John Schneider (born May 25, 1971) is a professional

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

executive, currently serving as the

General Manager A general manager (GM) is an executive who has overall responsibility for managing both the revenue and cost elements of a company's income statement, known as profit & loss (P&L) responsibility. A general manager usually oversees most or all of ...

and Executive Vice President for the

Seattle Seahawks The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) West, which they rejoined in 2002 as ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

(NFL). Schneider was previously an executive for the

Washington Redskins The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) N ...

and

Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. It ...

in the 2000s. He was a primary architect in building the Seahawks roster that went on to win

Super Bowl XLVIII Super Bowl XLVIII was an American football game between the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Denver Broncos and National Football Conference (NFC) champion Seattle Seahawks to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion for th ...

Early years

Schneider grew up in

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

and attended high school in

De Pere De Pere ( ) is a city located in Brown County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 25,410 according to the 2020 Census. De Pere is part of the Green Bay Metropolitan Statistical Area. History At the arrival of the first European, Je ...

Abbot Pennings High School The Old Nicolet High School is a historic school located in De Pere, Wisconsin, USA. History The building was a public high school until 1958. That year, it was purchased by the Norbertines and it was reopened as the Catholic boys' school Abbot ...

, where he played football and graduated in 1989. He studied history and secondary education at

University of St. Thomas St. Thomas University or University of St. Thomas may refer to: *Saint Thomas Aquinas University, Colombia *Saint Thomas Aquinas University of the North, Tucumán province, Argentina *St. Thomas University (Canada), Fredericton, New Brunswick *St. ...

and was on the football team his Freshman year until injuries caused him to retire. During his Junior year he wrote a letter to

Ron Wolf Ronald Wolf (born December 30, 1938) is the former American football general manager (GM) of the National Football League's Green Bay Packers. Wolf is widely credited with bringing success to a Packers franchise that had rarely won during the two ...

asking if he could work as a scout. His internship that summer was the beginning of his relationship with the

Professional executive career

Green Bay Packers

He started working in the Scouting Department for the Green Bay Packers in 1993.

Kansas City Chiefs

He was the Director of Pro Personnel for the Chiefs from 1997 to 2000.

Seattle Seahawks

He worked for the Seahawks in 2000 under

Ted Thompson Ted Thompson (January 17, 1953 – January 20, 2021) was an American professional football player and executive in the National Football League (NFL). He was the general manager of the Green Bay Packers from 2005 to 2017. Thompson had a 10-y ...

as Director of Player Personnel.

Washington Redskins

In 2001, Schneider became the Vice President of Player Personnel.

Green Bay Packers

Schneider went back to the Green Bay Packers as the top personnel aide to the Packers' GM. He then elevated to Director of Football Operations.

Seattle Seahawks

On January 11, 2010, the Seahawks announced the hiring of

Pete Carroll Peter Clay Carroll (born September 15, 1951) is an American football coach who is the head coach and executive vice president for the Seattle Seahawks of the National Football League (NFL). He was previously the head football coach at USC Troja ...

as Head Coach and Vice President of Football Operations. One week later, on January 18, 2010, the Seahawks announced the hiring of John Schneider as their General Manager. Schneider added the distinction of Executive Vice President in 2013. In his role, he manages all aspects of the Seahawks roster and draft process while working collaboratively with Pete Carroll in all facets of the football operations department. Since arriving, Schneider and Carroll have orchestrated a complete overhaul of Seattle's roster. In 2010, Schneider completed 284 roster transactions, including trading for

Marshawn Lynch Marshawn Terrell Lynch (born April 22, 1986) is an American former football running back who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 12 seasons. Nicknamed "Beast Mode", he spent the majority of his career with the Seattle Seahawks. Lync ...

. On February 2, 2014, the Seahawks won

, their first and only championship in their existence. Of those on the championship roster, only

Max Unger Maxwell McCandless Unger (born April 14, 1986) is a former American football center (American football), center who played in the National Football League for 10 seasons. He played college football at Oregon Ducks football, Oregon and was draft ...

Red Bryant Joseph Anthony "Red" Bryant (born April 18, 1984) is a former American football defensive tackle. He played college football at Texas A&M, and was drafted by the Seattle Seahawks in the fourth round of the 2008 NFL Draft. Bryant also played f ...

Jon Ryan Jonathan Robert Ryan (born November 26, 1981) is a retired Canadian professional football punter. He played college football for the University of Regina Rams, and began his professional career with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers (CFL) after being ...

and

Brandon Mebane Brandon Jerome Mebane (born January 15, 1985) is a former American football defensive tackle. He attended Crenshaw High School in Los Angeles. He played college football at California. He was drafted by the Seattle Seahawks in the third round of ...

were Seahawks prior to Schneider's arrival in Seattle. Schneider and Seattle followed their Super Bowl win with another NFC Championship, but lost to

New England New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York to the west and by the Canadian provinces ...

Super Bowl XLIX Super Bowl XLIX was an American football game played to determine the champions of the National Football League (NFL) for the 2014 season. The American Football Conference (AFC) champion New England Patriots defeated the National Football Conf ...

. In 2015, the Seahawks clinched a wild card berth, but fell in the NFC Divisional Round to the

Panthers Panther may refer to: Large cats *Pantherinae, the cat subfamily that contains the genera ''Panthera'' and ''Neofelis'' **''Panthera'', the cat genus that contains tigers, lions, jaguars and leopards. ***Jaguar (''Panthera onca''), found in Sout ...

. Schneider signed a 5-year contract extension with the Seahawks in July 2016 that keeps him in Seattle through the 2021 season. The Seahawks won their fourth NFC West title under Schneider in 2016, but were eliminated in the divisional round of the playoffs for the second straight year. In 2021, Schneider signed a 6-year contract extension with the Seahawks that will keep him in Seattle through the 2027 draft. Schneider has been praised for his late-round draft picks and undrafted free agent signings. With Seattle, he drafted

Russell Wilson Russell Carrington Wilson (born November 29, 1988) is an American football quarterback for the Denver Broncos of the National Football League (NFL). He previously played his first 10 seasons for the Seattle Seahawks. Wilson is widely regarded ...

, Richard Sherman,

Kam Chancellor Kameron Darnel Chancellor (born April 3, 1988), nicknamed "Bam Bam", is an American former football strong safety who played for the Seattle Seahawks of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Virginia Tech prior t ...

Byron Maxwell Byron S. Maxwell (born February 23, 1988) is a former American football cornerback. He was drafted by the Seattle Seahawks in the sixth round of the 2011 NFL Draft, where he was a member of the Seahawks' defensive group known as the Legion of ...

Tyler Lockett Tyler Deron Lockett (born September 28, 1992) is an American football wide receiver for the Seattle Seahawks of the National Football League (NFL). He was drafted by the Seahawks in the third round of the 2015 NFL Draft. He played college f ...

, K.J. Wright,

Chris Carson Christopher Dewayne Carson (born September 16, 1994) is a former American football running back. He played professionally for five seasons for the Seattle Seahawks of the National Football League (NFL), after playing college football at Butler ...

, Abraham Lucas, and

Tariq Woolen Tariq Deion Woolen (born May 2, 1999) is an American football cornerback for the Seattle Seahawks of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at UTSA and was drafted by the Seahawks in the fifth round of the 2022 NFL Dra ...

in the third round or later, and signed

Doug Baldwin Douglas Dewayne Baldwin Jr. (born September 21, 1988) is a former American football wide receiver. He played college football at Stanford and was signed by the Seattle Seahawks as an undrafted free agent in 2011. Baldwin is the Seahawks thi ...

Thomas Rawls Thomas Tyrell Rawls (born August 3, 1993) is a former American football running back. He was signed by the Seattle Seahawks as an undrafted free agent in 2015. He played college football at Michigan and Central Michigan. Rawls currently holds th ...

DeShawn Shead DeShawn Anthony Shead (born June 28, 1989) is a former American football cornerback and current coach. He is a defensive assistant/assistant defensive backs coach for the Seattle Seahawks of the National Football League (NFL). He signed with th ...

Poona Ford Kaylon Nakia Ford Jr. (born November 19, 1995) is an American football defensive tackle for the Buffalo Bills of the National Football League (NFL). Ford was a standout at Hilton Head Island High School. He initially committed to the University ...

and

Jermaine Kearse Jermaine Levan Kearse (born February 6, 1990) is a former American football wide receiver. He played eight seasons in National Football League (NFL). He was signed by the Seattle Seahawks as an undrafted free agent in 2012 and later won Super Bo ...

after they went undrafted. The Seahawks have been active in free agency and the trade market under Schneider as well, signing key free agents Michael Bennett and

Cliff Avril Clifford Samuel Avril (born April 8, 1986) is a former American football defensive end. He played college football at Purdue and was drafted in the third round of the 2008 NFL Draft by the Detroit Lions. He has also played for the Seattle Seahaw ...

, and trading for

Jimmy Graham Jimmy Graham (born November 24, 1986) is an American football tight end who is a free agent. He played only one year of college football at Miami Hurricanes football, University of Miami after playing four years of college basketball, basketball ...

Duane Brown Duane Anthony Brown (born August 30, 1985) is an American football offensive tackle for the New York Jets of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Virginia Tech and was drafted by the Houston Texans in the first round ...

Quandre Diggs Quandre Diggs (born January 22, 1993) is an American football free safety for the Seattle Seahawks of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Texas, and was drafted by the Detroit Lions in the sixth round of the 2015 NF ...

and

Jamal Adams Jamal Lee Adams (born October 17, 1995) is an American football strong safety for the Seattle Seahawks of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at LSU, and was drafted sixth overall in the 2017 NFL Draft by the New York ...

Awards and honors

Champion (as EVP/GM of the Seattle Seahawks)

Personal life

John Schneider has a wife, Traci, and two sons, Ben and Jack. Schneider and wife Traci founded Ben's Fund in 2012 in honor of their son, Ben, who was diagnosed with autism at the age of 3. The intent of Ben’s Fund is to provide financial support to children and young adults with autism in Washington State along with guidance and support as they continue their journey.

References

External links

Seattle Seahawks profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Schneider, John 1971 births Living people American people of German descent Green Bay Packers executives Green Bay Packers scouts Seattle Seahawks executives Washington Redskins executives National Football League general managers Players of American football from Wisconsin St. Thomas (Minnesota) Tommies football players