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2015 NFL Season’s Top 100 Influential People All Wrong

By Dan Salem

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With so many big names and personalities surrounding the NFL, any top 100 list is sure to incite debate. But the MMQB’s list of the top 100 most influential people for the 2015 NFL season is controversial and, with all due respect, wrong. Dan Salem and Todd Salem debate in today’s NFL Sports Debate. Check out more of the brothers in Seesaw Sports Debate on BuzzChomp. Two brothers from New York yell, scream, and debate sports.

TODD:

This past week, Sports Illustrated’s MMQB released its list of the Top 100 most influential people in the NFL this season. The list includes players, coaches, owners, league employees, folks from the college ranks and people who are deceased. It’s quite a cross-section.

The list is rather superfluous and silly, but it is July. So taking the list at face value, boy what a terrible list!

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The definition of influential is where this goes off the rails I suppose, but some of these choices and ordering are unfathomable. The introduction claims that on-field impact will be weighted more heavily than anything, for example, the Competition Committee co-chair (ranked 10th) will be responsible for. Yet the league’s best pass rusher, Justin Houston, clocks in at number 100 overall.

There are incredible decisions past that. How is Michigan State quarterback Connor Cook the 76th most influential person to the NFL this season? I assume the reasoning is because MMQB expects Cook to be the first pick in the 2016 NFL Draft, but will his 2015 performance affect how teams perform in the NFL one iota? Not a chance!

Atlanta Falcons’ head coach Dan Quinn and Oakland Raiders’ owner Mark Davis are ranked relatively highly; may I ask why? Is either team competing for anything substantial this season? Jimmy Garappolo is ranked 42nd even though he will play in at most four games this entire season. Those are just a few of the questionable rankings.

May 28, 2015; Green Bay, WI, USA; Green Bay Packers quarterback

Aaron Rodgers

(12) works out during Rookie Orientation Camp and Organized Team Activities at the

Don Hutson

Center in Green Bay. Mandatory Credit: Benny Sieu-USA TODAY Sports

Then there’s Packers reserve wide receiver Jared Abbrederis ranking as the 26th most influential person in the sport. Clicking the description, Abbrederis is a stand-in for “all the unknown, unsung battlers in the NFL—one of whom, we guarantee, will take his place in football history at some point in the 2015 season.” So, yeah. The list is so concrete that they saved a spot at 26th overall for a player who does not yet exist in the lexicon.

The legitimate rankings can be argued, like is Tom Brady more influential than Roger Goodell? (Obviously, no.) Is Chip Kelly the top head coach? (Yeah, perhaps.)

But the weird rankings are the ones that caught my eye, like who is more influential between Chris Borland (24th), who no longer plays in the league, or Junior Seau (64th), whose death is presumably a main reason why Borland no longer plays in the league.

DAN:

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I love the idea of a top 100 list, especially when its a quagmire of influential people. It wouldn’t be a good list if it wasn’t controversial, but damn if I don’t agree with you. Half the names on this list are silly, some are ridiculous, and others are down right wrong. Wrong people, wrong.

Your complaints over both the Atlanta Falcons’ and Oakland Raiders’ head coaches are case in point. I believe both teams bounce back this season, but Matt Ryan and the defense will determine feast or famine in Atlanta. Oakland and its young quarterback are certainly on track, but of the 1000’s of people involved in the NFL, neither head coach is in the top 100 influencers.

You know who else does not belong in the top 100, Jaguars’ quarterback Blake Bortles who inexplicably comes in at number 98 on the list. Jacksonville is still in transition and 2015 is a make or break year for Bortles, but the Jaguars are not likely to find themselves in the playoff conversation, rendering Bortles’ influence null and void.

Enough posturing, I want to dive into the Top 10 and Tom Brady versus Roger Goodell. Whoever wrote this list is a damn Patriots fan, because no one is more influential to the NFL and its on-field product than Mr. Goodell. Tom Brady may even miss up to a quarter of the season, so his on-field influence will be non-existent. Brady can be two, but not number one. Putting coach Belichick at four also screams of homerism. New England will be defending its championship and sure to win nine plus games, but what makes Belichick more influential than Aaron Rodgers way down at seven?

May 28, 2015; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia Eagles head coach Chip Kelly during OTA

I also take issue with multiple owners inside the top ten. The St. Louis Rams owner feels like an excellent placement at eight, since his team holds the key to football returning to Los Angeles. But Jerry Jones at six ruins things. I love Jerry and his world, but what exactly will he be doing as the sixth most influential man in football?

The most unexpected ranking for me, and my favorite of all, is Chip Kelly at three. He’s slowly changing how we think about football on both offense and defense. He’s altering lots of stereotypes about position and player mobility. Kelly, in his own way, is a football trendsetter who deserves to be ranked very high on this list.

On a personal note, I’m happy to find a New York Jet inside the top twenty-five. Darrelle Revis falls in at number twenty and this feels right to me. New York is one of the largest markets and a hot bed for football. Revis is the new face of the New York Jets, and if the team actually pulls a worst to first rebound, it will be in no small part to Revis himself.

What would you change on the list? Who’s missing, who got snubbed, and who has no right to belong here? Leave us your COMMENTS below, Tweet away, and keep this debate rolling.

Dan Salem is a Staff Writer for NFL Spinzone. He’s also Lead Editor, Staff Writer, and Featured Vlogger at BuzzChomp, and a New York Jets Analyst for Pro Football Spot. Follow him on Twitter, Facebook, Google+, or Instagram.

Todd Salem is a Staff Writer for NFL Spinzone. He’s also a Contributing Editor at BuzzChomp, a Featured Columnist at Bleacher Report, and an Analyst for Tipster Labs, among others. Follow him on Twitter.

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