by John Czarnecki

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Chicago: The Bears don't have a dominant personality. Ted Phillips controls the financial side and GM Jerry Angelo the football side. Like the Steelers, there are a few McCaskey children who would love to sell. Michael McCaskey used to be the voice of ownership, but his mother, Virginia, controls the family's 80 percent stake in the franchise. Coach Lovie Smith is tied to Angelo's fortunes and vice versa.

Detroit: Owner William Clay Ford and GM Matt Millen. Ford has stuck by Millen through a lot of lean seasons and has allowed him to hire three head coaches. Millen makes all major football decisions, much to the dismay of Bill Ford Jr. and Tom Lewand. If Rod Marinelli doesn't become a winner, Millen may decide to retire to his beautiful home in eastern Pennsylvania.

Green Bay: GM Ted Thompson. The executive board and new president Mark Murphy signed off on the removal of Brett Favre, solidifying Thompson's control of the franchise. Ted and Brett have been at odds going back to 2006 and the folks in Wisconsin, who basically own this team, accepted Thompson's view that the Packers were better off without Favre playing one final season.

Minnesota: Owner Zygi Wilf. The Love Boat incident dramatically altered the decision-making process and Wilf seems to have the right football men at the top: Coach Brad Childress, VPs Rick Spielman and Rob Brzezinski and college director Scott Studwell. Major personnel decisions are run by Wilf, but he generally defers to his experts on who is the best player for the Vikings.

NFC South

Carolina: Coach John Fox and GM Marty Hurney. Fox was a Hurney hire and the coach has control of his roster. Owner Jerry Richardson doesn't meddle that much, although you can bet that suspending Steve Smith was exactly what he would have done. And that's why Smith is sitting the first two games. Hurney defers to Fox on roster decisions.

Atlanta: Owner Arthur Blank. With Home Depot a mere afterthought, Blank has become a fulltime owner. He's standing on the practice field and he made two gutsy hires in Coach Mike Smith and GM Tom Dimitroff. Of course, this happened when USC's Pete Carroll backed out of an agreement and many believe Blank would clean house again if Bill Cowher told him he wanted to be his coach next season.

New Orleans: Coach Sean Payton. Owner Tom Benson has pretty much prepared daughter Rita Benson LeBlanc to take over the team while GM Mickey Loomis works in tandem with Payton. But in the last year, Payton has been getting his way -- Jeremy Shockey, Drew Brees and Reggie Bush -- with personnel decisions.

Tampa Bay: GM Bruce Allen and Coach Jon Gruden. The Glazers are definitely hands-off owners, although they were responsible for the cash-draft pick swap with Al Davis for the right to hire Gruden, who proceeded to bring in Raiders pal Bruce Allen after he won power struggle with Rich McKay. However, it's Allen and not Gruden who now has control over the roster. Kevin Demoff assists Allen in most matters and should be running someone's franchise in a few seasons. Mark Dominik is the top personnel man.

NFC East

Dallas: Owner Jerry Jones. Jones also is the general manager while his son, Steven, handles contracts. I don't see how Jerry has time to be around the Cowboys all the time while being at the forefront of his new stadium, possibly the ninth wonder of the world! Jerry is paying Jason Garrett like a head coach and he's the one who decided that easy-going Wade Phillips was the perfect man for his football players after tough guy Bill Parcells left.

New York Giants: Owners John Mara and Steve Tisch. This remains an old-school franchise in that ownership doesn't interfere with the football decisions of GM Jerry Reese and Coach Tom Coughlin. However, neither Reese nor Coughlin has the final say and ownership is consulted on major decisions. For example, Plaxico Burress won't get a new deal without Mara and Tisch first knowing the details.

Washington: Owner Daniel Snyder. Snyder has abandoned his fantasy-league approach to player personnel and he definitely listens to Vinny Cerrato, his top football executive. Cerrato has more power and influence than most outsiders think. But Snyder has the final say and Jim Zorn is there to coach, and that's it.

Philadelphia: Coach Andy Reid. Nothing happens without Reid's approval. Granted, Reid is more of a coach than a general manager. President Joe Banner handles contracts and oversees the money flow and does have some influence over Reid. Tom Heckert is the general manager, but he essentially works for Reid. Howie Roseman is a guy to keep an eye on.

AFC North

Baltimore: GM Ozzie Newsome. Newsome is the guy although owner Steve Bisciotti is very involved with his football team and hired new head coach John Harbaugh. The best thing about Bisciotti is that he knows what he doesn't know about football and relies on one of the best GMs in the business, Newsome. President Dick Cass is one of the smartest men in the NFL.

Cincinnati: Owner Mike Brown. The power structure hasn't changed for the Bengals. Mike replaced his legendary father, Paul Brown, and nothing happens without his approval. This franchise remains very thin on front-office staff, as well as the personnel department. For example, Brown is the reason Chris Henry is back on the team. A family affair in Cincinnati.

Cleveland: GM Phil Savage. I wanted to say owner Randy Lerner, but he simply doesn't hang around the Browns as much as you think. Romeo Crennel was hired by Lerner, not Savage, but the general manager has become the face of the franchise and he has the most influence with the owner after last season.

Pittsburgh: Owner Dan Rooney. This is another family-run outfit. However, Dan has been worried more about his future ownership status -- his brother Art wants to cash out his 16 percent stake in the team -- than what is happening on the football field. Dan hired Mike Tomlin and pretty much allows Kevin Colbert to handle the draft and oversee all personnel. There is a chain of command, but Rooney is at the top, with his son, Art II, as president.

AFC East

New England: Coach Bill Belichick. This was a difficult call because Bob Kraft is one of the most influential owners in the NFL. However, Kraft has permitted Belichick to make all the football decisions for this three-time Super Bowl winning franchise. Scott Pioli has major influence with Belichick, but the coach makes the ultimate decisions.

Buffalo: CEO Russ Brandon. Basically, Brandon is an extension of owner Ralph Wilson, who will turn 90 this season. Wilson, one of the original AFL owners, is kept abreast of daily matters by Brandon and is involved in every major decision. Jim Overdorf, John Guy and Coach Dick Jauron work together on personnel matters.

Miami: VP of Football Operations Bill Parcells. When this coach left the Cowboys, he landed in one of the best football job's around. He made ownership-like decisions with the hiring of two guys he really liked at the Cowboys in Coach Tony Sparano and GM Jeff Ireland. Co-owners Wayne Huizenga and Stephen Ross are very much hands-off when it comes to personnel, which is ideal for Parcells.

N.Y. Jets: GM Mike Tannenbaum. Although Tannenbaum has been criticized by many of his competitors for some of hefty contracts to players, he does have the ear of owner Woody Johnson. Eric Mangini was a Tannenbaum hire and both men could be hanging their careers on Brett Favre.

AFC South

Houston: Coach Gary Kubiak and owner Bob McNair. Basically, McNair has given Kubiak a lot of freedom and the coach hired his own GM, Denver friend Rick Smith. McNair is involved on the business side, but he's deferred to Kubiak on personnel.

Indianapolis: GM Bill Polian. With Tony Dungy probably entering his final season as head coach, Polian's power will only increase. Owner Jimmy Irsay respects both men immensely and has allowed both of them to grow and succeed in their jobs. To Polian's credit, he altered his scouting eye toward Dungy's style of players and that's why both have been great for each other.

Jacksonville: Coach Jack Del Rio. Armed with a playoff win and a new contract, Del Rio is the go-to man here. He has taken control over personnel VP James "Shack" Harris. Owner Wayne Weaver and Paul Vance make all the financial decisions, but have given the coach freedom to make the big decisions.

Tennessee: Coach Jeff Fisher. This is no secret, considering Fisher is co-chairman of the NFL's Competition Committee. Fisher does lean on GM Mike Reinfeldt a lot, and the two work well together. Owner Bud Adams lives in Houston.

AFC West

Denver: Coach Mike Shanahan. Despite two straight non-playoff seasons, Shanahan has control, including the hiring and firing of the personnel executives. Shanny has bestowed some personnel power on the Goodmans, Jim and Jeff. Owner Pat Bowlen, who has won two Super Bowls with Shanny, is very comfortable with his coach's total control.

Kansas City: GM/President Carl Peterson. You almost want to say that Coach Herm Edwards, who was hired by Peterson, has caught his boss, considering the coach won the big battle on a total rebuilding effort rather than making gradual changes in order to keep the Chiefs competitive. With Clark Hunt now atop ownership, who knows what this front office will look like if the losing continues.

Oakland: Owner Al Davis. Al has been the boss for a very long time and his health is not the greatest anymore. But he has made all of the important decisions on personnel and contracts and the only thing interesting is how Coach Lane Kiffin continues to be critical regarding some of these decisions, particularly WR Javon Walker.

San Diego: GM A.J. Smith. There is no questioning that A.J. has helped build one of the game's most talented lineups, one that was started by good friend John Butler. Dean Spanos has given Smith the power, although he was all for the Norve Turner hiring. Jim Steeg and Ed McGuire give the Chargers two quality front-office executives.

NFC West

Arizona: President Michael Bidwill. The owner's son has grown into this job, although GM Rod Graves does have some freedoms. Coach Ken Whisenhunt has a lot of leeway in deciding the roster. The structure here, though, has led to Anquan Boldin's unhappiness when Larry Fitzgerald was overpaid.

St. Louis Rams: President John Shaw. One of the smartest executives in the league, Shaw does much of his work from Los Angeles, where current owners Chip Rosenbloom and Lucy Rodriguez live. Shaw has empowered Jay Zygmunt to run the daily operations in St. Louis while Coach Scott Linehan has little if any personnel control. Billy Devaney brings experience to personnel decisions.

San Francisco: Owner John York and GM Scot McCloughan. A year ago, Coach Mike Nolan had the juice, but his job is in serious jeopardy. When Mike Reinfeldt interviewed here, he was scared away by too many conflicting answers on the chain of command and took the Tennessee job instead. John York is grooming son, Jed, to be the boss.

Seattle: GM Tim Ruskell. Owner Paul Allen and CEO Tod Leiweke signed off on Ruskell's desire to promote Jim Mora to head coach, only to be surprised by Mike Holmgren's desire to return for one final season. Mora coaches the secondary this year before taking over in 2009.