David Howard is a member of the Charlotte City Council-- looking to work for the people of the Queen City to solve some of its most difficult problems. He also doesn't mind a good NFL scoop every once in a while.

I heard #nfl circles luv @roblondon_nfl for #panthers GM job! he's an agent 4 forte,jones-drew,bethea.Lookd him up,#raiders liked him in '11

— David Howard (@DavidHowardCLT) November 20, 2012

If Howard's NFL circles are right, then we all best prepare ourselves to head into an NFL nuclear winter. Thankfully, however, I don't think this is remotely close to being a possibility, and for a variety of reasons.

Rob London is an agent, a very good agent. Representing Matt Forte, Chris Johnson, and Maurice Jones-Drew, he'd be right at home with two more giant running back contracts in Carolina, but is he really suitable for an NFL front-office job? I understand the justification behind the thinking that a guy who knows talent, and how to make money off it could have skill in this capacity, but a lack of front-office experience at any level makes this almost impossible to understand.

Marty Hurney was often spuriously referred to as a little more than a 'former sportswriter' as his credentials for becoming Jerry Richardson's last GM. This conveniently leaves out Hurney's near-decade experience in San Diego before coming to Carolina, where he spent time working as a salary cap manager before getting the promotion.

London, on the other hand, has no such experience. He's never spent a moment in an NFL front office, and while he was up for consideration in Oakland, is that really a model the Panthers should follow?

In short, and with all due respect to David Howard-- I'm not buying it. When an organization brings in Ernie Accorsi, it's to mine his knowledge about up-and-comers from inside the league, with specific knowledge garnered about possible wunderkinds waiting in the wings. It's not to bring him in, then hire somebody with no NFL experience. Judging by the company he keeps, Rob London is a gifted evaluator of NFL talent, and should he choose to cross the aisle into an organization he could fair very well; but as a GM? No thanks.