ESPN's Ryan Clark Wants To Be NFL GM, Lies About C.J. Stroud & Bryce Young To Prove He Can Do It

GQ Magazine, which is still a thing apparently, is no stranger to producing puff pieces around ESPN (and former ESPN) "talent." They once wrote that Bomani Jones is "the sharpest thinker in sports." Well, they're back again, this time "profiling" Ryan Clark, future NFL GM (apparently), who has no problem lying about past opinions on C.J. Stroud and Bryce Young.

I bring up the Bomani Jones quote to shed light on the source. Because the same writer who penned that incredible line also wrote about Clark.

The Jones piece was an agent-pitched puff piece, OutKick confirmed. Meaning that Jones' agent approached GQ and said "hey, you should write about my client." And, they did.

I don't know if that's what happened in the case of Ryan Clark. However, it certainly reads that way.

ESPN Analyst Ryan Clark wants to be an NFL GM and he lied about his prior opinions on Bryce Young and C.J. Stroud to prove he can do it. (Photo by Dia Dipasupil/Getty Images for #Culinary Kickoff )

It's not quite as effusive as the praise for Jones, but the author states that Clark has "clear-headed perceptiveness" whatever that is.

But, from there, it becomes a standard Q&A where Clark pitches NFL teams that he wants to be a GM. And, he freely lies about his past opinions on the top-two picks in the past NFL Draft -- Bryce Young and C.J. Stroud -- to prove he's capable.

I'm not sure anyone really knew that Clark had aspirations of being a GM -- publicly, at least -- so this was his chance to put himself on the radar.

Or, maybe, he wanted to generate some leverage in future contract negotiations with ESPN. Either way, the piece serves Clark more than it does anyone else. GQ was happy to oblige, apparently.

ESPN analyst Ryan Clark starts out his GQ puff piece with his very-familiar race card

Before he gets into anything about being an NFL GM, he plays the race card. No surprise there. That's a big part of what Clark does.

"I wasn’t a household name, I didn’t play quarterback—and honestly, being African-American, I knew people probably thought I was stupid," Clark said.

Right off the bat, he wants you to know that he works harder than his white colleagues. That's going to important later.

I'm not going to go through everything he says because it's a lot of patting himself on the back. Apparently, Ryan Clark really, really likes Ryan Clark and he's not afraid to say it.

ESPN NFL analyst Ryan Clark thinks he's going to be an NFL GM someday. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images)

I worked at ESPN and spent some time in rooms with Clark. He appeared on a few shows I produced throughout the years.

The one thing I distinctly remember was how uncomfortable he often made those rooms. Ryan Clark thinks he's the smartest person in the room and he lets everyone know it. Especially as an underling at ESPN, there is no place to say anything to Clark that isn't "you're great."

So, it makes sense that Clark believes he's the best. No one dares tell him anything else.

I specifically remember one NFL season where many talent, producers and other ESPN personnel would watch all the games on a Sunday afternoon in a huge conference room. There were probably 25-30 people present.

The mood was generally light. Chris Berman often sat in the front row, constantly cracking jokes.

Sportscaster Chris Berman of ESPN. (Photo by Sam Greenwood/Getty Images)

One Sunday, Ryan Clark joined. He sat in the back of the room with his arms folded the entire time. A few times someone chimed in with some analysis and Clark scoffed.

It got to the point that most people just stopped talking. I actually left and went to watch the games in a control room because he completely ruined the experience for me.

How dare anyone have an opinion when we have the world's best NFL analyst right here to tell us what we're too stupid to see.

That's a perfect setup for the next part of the "interview."

Clark explains that he wants to be an NFL GM and he knew that C.J. Stroud was better than Bryce Young ... except, he's lying

Clark says he doesn't love doing TV and what he really wants is to be an NFL GM. Despite the fact that he spends almost all of his time talking on TV and podcasts, he claims he's preparing every day to become one.

"I’m going to be a GM one day; that’s my next job. I prepare every day by talking to former GMs, putting together my list of priorities, and writing down what sort of coach I want to work with," Clark said. "What alignments are necessary in order to go out and pick players. What’s the physicality level of my offense? How do I want to play defense?"

Apparently, those are all the things that go into being an NFL GM. Not working well with those around you (not a strong suit) or ability to manage a salary cap. Things that he might learn better by actually working in an NFL front office rather than trying to skip the line.

But, in Clark's mind, he deserves to skip the line. After all, he knew that C.J. Stroud should have been the No. 1 pick in the NFL Draft over Bryce Young.

ESPN analyst Ryan Clark wants to be an NFL GM and he lied about his prior opinions on Bryce Young and C.J. Stroud to prove he can do it. (Photo by David Jensen/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

"When I watch college ball now, I don’t think, 'Oh, this team is great.' I think, 'This is the best quarterback, now let me watch him.' I looked at the draft and thought there were three guys, then a fourth.

"Those three guys went first, second, and fourth. I thought C.J. was the best of them, but Bryce went first, then C.J., then Anthony ."

Boy, that's interesting. First, that Clark thinks watching a college football game and focusing on the quarterback is a ground-breaking way to analyze the game.

Second, he clearly states he thought C.J. Stroud was the best.

Here's a video from April 13, 2023 -- two weeks before the NFL Draft.

If that's not enough, here's a video from April 20, 2023 -- one week before the NFL Draft.

"For me, it's a no-brainer that Bryce Young is the #1 overall pick. Bryce Young has done nothing but be the best player on the football player the last two years," Clark emphatically states.

Huh. So, now that he wants to be an NFL GM, Clark is re-writing history to make himself right.

Sounds like a guy who deserves to go straight from TV into the front office, doesn't it?