Jon Ferrari

Eagles Expected To Promote Jon Ferrari To Assistant GM

A day after another of Howie Roseman‘s top lieutenants left the organization, the Eagles will promote from within. They are expected to elevate Jon Ferrari to their assistant general manager post, veteran NFL reporter Aditi Kinkhabwala tweets.

This might not be the only assistant GM under Roseman, per Kinkhabwala, who adds Steelers executive Brandon Hunt is also name to watch for a move to Philadelphia. Hunt could be in line for a vice president-type role with the Eagles.

Hunt interviewed twice for the Steelers’ GM job, but the team went with Omar Khan. Ex-Eagles exec Andy Weidl will be Khan’s right-hand man, opening the door for Hunt — the current Steelers pro scouting coordinator — to explore outside options. The Eagles interviewed Hunt for a high-ranking job earlier this month. With the Bills meeting with Hunt about their assistant GM job, it appears he is strongly considering leaving Pittsburgh.

News of Ferrari’s promotion comes after Colts exec Morocco Brown was no longer in the running for the post. A front office structure featuring Ferrari and Hunt as Roseman’s top lieutenants would resemble the new Browns hierarchy. Cleveland hired ex-Philadelphia exec Catherine Raiche recently; she and Glenn Cook will be the Browns’ assistant GMs under Andrew Berry.

Ferrari has been with the Eagles since 2016 and has worked mainly in the team’s compliance department. His most recent position was vice president of football operations and compliance, a role he began filling in 2019. A void remains in Philly’s front office, however, with most of Roseman’s top staffers either leaving or being dismissed. Four Roseman charges became assistant GMs with other teams this year.

The Eagles have lost Raiche, Andy Weidl, Casey Weidl, Brandon Brown, Ian Cunningham and Tom Donahoe this offseason. Brown (Giants) and Cunningham (Bears) joined Raiche and Andy Weidl in becoming assistant GMs elsewhere. The Eagles fired Casey Weidl, and Donahoe — a 10-year staffer who previously headed up the Steelers and Bills’ front offices — parted ways with the team after the draft.

Eagles Make Staff Changes

The Eagles are bringing on more staffers and reshuffling assignments for some holdover coaches. Two new coaches are joining Philadelphia’s staff, and three others will receive promotions.

Phillip Daniels will move from assistant defensive line coach to overseeing that position group. The 15-year NFL defensive end joined the Eagles when Doug Pederson was hired in 2016. A seventh-year Eagles staffer, Matthew Harper will make a more notable shift, transitioning from assistant special teams coach to assistant wide receivers coach. T.J. Paganetti will move from assistant offensive line coach/offense quality control to assistant running backs coach.

The new coaches joining Philly’s staff will be Mike Bartrum (assistant tight ends coach) and Luke Thompson (assistant special teams). An NFL long snapper from 1993-2006, Bartrum comes to the Eagles after being a head high school football coach in Ohio. He finished his career with seven seasons in Philadelphia. Thompson will also make a big level jump, joining Pederson’s staff from Lafayette (Pa.) College. His most recent role was serving as Lafayette’s defensive coordinator. Thompson, however, has been a college coach for 20 years.

Joe Pannunzio was already reported to be joining the Eagles’ front office, but the team revealed his role will be to director of team development. This marks a return to the front office for Pannunzio, who served as an Eagles exec from 2015-16. He was an Alabama assistant in 2017 and Murray State’s head coach in 2018.

Additionally, the team tinkered with its front office. Patrick Dolan will move to the role of VP of football technology. Dolan is a 30-year NFL staffer and is in his seventh year with the Eagles. Jon Ferrari‘s title is now VP of football operations and compliance. Ferrari was an NFL league office staffer from 2007-16. Former Browns exec Andrew Berry is now the Eagles’ VP of football operations.

NFC East Notes: Eagles, Foles, Cowboys

The Eagles reworked backup quarterback and Super Bowl MVP Nick Foles‘ contract earlier this year, adding incentives to the deal while also tacking on a mutual option for the 2019 season. Initial reports indicated Foles will collect $250K per start and an additional $250K per win if he serves as Philadelphia’s starting quarterback, but he can earn even more than that during the postseason, according to Tim McManus of ESPN.com. For every playoff game in which Foles plays 33% of the Eagles’ offensive snaps, he’ll take home $500K. If the Eagles win a postseason contest with Foles under center, another $500K goes in his pocket.

Here’s more from the NFC East:

  • While the terms of Foles’ deal could allow him to collect extra cash in 2018, Cowboys wide receiver Terrance Williams‘ contract language might enable Dallas to escape his pact with no financial penalty, as Clarence Hill of the Star-Telegram writes. Williams, of course, was arrested last week for public intoxication and leaving the scene of an accident, charges which Williams disputes. Nevertheless, if Williams is convicted for any sort of alcohol-related offense, he’ll almost certainly face a league-imposed suspension, and “all” Cowboys players have void provisions in their contracts related to bans, per Williams. At present, Williams is scheduled to earn a fully guaranteed $3.5MM base salary in 2018, and Dallas would take on $7.25MM in dead money by releasing him.
  • Head coach Doug Pederson would like the Eagles to re-sign safety Corey Graham “if it works out,” per Les Bowen of the Philadelphia Inquirer (Twitter link). Graham will be 33 years old when the 2018 campaign gets underway, but PFR ranked him as one of the 10 best available safeties before the free agent market opened in March. Although Graham has yet to garner any known interest over the past several months, the safety market has been infamously slow to develop, so the lack of Graham suitors is perhaps unsurprising. Graham played 367 snaps in 2017 as Philadelphia’s third safety behind starters Rodney McLeod and Malcolm Jenkins.
  • The Eagles have announced a series of hirings and promotions within their front office. Of note, Jake Rosenberg was named vice president of football administration, Jon Ferrari was named director of football operations, Andy Weidl was named director of player personnel. Meanwhile, Trey Brown — whom you may remember from recent Microsoft Surface commercials and last year interviewed for the Bills’ general manager position — is no longer listed among Philadelphia’s front office roster, as Geoff Mosher of 97.5 The Fanatic tweets.