Thomas Heckert Jr. (July 17, 1967 – August 5, 2018) was an
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 wi ...
executive who served 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 ...
for the
Cleveland Browns
The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. Named after original coach and co-founder Paul Brown, they compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (A ...
and
Philadelphia Eagles
The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. The team play ...
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). In his 27-year career, Heckert was a part of 17 postseason campaigns, 11 division titles, eight conference championship games, three Super Bowl appearances and one
Super Bowl Championship, while with the
Denver Broncos
The Denver Broncos are a professional American football franchise based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The team is headquar ...
.
[ ]
Early years
Heckert played quarterback at Adrian High School in Michigan graduating in 1986. Heckert started his football career as an assistant coach for
Hillsdale for two seasons before making his way into the NFL.
Miami Dolphins
Heckert had a 10-year stint with the Miami Dolphins (1991–2000), spending his first nine seasons there as both a pro and college scout. Heckert also served as the Dolphins' assistant director of pro personnel and college scout in 1999, before being promoted to director of pro personnel in 2000.
Philadelphia Eagles
Heckert first went to the Eagles as director of player personnel in 2001 before being promoted to vice president of player personnel in 2003. He helped Eagles coach
Andy Reid
Andrew Walter Reid (born March 19, 1958) is an American football coach who is the head coach for the Kansas City Chiefs of the National Football League (NFL). Reid was previously head coach of the Philadelphia Eagles from 1999 to 2012. From 200 ...
assemble a team that went to four straight
NFC Championship Games from 2001 to 2004, and to
Super Bowl XXXIX. He was promoted to general manager on January 2, 2006. Despite Heckert's title of general manager, Reid served as executive vice president of football operations and had the final say in football matters.
During Heckert’s tenure with the Eagles, the team drafted or acquired 10 players who would go on to earn Pro Bowl status, including kicker David Akers, defensive lineman Trent Cole, wide receiver DeSean Jackson, offensive lineman Jason Peters, cornerback Asante Samuel and fullback Leonard Weaver, all of whom were selected to the 2010 Pro Bowl. Of the 22 Eagles starters at the end of the 2009 season, 13 were draft choices of the team during Heckert’s tenure while two more were signed as undrafted free agents. In fact, three players from the club’s 2009 draft class were among the 13.
Cleveland Browns
On January 11, 2010, Heckert became the general manager of the
Cleveland Browns
The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. Named after original coach and co-founder Paul Brown, they compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (A ...
.
On December 31, 2012, Heckert, along with head coach
Pat Shurmur was relieved of his duties as Browns general manager by
Joe Banner
Joe Banner (born February 13, 1953) is an American football executive who was the former president of the Philadelphia Eagles (2001–2012), former chief executive officer of the Cleveland Browns (2012–2013), and former front office consultant f ...
, his former boss with the Eagles. Heckert and former team president
Mike Holmgren
Michael George Holmgren (born June 15, 1948) is a former American football coach and executive. He began his NFL career as a quarterbacks' coach and later as an offensive coordinator with the San Francisco 49ers, where they won Super Bowls XXI ...
posted a record of 14-34 with the Browns and their significant draft selections included Pro-Bowlers
Joe Haden,
T. J. Ward
Terrell Ray "T. J." Ward Jr. (born December 12, 1986) is a former American football safety who played for eight seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Oregon, and was drafted by the Cleveland Browns in the s ...
,
Jordan Cameron
Jordan Cravens Cameron (born August 7, 1988) is a former American football tight end. He played college football at USC and was drafted by the Cleveland Browns in the fourth round of the 2011 NFL Draft. Cameron also played for the Miami Dolphi ...
, and
Josh Gordon
Joshua Caleb Gordon (born April 13, 1991) is an American football wide receiver who is a free agent. He previously played for the Cleveland Browns, New England Patriots, Seattle Seahawks, Kansas City Chiefs, and the Tennessee Titans. Nicknamed ...
.
Denver Broncos
On May 7, 2013, Heckert was hired as director of pro personnel for the Denver Broncos. Heckert’s job is to scout current NFL players and oversee the team’s advanced scouting for upcoming opponents. On May 4, 2017, Heckert was promoted to senior personnel advisor. Heckert stepped down prior to the 2018 season due to an expired contract and health issues.
NFL
Heckert also served on the NFL's College Advisory Committee, which advises college football juniors on their draft status, as well as the league's General Managers Advisory Committee, which consults Commissioner Roger Goodell and the NFL football operations department on key issues regarding player development, scouting and technology.
Personal life
Heckert was the son of former
Miami Dolphins
The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member team of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The team p ...
personnel executive
Tom Heckert Sr., and had a son, Griffin, and a daughter, Madison.
On June 11, 2013, Heckert was arrested and charged with DUI and reckless driving. The Denver Broncos organization subsequently suspended him for a month without pay.
Heckert died on August 5, 2018, from
amyloidosis.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Heckert, Tom
1967 births
2018 deaths
Cleveland Browns executives
Hillsdale Chargers football coaches
Hillsdale Chargers football players
Philadelphia Eagles executives
National Football League general managers
People from Adrian, Michigan