's still got enough of the juice left to get us over the hump.

He’s in the shop getting refurb upgrades for another 100k miles … Bionic Jim.

[beachcomber]

man, w/all this banter 'bout skill position players and possibly going WR day one, or again on day two, it is just so dag gammit good that Hortiz hit on his two picks outta the gate, as still can't get over the DJ Fluker/Manti Te'o inaugural for team Tommy John.... looking forward to Joe's sophomore bump !!