The 2001 NFL season was the 82nd regular season of the National Football League (NFL), and the first season of the 21st century. The league permanently moved the first week of the regular season to the weekend following Labor Day. In the wake of the September 11 attacks, the NFL's week 2 games were postponed and rescheduled to the weekend of January 6 and 7, 2002. To retain the full playoff format, all playoff games, including Super Bowl XXXVI, were rescheduled one week later. The New England Patriots won the Super Bowl, defeating the St. Louis Rams 20–17 at the Louisiana Superdome.
Arandric Kornell "Ran" Carthon, is an American football executive and former running back who is the executive vice president and general manager of the Tennessee Titans of the National Football League (NFL). He previously served as an executive for the San Francisco 49ers, St. Louis / Los Angeles Rams, and Atlanta Falcons.
James Arthur Raye Jr. is an American football coach and former player.
Peter Henry Metzelaars is an American former professional football player who was a tight end for 16 seasons in the National Football League (NFL) with the Seattle Seahawks, the Buffalo Bills, the Carolina Panthers and the Detroit Lions. He played college football for the Wabash Little Giants and was selected by the Seahawks in the third round of the 1982 NFL draft.
Richard Spielman is an American football executive. He was the general manager of the Miami Dolphins in 2004 and the Minnesota Vikings from 2012 to 2022. He formerly worked for ESPN on NFL Live. Spielman is the older brother of Chris Spielman, former Detroit Lions and Buffalo Bills linebacker.
Ernest William Accorsi Jr. is an American former professional football executive. He served as the general manager of three teams in the National Football League (NFL): the Baltimore Colts, Cleveland Browns, and New York Giants.
Harold Theo Hunter III is an American football coach who was most recently the assistant offensive line coach for the Houston Texans of the National Football League (NFL). He has previously served as offensive line coach for the New York Giants, Cleveland Browns, Indianapolis Colts, and San Diego Chargers of the NFL. In 1999, he served as the interim head coach of LSU for one game, a 35–10 win over rival Arkansas, after Gerry DiNardo was fired. He was replaced when LSU hired Nick Saban.
Charles Kenneth "Buddy" Nix is a former American football coach and executive. He was the general manager of the Buffalo Bills of the National Football League (NFL) from 2009 to 2013. Nix was a scout for the Bills from 1993 to 2000. He joined John Butler and A. J. Smith with the San Diego Chargers from 2001 to 2008 and returned to the Bills in 2009.
Kevin William O'Connell, nicknamed "KOC", is an American professional football coach and former player who is the head coach of the Minnesota Vikings of the National Football League (NFL). He was the quarterback for the San Diego State Aztecs and was selected by the New England Patriots in the third round of the 2008 NFL draft. He also played for the Detroit Lions, Miami Dolphins, New York Jets, and San Diego Chargers before retiring in 2012. O'Connell's NFL coaching career began in 2015; he held various assistant coaching roles on the Cleveland Browns, San Francisco 49ers, Washington Redskins, and Los Angeles Rams.
John Michael Dorsey is an American football executive and former player who is a senior personnel executive for the Detroit Lions of the National Football League (NFL). He previously served as general manager of the Cleveland Browns and Kansas City Chiefs. He is a former National Football League player for the Green Bay Packers, and later served in the Packers' scouting department for more than two decades, including director of college scouting from 2000 to 2011. He served as the Seattle Seahawks' director of player personnel in 1999, between two stints in Green Bay's front office.
A general manager (GM) in American football is a team executive who is typically the head of football operations, which includes leading the scouting department and being responsible for handling free agent transactions and contract negotiations with players and coaches. Under such a model, the GM reports directly to the owner or team president. However, some team owners serve as their own GM or employ one who acts in a supporting role to the head coach. Al Davis of the Oakland Raiders was an example of an owner who also served as GM, while Bill Belichick is an example of a head coach having de facto GM responsibilities during his tenure with the New England Patriots.
Michael Eric Johnson is an American football coach and former quarterback, and current wide receivers coach for Syracuse. He was the interim head coach for the UCLA Bruins football team after serving as their offensive coordinator. Previously, he spent two years with the San Francisco 49ers of the National Football League. Johnson was hired along with former offensive coordinator Jimmy Raye by San Francisco head coach Mike Singletary on February 6, 2009. Raye was fired on September 27, 2010, and Johnson was promoted. Beginning in 2014 he served for three seasons as head coach of The King's Academy Knights in Sunnyvale, California, before being hired as wide receiver coach by the University of Oregon in 2017.
Marty Hurney is an American professional football executive who is an advisor for the Washington Commanders of the National Football League (NFL). He previously served as an administrator for the San Diego Chargers in the 1990s before working as the general manager of the Carolina Panthers throughout much of the 2000s and 2010s. Prior to becoming a football executive, Hurney was a sportswriter for Washington, D.C.–based newspapers in the 1980s.
Michael Lombardi is an American football executive and media analyst currently working as an adviser for Washington Huskies football. Until 2016, he was an assistant to the coaching staff of the New England Patriots and is a former analyst for the NFL Network and sportswriter at NFL.com. Lombardi also previously served as an NFL executive with the San Francisco 49ers, Cleveland Browns, Philadelphia Eagles, Denver Broncos, and Oakland Raiders. He hosts his own podcast "The GM Shuffle" formerly with Adnan Virk now with Femi Abebefe, and co-hosts a Saturday morning sports betting program on Sirius XM for Vegas Stats & Information Network along with a daily show on Vegas Stats & Information Network called "The Lombardi Line".
Ryan Richard Grigson is an American football executive who is the senior vice president of player personnel for the Minnesota Vikings of the National Football League (NFL). From 2012 to 2016, he served as the general manager of the Indianapolis Colts.
Ryan George Lindley is an American football coach and former quarterback who is currently the senior offensive analyst at San Diego State University. He played college football for the San Diego State Aztecs, and was selected by the Arizona Cardinals in the sixth round of the 2012 NFL draft. Lindley was also a member of the San Diego Chargers, New England Patriots, Indianapolis Colts, and Ottawa Redblacks.
Tom Telesco is an American football executive who is the general manager of the Las Vegas Raiders of the National Football League (NFL). He previously served as the general manager of the Los Angeles Chargers from 2013 to 2023.
Kyle Smith is American football executive who is the assistant general manager for the Atlanta Falcons of the National Football League (NFL). Prior to becoming an executive, he played wide receiver at Youngstown State University before spending some time in the NFL as well as the Arena Football League (AFL) and Canadian Football League (CFL).
Brandon Brown is an American football executive who is the assistant general manager for the New York Giants of the National Football League (NFL). He previously served in various scouting and executive roles for the Philadelphia Eagles from 2017 to 2021.
