The San Francisco 49ers front office has been a factory for creating future general managers under John Lynch, as Ran Carthon and Adam Peters kicked off the trend in 2024, and many are to follow.
Though Carthon only lasted two years with the Tennessee Titans before being fired, Peters has done a fantastic job rebuilding Washington, as the franchise reached the NFC Championship game last season, although this year has been tough.
Nevertheless, San Francisco's front office is always filled with general manager talent, and it looks like the franchise has another hot name who could become a general manager of a team this offseason.
According to Jonathan Jones of CBS Sports, 49ers director of scouting and football operations Josh Williams could be the next highly-sought after general manager candidate in the NFL.
"Josh Williams, the director of scouting and football operations for the San Francisco 49ers. Williams, 38, is in his 15th season with the Niners and in the second in this director's role, and his name has been mentioned in other NFL facilities as potentially the next new, young general manager of an NFL team," Jones wrote.
Jones also added that there could be an additional five franchises that have an open general manager spot this offseason, along with the Miami Dolphins, who fired Chris Grier in October.
Williams has been in San Francisco's front office since 2011 and has worked in multiple roles. He was a scout in a plethora of different regions from 2011 to 2024 before becoming director of scouting and football operations in 2024.
As stated above, the Dolphins are the only team with a general manager vacancy right now. However, a couple more will open, with the New York Giants and Atlanta Falcons among the possibilities.
Joe Schoen has been an overall disappointment in New York, and with the franchise firing Brian Daboll earlier in the year, it would be wise to just clean house and also move on from Schoen.
Atlanta has also had an underwhelming 2025 campaign, and general manager Terry Fontenot should be on the hot seat, along with head coach Raheem Morris.
Both the Giants and the Falcons could need an experienced front-office member like Williams to steer them in the right direction, but the respected 49ers assistant should have a competitive market this offseason with a ton of options.