HEADLINES

Brandon Brown

Giants’ Brandon Brown Books Second Chargers GM Interview

January 24th, 2024 at 10:12am CST by Sam Robinson

Seemingly close to hiring Jim Harbaugh as head coach, the Chargers look to be moving toward finalists for their GM position. Brandon Brown will be the first candidate given a second interview for the post.

The Giants’ assistant GM, Brown is in Los Angeles today for a second meeting, NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero tweets. Brown, whom the Giants hired in 2022, also interviewed for the Panthers’ GM position. Carolina ended its search this week by promoting assistant GM Dan Morgan.

Although Harbaugh would undoubtedly need to be paired with a GM he would not object to, a recent report indicated the veteran HC would not force the Chargers into a GM hire of his choosing. Harbaugh famously feuded with then-49ers GM Trent Baalke during their time together in San Francisco, helping lead the former to Michigan after four years.

Other Chargers HC candidates are still in the mix, but Harbaugh is the first to be given a second interview. With that meeting believed to have produced an agreement on Harbaugh’s HC salary, it would not surprise if a hire followed soon. As of now, the Chargers still have openings for their HC and GM roles.

A rising young exec, Brown joined Joe Schoen‘s Giants front office after years in Philadelphia. Brown also interviewed for the Vikings’ GM job in 2022, but this offseason’s GM carousel has featured a more prominent place for Schoen’s right-hand man. As shown on PFR’s General Manager Search Tracker, here is how the Bolts’ search looks as of Wednesday morning:

2024 NFL General Manager Search Tracker

January 19th, 2024 at 12:04pm CST by Sam Robinson

With the Commanders making a hire, four teams remain in search of general managers. This includes the Patriots, who have moved on from HC/de facto GM Bill Belichick. If other teams decide to make GM changes, they’ll be added to this list. Here is the current breakdown of where searches stand:

Updated 1-30-24 (8:15am CT)

Carolina Panthers

Las Vegas Raiders

Los Angeles Chargers

New England Patriots

Washington Commanders

Chargers Request Seven GM Interviews

January 9th, 2024 at 8:09pm CST by Sam Robinson

8:09pm: The Chargers also put in a request to interview another Bears exec. Co-director of player personnel Jeff King will meet with the Bolts, ESPN.com’s Lindsey Thiry tweets.

The former Panthers and Cardinals tight end has been with the Bears since 2015, being with the team throughout the Ryan Pace regime. Poles moved King, 40, to his current post in 2022. This will be King’s first GM interview; he met with the Panthers about their assistant GM job in 2021.

5:58pm: Add Ian Cunningham to this list. The Bears’ assistant GM also received an interview request from the Chargers, Rapoport tweets. Cunningham joined Brown as an Eagles staffer who became an assistant GM in 2022, becoming Ryan Poles‘ right-hand man. Set to to have an important say in Chicago’s decision on Justin Fields, Cunningham also turned down the Arizona GM job last year.

2:43pm: The Chargers will make a belated push out of the starting blocks on their general manager search. Seeking to fill the role Tom Telesco held for 11 years, the AFC West team has sent out five GM interview requests thus far.

Former Dolphins GM-turned-Saints assistant GM Jeff Ireland is among them, per NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport. Also included here is Cowboys VP of player personnel Will McClay, according to the Dallas Morning News’ Calvin Watkins. 49ers assistant GM Adam Peters, Giants assistant GM Brandon Brown and Bills VP of player personnel Terrance Gray also received Bolts interview requests, according to SI.com’s Albert Breer and NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero.

This marks Ireland’s first entrance onto this year’s GM carousel. An Ireland-Sean Payton reunion has been rumored, but after rumblings of embattled Broncos GM George Paton being on the chopping block, it is looking like the Payton-Paton setup will remain in place. This would hinder an Ireland Denver move. Ireland worked with Payton for seven years in New Orleans, helping revive the franchise after a mid-2010s lull.

Given considerable credit for a Saints impact 2017 draft class that included Marshon Lattimore, Alvin Kamara, Ryan Ramczyk and Trey Hendrickson, Ireland has been the Saints’ college scouting director since his arrival in 2015. Ireland, 53, is still better known for his Dolphins years. He spent six years as Miami’s GM, but after the team (during Matt Cassel‘s QB1 year in New England) won the 2008 AFC East title, no more playoff appearances commenced. Still, Ireland brings more experience to the table than most on this year’s GM market. He has also interviewed for a few jobs — the Panthers, Lions and Bears — from 2021-22.

Although Jerry and Stephen Jones still make the final calls, McClay has been indispensable for the Cowboys over the past several years. Dallas has continually hit on first-round picks, with fourth-rounder Dak Prescott quickly becoming the franchise’s centerpiece player. McClay, 57, has been with the Cowboys since 2003 and has not been a regular during GM hiring periods. His most recent connection to a GM job came when he turned down a Texans interview request in 2018; it will be interesting to see if McClay agrees to the Chargers meeting.

Peters has received requests from the Commanders and Raiders. It would not be surprising to see every team request a meeting with the 49ers’ assistant GM, given the success the team has achieved during the Kyle Shanahan–John Lynch years. Gray is on the Raiders’ list as well, with Brown — following his second year as the Giants’ assistant GM — on the Panthers’ radar.

Panthers Request GM Interviews With Brandon Brown, Mike Greenberg, Brandt Tilis

January 8th, 2024 at 4:03pm CST by Sam Robinson

Making the anticipated move to fire Scott Fitterer, the Panthers are joining other teams in sending out interview requests. Three have gone out as of Monday afternoon.

The Panthers want to meet with Giants assistant GM Brandon Brown, Buccaneers assistant GM Mike Greenberg and Chiefs VP of football operations Brandt Tilis, according to NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero and Peter Schrager. While assistant Carolina GM Dan Morgan will have a chance to succeed Fitterer, David Tepper is hoping to bring in a handful of outside candidates.

Tepper’s actions in recent months and his general reputation during his ownership run introduce complications for his latest round of hires. But he remains the NFL’s second-wealthiest owner. That component may be important given the state of the Panthers, who do not have their first-round pick this year or their 2025 second-rounder due to the Bryce Young trade. As is the case for HC positions, there are only 32 GM jobs available. That will at least bring candidates to the table.

Tepper has already met with Tilis, who interviewed for the GM job in 2021. The Panthers conducted an expansive search that year, choosing Fitterer, who had enjoyed a successful run as a Seahawks exec. Fitterer did not have full control until Tepper fired Matt Rhule in October 2022, and the owner has referenced his own willingness to veto moves, pointing to Carolina’s GM having to contend with ownership as well. It is not known how Tepper plans to structure his next staff, in terms of handing power to the GM or head coach. That is among the notable questions Carolina faces this offseason.

As for the candidates, Tilis joins Chiefs assistant GM Mike Borgonzi in receiving early interview requests. Both have been with the team throughout its Patrick Mahomes-era rise. Tilis was a central figure in the Chiefs hammering out Mahomes’ outlier 10-year extension back in 2020, researching baseball contracts before the team came to terms with its centerpiece player on that landmark deal. The Chiefs have already needed to adjust that contract, due to the quarterback market accelerating in the years since that July 2020 extension. Tilis even predates Andy Reid in Kansas City, joining the team to start Scott Pioli‘s GM tenure back in 2009. Tilis has been in his current position since 2021.

Greenberg joins Tilis in being in his 14th season with his current employer. The Bucs exec is best known for helping the team navigate its salary cap, something that became pivotal during an all-in push centered around Tom Brady. Tampa Bay completed numerous restructures and became a piece of NFL transaction lore in 2021 by retaining its entire starting lineup plus notable backups in an effort to defend a Super Bowl title. While the Bucs could not complete that effort on the field, Greenberg’s work — which included Brady’s initial agreement, a subsequent extension and a post-retirement restructure — helped considerably. The Bucs promoted Greenberg to assistant GM last year.

The Giants hired Brown to be Joe Schoen‘s right-hand man in 2022, an offseason that featured four Eagles execs become assistant GMs elsewhere. Just 36, Brown spent five years with the Eagles, beginning his run with the team ahead of its Super Bowl LII-winning season. Howie Roseman promoted Brown to player personnel director in 2021, putting him on the radar for top lieutenant roles the following year.

Additionally, the Panthers may have their eye on another NFC South exec. Khai Harley, whom the Saints elevated to assistant GM this past offseason, is believed to be on Carolina’s radar, per ESPN.com’s Jeremy Fowler. Harley has helped Mickey Loomis as the team annually comes up with creative ways to free up salary cap space, being the NFL’s restructure kingpins.

2022 NFL General Manager Search Tracker

May 18th, 2022 at 5:03pm CST by Sam Robinson

Along with the head coaches being fired, a few NFL teams are looking for new general managers. Listed below are the GM candidates that have been linked to each of the teams with vacancies, along with their current status.

If and when other teams decide to make GM changes, they’ll be added to this list. Here is the current breakdown:

Updated 5-24-22 (9:03pm CT)

Chicago Bears

Las Vegas Raiders

Minnesota Vikings

New York Giants

Pittsburgh Steelers

Giants To Hire Eagles’ Brandon Brown As Assistant GM

February 5th, 2022 at 2:25pm CST by Sam Robinson

Howie Roseman will lose another lieutenant from his front office. The Giants are hiring Eagles director of player personnel Brandon Brown to be their assistant general manager, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets.

This move comes barely a week after the Bears hired the Eagles’ other co-player personnel director — Ian Cunningham — to be their assistant GM. Brown will join Joe Schoen‘s front office in New York. Previous Giants assistant GM Kevin Abrams is moving to a different role. He will become the team’s senior vice president of football operations and strategy.

A Giants organization that had either promoted GMs from within or hired familiar faces (in the case of Dave Gettleman) for the previous three decades now has two outsiders atop its front office. In Brown, the Giants are bringing in a young executive and one that has gone through multiple GM interviews. The Vikings interviewed Brown for their GM job last month.

Brown had been with the Eagles since 2017, joining the team ahead of its Super Bowl-winning season after spending two years as a Colts scout. The Eagles bumped Brown up to their pro scouting director post in 2019 and elevated him to VP of player personnel last year. Brown finished his Eagles run by overseeing their scouting department. Brown and Cunningham’s Philadelphia exits come not too long after the Jets and Browns, respectively, hired their GMs — Joe Douglas and Andrew Berry — from Roseman’s front office.

Abrams has since been the team’s assistant GM for the past 20 years, working under GMs Ernie Accorsi, Jerry Reese and Gettleman. The Giants interviewed Abrams for the GM job in 2017.

“Kevin has been and will continue to be an invaluable resource for me and our staff,” Schoen said. “In his new role, Kevin will be assisting with the day-to-day football operation, administration and strategy of the organization moving forward.”