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Brandon Hunt

Eagles Announce Numerous Updates To Front Office

June 9th, 2024 at 8:17pm CST by Ely Allen

The Eagles announced a host of changes to their front office staff this week. While the litany of moves was mostly comprised of promotions and title changes, three new hires were announced, as well.

In the front office, Bryce Johnston continues to rise through the ranks as he heads into his ninth season with the team. After seeing a promotion to vice president of football transactions and strategic planning last year, Johnston now sees a promotion to senior vice president/tertiary football executive. Jeff Scott also earned a promotion with his title changing from director of football operations to vice president of football operations going into his fourth season with the team. Katie David, going on 17 seasons in the Eagles’ football operations department, has gone from football operations director to chief of staff to the general manager.

Dom DiSandro has added a new title to his position. Serving as senior advisor to the general manager/chief security officer in 2023, the Eagles will add the moniker of gameday coaching operations to his job. DiSandro was involved in a sideline incident with 49ers linebacker Dre Greenlaw that resulted in the ejection of both parties and the banning of DiSandro from the sidelines for the subsequent game. Jeff McLane of the Philadelphia Inquirer posits that the new title may be a preliminary measure to prevent similar discipline should any future sideline incidents occur.

Adam Berry, twin brother of Browns general manager Andrew Berry, is also receiving a promotion. After coming to the NFL after a career at Goldman Sachs last year, Berry goes from vice president of football operations to vice president of football operations and strategy. Former Pro Bowl linebacker Connor Barwin continues to work his way up the executive ladder, as well. Named the team’s player development director in 2022, Barwin will now serve as head of football development and strategy. Also a former player who retired after signing a reserve/futures deal with the team, Matt Leo earned a promotion from defensive/football operations assistant to player development assistant.

The football operations new hire is Isabel Pantle, who joins the team as a quantitative analyst. Pantle previously served as a player personnel analyst intern for the Ravens in 2022.

In the player personnel department, Charles Walls and Alan Wolking have both been named vice presidents of player personnel. Walls was hired as the Eagles’ director of player personnel in 2022 after two years as a national scout for the Browns. In the same year, Wolking had been promoted to director of player personnel, as well. Wolking is entering his 14th season with the team. Filling the vacated role of director of player personnel will be Phil Bhaya, who previously served as director of college scouting. Bhaya will have Jeremy Gray, as well, after Gray’s promotion from assistant director of pro scouting to assistant director of player personnel. Terrence Braxton joins the group as player personnel coordinator after a promotion from football operations coordinator.

On the scouting front, Brandon Hunt was promoted from director of scouting to senior director of scouting as he enters his 20th year of scouting experience. Ameena Soliman, who added the director of personnel operations title to her pro scouting duties in 2022, will now serve as director of football operations while continuing to work as a pro scout. Also, former mid-Atlantic area scout Cam Bradfield has been assigned a different area for this season. In 2024, Bradfield will cover the southwest area.

The other two new hires mentioned above were in the scouting department, as well. Laurel McHale has been hired on as a full-time scouting assistant after working last year as a player personnel and scouting associate intern. Lastly, Duke Tobin Jr., son of the Bengals’ director of player personnel for the last 25 years, was also hired as a scouting assistant. He first connected with the team as a training camp scouting intern before working a seasonal job as a player personnel associate.

Latest On Patriots’ Eliot Wolf Decision

May 24th, 2024 at 10:15pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Patriots now officially have their top post-Bill Belichick pieces in place, naming Eliot Wolf their executive VP of player personnel nearly four months after hiring Jerod Mayo to replace the coaching legend on the sideline.

Filling these two jobs involved a historically low-volume search. After language in Mayo’s contract allowed the Patriots to work around the Rooney Rule — which mandates two external minority candidates be interviewed for HC positions — the team met with only two outside candidates for its de facto GM position. And the process leading to the Wolf hire proved to be a box-checking operation, as a few candidates around the league effectively predicted.

During search that saw three executives — the Bengals’ Trey Brown, the Bills’ Terrance Gray and former Cardinals staffer Quentin Harris — decline interviews, the Patriots met with Eagles scouting director Brandon Hunt and former Panthers exec Samir Suleiman. Neither interview took place at the team facility, according to SI.com’s Albert Breer, and the two candidates who agreed to interview did not meet with anyone beyond the Krafts.

Widely expected to end with Wolf being given the keys on a full-time basis, this Patriots search brought the combined total of outside candidates interviewed for the HC and GM jobs to two this offseason. By comparison, the Panthers met with 11 outside candidates for their HC post and eight non-Carolina-based staffers for their GM gig. The Chargers spoke with nine GM candidates and met with 13 outside coaches. The Commanders’ HC-GM search covered five GM aspirants and seven outside HC interviewees. The Raiders’ search most closely resembled the Patriots’, as they only met with two non-Antonio Pierce candidates for HC and five GM candidates.

The Pats, who have not given out a GM title in more than 30 years, gave Wolf a trial run by installing him as their acting personnel chief months before the draft, Breer adds. It would have been borderline shocking to see the team allow Wolf to select its hopeful long-term quarterback (No. 3 overall pick Drake Maye), turning down Giants and Vikings trade-up offers along the way, and then go with another candidate to lead the way post-draft. Most around the league correctly predicted New England would stick with Wolf, a longtime exec who had worked as the No. 2 man in Green Bay and Cleveland. Wolf later became a finalist for the Bears and Vikings’ GM jobs in 2022.

Wolf, 42, has changed the Patriots’ scouting system by replacing Belichick’s setup with what he used with the Packers; the Patriots will also switch up their workflow by having both Wolf and Mayo report to ownership. While this format can cause division, other teams have both their HC and GM meet directly with ownership rather than use a top-down approach.

Prior to Belichick’s exit, Matt Groh worked as his top lieutenant. The Patriots have employed Wolf since 2020, but the Krafts saw enough in the second-generation personnel man to vault him past Groh and into their top front office spot. Groh remains with the organization, but it will be Wolf — likely with more input from ownership compared to the Belichick era — leading the way.

Ownership did not conduct thorough searches to reach its Mayo-Wolf endpoint. That stands to be an important footnote as the team prepares for its first post-Belichick season.

Patriots Interview Samir Suleiman

May 8th, 2024 at 10:04pm CST by Sam Robinson

A fifth confirmed candidate for the Patriots’ lead front office executive position has emerged. While three of the first four options declined an audience with the team, former Panthers staffer Samir Suleiman will meet about the job.

The Pats are interviewing Suleiman — most recently the Panthers’ VP of football administration — on Wednesday, according to ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter. Suleiman was part of this year’s January GM interview cycle, meeting about the Panthers’ position. While this is effectively for a GM role, SI.com’s Albert Breer indicates the Patriots are labeling the position their executive vice president of football operations. This is similar to how the Commanders themed their search this offseason.

[RELATED: 2024 NFL General Manager Search Tracker]

Carolina parted ways with Suleiman after promoting assistant GM Dan Morgan to the GM post. This interview represented Suleiman’s second meeting about a GM position. He also met about the Panthers’ 2021 GM vacancy, but while the team retained the salary cap expert after Scott Fitterer landed the gig three years ago, the sides parted ways once Morgan stepped in as Fitterer’s replacement.

Three execs — Trey Brown, Terrance Gray, Quentin Harris — turned down the Patriots, who are still viewed as likely to give this position to Eliot Wolf, who has been in charge of the team’s roster for several weeks post-Bill Belichick. The two staffers who have not rejected interviews worked together in Pittsburgh. Brandon Hunt, who is currently an Eagles exec, worked alongside Suleiman from 2013-19 with the Steelers. As Hunt served as the team’s director of pro scouting, Suleiman was in place as the AFC North franchise’s football administration coordinator.

Suleiman debuted on NFL staffs in the late 1990s, beginning his run with the Jaguars. He then spent the 2000s with the Rams, operating as the director of football administration for the then-St. Louis-based franchise. The Panthers hired Suleiman in 2020, and he became the team’s primary contract negotiator.

Hunt is continuing his interview today, Schefter adds. Once Suleiman completes his interview, the Patriots would stand to have satisfied their Rooney Rule requirements. Like Hunt, Suleiman is a minority exec. Teams are required to interview at least two external minority candidates to comply with the updated Rooney Rule.

Patriots To Interview Eagles’ Brandon Hunt

May 7th, 2024 at 9:50pm CST by Sam Robinson

After going 0-for-3 in interview requests for their top front office position, the Patriots are indeed set to meet with a candidate. Eagles exec Brandon Hunt will go forward with an interview, according to ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter.

The Hunt interview is on tap for today. Hunt has been with the Eagles since 2022, coming over after a lengthy tenure with the Steelers. This Patriots connection marks Hunt’s first GM-related tie since the Steelers passed on promoting him to that post, elevating Omar Khan instead, in 2022. Hunt interviewed twice for the Pittsburgh GM gig.

[RELATED: 2024 NFL General Manager Search Tracker]

Hunt is currently in place as the Eagles’ director of scouting. He was with the Steelers, as their director of pro scouting, from 2010-22. Khan hired Eagles exec Andy Weidl as assistant GM; the latter move preceded Hunt leaving for Philadelphia. The Eagles lost four staffers (Weidl, Brandon Brown, Ian Cunningham, Catherine Raiche) to assistant GM posts elsewhere in 2022; Hunt became one of Howie Roseman‘s additions in the wake of those exits. Brown, Cunningham and Raiche have come up in GM searches since; the Eagles will now see another of Roseman’s lieutenants take a key meeting.

News of this Hunt meeting comes after three execs — Trey Brown, Terrance Gray and Quentin Harris — turned down Patriots interview requests. The Pats are likely to keep Eliot Wolf atop its front office, soon in a more official capacity, likely leading to the run of execs turning down interview requests.

Each of the four known external candidates for this position are Black. Teams must interview at least two external minorities for HC and GM positions, shaping the nature of a Patriots search that other GM hopefuls clearly believe will end with Wolf staying in place atop the AFC East team’s front office.

2024 NFL General Manager Search Tracker

May 7th, 2024 at 4:00pm CST by Sam Robinson

With the Patriots hiring Eliot Wolf as their de facto GM after having moved on from Bill Belichick, all five teams in need of a GM have filled their post this offseason. If other teams decide to make GM changes, they’ll be added to this list.

Updated 5-11-24 (4:35pm CT)

Carolina Panthers

Las Vegas Raiders

Los Angeles Chargers

New England Patriots

Washington Commanders

Eagles Announce Front Office Changes; Rod Streater, Ben Ijalana Join Scouting Staff

June 3rd, 2022 at 3:53pm CST by Sam Robinson

After seeing one of the more offseason significant brain drains in recent memory take place, the Eagles announced how they will move forward without the front office talent they lost.

Philadelphia saw four executives become assistant general managers elsewhere — Ian Cunningham (Bears), Brandon Brown (Giants), Catherine Raiche (Browns) and Andy Weidl (Steelers) — and have moved forward without former GM Tom Donahoe and director of scouting operations Casey Weidl. Had the Steelers not hired Andy Weidl as their assistant GM, the Eagles would have aimed to retain him — despite his brother’s firing — according to The Athletic’s Zach Berman (subscription required). But the team announced Friday its revamped front office.

Jon Ferrari and Alec Halaby are indeed Howie Roseman‘s assistant GMs. The Eagles have not used that title in recent years, but offering it certainly aids in retaining key staffers. The team hired longtime Steelers pro scouting director Brandon Hunt to accompany the in-house risers as a top Roseman lieutenant. Joining Andy Weidl, Omar Khan and others as a finalist for the Pittsburgh GM job, Hunt is now Philadelphia’s director of scouting. The Eagles were interested in adding Hunt back in 2016, and the veteran Steelers staffer will now play a key role in the NFC East franchise’s reconstructed front office.

Connor Barwin, who joined the Eagles during the 2020 offseason, will be the team’s player development director. Fellow recent retirees are among Philly’s new hires. Former Raiders wide receiver Rod Streater will join the Eagles as their northeast area scout. Streater, who played in the NFL from 2012-18, went to college in Philadelphia (Temple). Streater, 34, spent time as a Browns scout, working under former Eagles exec Andrew Berry, since retiring. The Eagles also hired ex-Jets and Colts tackle Ben Ijalana, 32, as a scouting assistant. Ijalana, who also went to college in Philly (Villanova), played from 2011-19.

Fellow recent hires Matt Russell and Jordan Dizon will serve as a senior personnel advisor and a national scout, respectively. The Eagles also hired Jeremy Gray as their assistant director of pro personnel. Gray previously worked at the University of Arizona. He is the son of longtime NFL assistant Jerry Gray. Let go from Washington’s staff last year, Jeff Scott also received a promotion with the Eagles; he is now their director of football operations. Scott was with Washington for nine years.

The Eagles also promoted Alan Wolking from college scouting director to director of player personnel and gave former Jaguars GM Dave Caldwell a more official title. Caldwell, who joined Roseman’s staff last year, will now serve as a senior personnel director and an advisor to the GM. Previously, Caldwell simply carried a “personnel executive” title. Max Gruder will rise from assistant pro scouting director to the top of that department, while Ryan Myers will move from an area-scout gig to the assistant scouting director post. An eight-year Eagles staffer, Phil Bhaya will climb from the area-scout level to the team’s director of draft management.

Eagles To Add Steelers’ Brandon Hunt To Front Office

May 27th, 2022 at 1:32pm CST by Sam Robinson

After Andy Weidl became the fourth Eagles executive to become an assistant general manager elsewhere this offseason, the NFC East franchise plans to hire one of the other finalists for the Steelers’ GM job.

Longtime Steelers exec Brandon Hunt is expected to become part of Howie Roseman‘s Eagles staff, Geoff Mosher of InsidetheBirds.com tweets. Hunt interviewed for a high-ranking Eagles position earlier this month and, after the Steelers opted to promote Omar Khan to GM, the former was believed to be looking into outside options.

Pittsburgh’s pro scouting director, Hunt had been with the team in a full-time capacity since 2010. However, a few teams sought meetings with the veteran scouting staffer. The Raiders interviewed Hunt for their GM job, and the Bills joined the Eagles in interviewing him for a top lieutenant post. Hunt met with Buffalo about an assistant GM vacancy.

While Philly is promoting Jon Ferrari to assistant GM, the team is open to having multiple staffers in that role. It is unknown if Hunt will work alongside Ferrari directly under Roseman, but it is clear he will be one of the Eagles’ new top staffers. This will be a scouting position, per Mosher. Most recently, Hunt played a pivotal role in the then-Kevin Colbert-led franchise adding Joe Haden as a late-summer free agent in 2017 and trading for Minkah Fitzpatrick two years later.

Weidl joined Hunt, Khan and three other execs in receiving second interviews for the Steelers’ GM gig. Now Pittsburgh’s assistant GM under Khan, Weidl followed Brandon Brown (Giants), Ian Cunningham (Bears) and Catherine Raiche (Browns) in leaving Philly to become a No. 2 staffer with another team.

Eagles Expected To Promote Jon Ferrari To Assistant GM

May 25th, 2022 at 6:06pm CST by Sam Robinson

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.

Latest On Steelers’ Front Office

May 25th, 2022 at 9:31am CST by Adam La Rose

Tuesday brought about an end to the lengthy search conducted by the Steelers to find their new general manager. With Omar Khan being promoted to the role, other moves are forthcoming as well. 

[RELATED: Khan To Become Next Steelers’ GM]

Veteran NFL reporter Aditi Kinkhabwala tweets that Pittsburgh is set to hire Sheldon White as an addition to their player personnel department, creating an overlap in duties with Andy Weidl. The latter was announced as the Steelers’ new assistant GM just before the Khan news came out.

White began his front office career with the Lions in 1997. The bulk of his tenure with the team was spent in their personnel department, where he worked from 2000 to 2015. The 57-year-old took over as interim GM after Martin Mayhew was fired midseason, but that year was his last in Detroit. He departed not long after the team selected Bob Quinn as its new GM, working in Washington as a scout this past season. White’s son, Colby, has worked in the Steelers’ front office for the past two years.

Kinkhabwala also reports, however, that Brandon Hunt could be on the move soon. The other internal candidate to be given consideration for Pittsburgh’s GM job, Hunt has received interest from both the Bills and Eagles this offseason. Not surprisingly given yesterday’s developments, then, Kinkhabwala states that Hunt “could be in line for a VP spot” in Philadelphia. Such a hire would mark a significant addition for the Eagles, but it would create another notable vacancy in the Steelers’ new-look front office.

Latest On Steelers’ GM Search

May 24th, 2022 at 10:20am CST by Adam La Rose

The Steelers have undergone a meticulous search to find outgoing general manager Kevin Colbert‘s replacement. The list of preferred candidates has reportedly been finalized.

Pittsburgh has concluded their interviews for the position, per Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. The team initially met with 16 executives representing a noteworthy cross-section of internal and external personnel. That list was then narrowed down to six candidates, each of whom received a second look.

Included among the finalists are Brandon Hunt and Omar Khan. The former has worked in Pittsburgh on two separate occasions, the most recent stint beginning in 2010; he is currently the team’s pro scouting director. Hunt has also received interest for a significant front-office role in Philadelphia. The latter, meanwhile, has been with the Steelers since 2001, working his way up to the role of vice president of football and business administration and generating interest on a number of occasions from other teams during previous GM hiring cycles.

The other second interviewees come from outside the organization: Ryan Cowden, John Spytek and Andy Weidl, who work in the player personnel departments for the Titans, Buccaneers and Eagles, respectively. The other external name to be given notable consideration is Doug Whaley, who began his front office career with the Steelers before a stint as the Bills’ GM and, most recently, a position with the re-booted XFL.

Dulac notes that it remains to be seen if the six-name list is reduced even further before a hire is made. He adds that there is still “no specific timeframe” for when the new GM will be named.

Here is the complete breakdown of the Steelers’ search:

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