Plenty of front office men have great reputations in league circles. You hear about them all the time. Ozzie Newsome is one. Bill Polian is another. Scott Pioli is another. What is it going to take for Mike Tannenbaum to start getting some recognition.
Think about it. He took over the Jets four years ago. They were coming off a 4-12 season and had the worst cap situation in the league. They headed into his first offseason $20-30 million over the cap. Four years later, the team is coming off an AFC Championship Game appearance and is loaded with young talent.
He has moved aggressively to land top tier free agents. He hasn't spent big on names like the Redskins either. He has found guys to fit the system. He has taken advantage of teams overvaluing mid to late round picks to engineer coups like the Kris Jenkins trade. He has drafted extremely well and hit on trading up for Darrelle Revis and David Harris. He deftly managed the salary cap situation, leaving himself wiggle room to adjust contracts signed in 2008 so the team would have money to shop big again in 2009.
The Santonio Holmes trade is another reminder. Mike Tannenbaum is the league's best kept secret.