Friday, June 26, 1998

Maciszewski
learning ways of
NFL front offices

The former Punahou star
hopes to be a G.M.
some day

By Al Chase
Star-Bulletin

Mike Maciszewski's long-range career goal is to become the general manager of a National Football League team.

The former Punahou and Harvard quarterback will continue to lay the groundwork necessary to achieve that goal at a new venue this year.

After working for the Jacksonville Jaguars for two seasons, Maciszewski has joined the new Cleveland Brown's franchise.

George Young, long-time general manager of the New York Giants, is overseeing the Cleveland franchise for the NFL until an owner is named. Joe Mack is the director of player personnel and Maciszewski's new boss.

"I had my eyes on that situation for awhile. I thought there might be more opportunities with this team," Maciszewski said.

His duties with the Jaguars dealt with the salary cap and analyzing the draft. He will continue dealing with the salary cap in Cleveland and will begin to learn about scouting.

"I'm hoping this will allow me to grow more, to add more knowledge to the foundation I'll need to advance," Maciszewski said. "I also thought it would be neat to get in on the ground floor."

During his senior year at Harvard, he decided to stay close to sports after graduation and looked to the NFL.

"I pretty much wrote to every NFL team. I got the best response from Jacksonville," he said.

"I would have gone any place. I'm young and wanted to get my foot in the door."

Jacksonville senior vice president for football operations, Michael Huyghue, offered Maciszewski a summer internship with a good possibility of it leading to a job in the spring of 1996.

"The first few weeks, six of us interns were taught the whole salary cap system stemming from the collective bargaining agreement. They called it Cap 101," Maciszewski said. "It provided a good background and a good education of the business."

When training camp started, the duties changed to making sure the players were at the mandatory meals, transporting players between the hotel and the stadium, helping the trainers, etc.

At the end of training camp (summer internship also ended), Maciszewski was offered the chance to remain with the Jaguars as an intern for the regular season in football operations.

Some of the jobs seemed menial or tedious, but this didn't bother a young man whose energy level and enthusiasm only know one gear -- full speed ahead. He observed the coaches, saw how practices were run, how players responded to being talked to a certain way, the drills used, made airport runs, etc.

"If you pay your dues and learn a lot at the same time, it's definitely going to help you advance. You have to be like a sponge," Maciszewski said.

In November 1996 he was hired full time. His title: Manager, Contract Information.

He was charged with maintaining a contract data base for every Jacksonville player. It required constant updating and every detail had to be correct and available to Huyghue at all times.

Maciszewski also did analytical work in preparation for the draft.

"In 1997 we selected in the 21st slot. We looked at the past five years to determine what kind of production teams received from the 21st pick," he said. "We researched the kind of contracts we can expect from our entire draft class. We looked at signing bonus, the base salary and how they are structured.

"We looked at trades involving draft picks. If we traded up what should we expect to receive and give up. We covered every scenario before hand. My boss and the whole organization stressed preparation. For something as serious as determining your players, a lot of work goes into it."

The same could be said for building a career.

"I enjoyed Jacksonville and loved working for the Jaguars," Maciszewski said.

"My approach is that after each year I will analyze my position, see where can I go and what I can improve on with the goal of becoming a general manager."

"You look at the top general managers and they either have a coaching or strong scouting background. It's a difficult field because there is no track laid out for you. There is no progression that everyone follows. Each organization is assembled differently.

"You have to constantly evaluate how you're proceeding. I know sometime soon I want to develop a greater knowledge of the X's and O's."

The Browns first game is against the Dallas Cowboys in the 1999 Hall of Fame game in Canton, Ohio.

The task for Maciszewski is to expand his knowledge and understanding of the pro game right along with the league's newest franchise.