Brandon Hunt

Raiders Interview Falcons’ Ruston Webster, Steelers’ Brandon Hunt For GM Job

January 26th, 2022 at 3:17pm CST by Sam Robinson

For the first time since the Titans fired Ruston Webster in 2016, the veteran executive landed a GM interview. The Falcons exec met with the Raiders to interview for their GM vacancy recently, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets.

The Raiders also went through an interview with Steelers pro scouting director Brandon Hunt, Rapoport adds. The Silver and Black’s candidate list to succeed Mike Mayock is swiftly moving toward 10 names.

Webster has been with the Falcons since 2016, landing with the then-Thomas Dimitroff-led front office as a national scout and sticking around as a senior personnel exec under new GM Terry Fontenot. Webster’s most notable experience came with the Titans, who brought him over from the Seahawks in 2010 and promoted him to GM in 2012. Webster, 59, has been in the NFL for decades, having begun as a Buccaneers staffer back in 1988. Lasting in Tampa until 2005, Webster’s tenure overlapped with since-resigned Raiders coach Jon Gruden‘s. Webster ended his Bucs run as the team’s director of player personnel before heading to Seattle.

Hunt interviewed with the Raiders on Tuesday, Tom Pelissero of NFL.com tweets. While the Pittsburgh exec is on the radar for the Las Vegas job, he is also expected to be considered — should he not end up with the Raiders — to be in the mix to succeed Kevin Colbert as Steelers GM when he steps down after the draft. Longtime Steelers exec Omar Khan is also expected to be considered to replace Colbert. While Hunt interviewed for the Eagles’ director of player personnel position in 2016, he is beginning to receive GM buzz for the first time.

Here is how the Raiders’ GM search looks as of Wednesday afternoon:

Trey Brown, scout (Bengals): Interviewed 1/21
Ed Dodds, vice president of player personnel (Colts): To interview 1/26
Brandon Hunt, director of pro scouting (Steelers): Interviewed 1/25
Dwayne Joseph, director of pro personnel (Raiders): To interview
Champ Kelly, assistant director of player personnel (Bears): Interviewed 1/20
John Spytek, vice president of player personnel (Buccaneers): Interview requested
Ruston Webster, senior personnel executive (Falcons): Interviewed
Dave Ziegler, director of player personnel (Patriots): Interviewed 1/21

Steelers GM Kevin Colbert To Step Down

January 9th, 2022 at 8:41am CST by Rory Parks

Steelers GM Kevin Colbert has been working, by his own request, on a series of year-to-year contracts in order to leave open the possibility of retirement. After 22 years in the Pittsburgh front office, that day may have finally come, as Ian Rapoport and Tom Pelissero of NFL.com report that Colbert will step down after the 2022 draft.

As Aditi Kinkhabwala of the NFL Network reminds us (via Twitter), Colbert has repeatedly stated that he would remain in his post as long as Ben Roethlisberger was the Steelers’ quarterback. Roethlisberger is set to retire at season’s end, so Colbert is staying true to his word. He may stay with the organization in an advisory capacity to assist whomever the Steelers hire to replace him, but the 65-year-old is expected to retire sooner rather than later.

He will leave behind an extraordinary legacy. Colbert, who became Pittsburgh’s director of football operations in 2000 before assuming the general manager title in 2010, has compiled a 225-124-3 record during his time in charge of the club’s personnel. That includes two Super Bowl titles with two different coaches, along with a third Super Bowl appearance.

In all of that time, the Steelers only had one losing season, which came way back in 2003. Following the arrival of Roethlisberger one year later, Pittsburgh has been a model of consistency, and the fact that the storied franchise remains one of the NFL’s most respected and has served as a template that other teams try to emulate is thanks in no small part to Colbert’s efforts.

Vice president of football and business administration, Omar Khan, would appear to be on the short list of potential replacements. Khan has been with the Steelers almost as long as Colbert, having been hired as the football administration coordinator in 2001. He has been a popular GM candidate for other teams in recent years, and he was reportedly offered the Texans’ GM gig last year before Houston pivoted to Nick Caserio.

Rapoport and Pelissero also name pro scouting coordinator Brandon Hunt as a candidate.

Eagles Interviewed Daniel Jeremiah For Personnel Job

March 1st, 2016 at 4:50pm CST by Ben Levine

As the Eagles and owner Jeffrey Lurie search for a new “player personnel head,” the organization is thinking a bit outside the box. Jimmy Kempski of PhillyVoice.com reports that the organization interviewed NFL Network’s Daniel Jeremiah for the open position. There was no formal offer extended to the draft expert, and the 38-year-old ultimately signed an extension with NFL Network.

Peter King of the Monday Morning Quarterback reported that the analyst had received a “firm” offer to head an NFL personnel department, as well as a “the-job-is-yours-if-you-want-it feeler” from another organization. Instead, Jeremiah decided to stay in California with his wife and four children.

“The competitive side of me was really excited about it,” he told King. “The scoreboard is an awesome thing, and you can’t replace that in this job. It was really a tough call for me, and for my family. When I was at the Senior Bowl, I had a Friday off-day, and I never left my hotel room. I was just thinking and talking and pacing. I’ve got one of those tracking devices on my phone, and I literally paced 7 miles that day.

“It came down to this: If you’re happy, and we are, then why look so hard for happier? Our kids are 8, 10, 12 and 14. They are thriving. We love our church. We love their schools; my daughter is getting ready to start high school. Let her dig in, and let all the kids dig in to their schools and their lives. So it’s good. I have no regrets about it.”

Jeremiah has previously worked in NFL front offices, having served as a scout for the Ravens, Browns and Eagles.

There were rumbling in early February that the team had halted their pursuit of a new head of player personnel, with the organization expected to make a hire following the draft. The team had previously interviewed Brandon Hunt, Morocco Brown, Dwayne Joseph, and Mark Dominik, but the team is set to rely on Howie Roseman to make all moves until a hiring is made official.

Sunday Roundup: Hunt, Revis, Lions, Chargers

January 31st, 2016 at 12:59pm CST by Rory Parks

Eagles senior director of player personnel Tom Donahoe is expected to meet with Steelers pro personnel coordinator Brandon Hunt again today to discuss Philadelphia’s director of player personnel position, according to Geoff Mosher of 975TheFanatic (via Twitter). Mosher adds that Hunt is not high enough on the scouting chain to hold a vice president position like the one Tom Cable held before he was fired at the end of 2014, and the Eagles are still looking for someone with more experience than the 35-year-old Hunt. Per Mosher, the Eagles would prefer someone like Steelers director of football administration Omar Khan, but Mosher does not expect Pittsburgh to allow Khan to interview (all links to Twitter).

Now let’s take a look at some more links from around the league:

Rich Cimini of ESPNNewYork.com observes that the Jets could buy themselves some much-needed salary cap relief in 2016 if they were to rework Darrelle Revis‘ contract–and Revis would be open to it–but such a move could really handicap the team in the latter years of Revis’ deal. The Jets can create cap room in other ways–they could release Antonio Cromartie and ask D’Brickashaw Ferguson to take a pay cut, for instance–and they should pursue those options before approaching Revis about a restructure.
The Patriots have legitimate interest in Kansas State’s Glenn Gronkowski, Rob Gronkowski‘s younger brother, according to Tyler Dunne of the Buffalo News (via Twitter). “Little Gronkowski” practiced at tight end, fullback and H-back this week in preparation for yesterday’s Senior Bowl, and he could be a fit as the Patriots’ second tight end.
Tim Twentyman of DetroitLions.com looks at the to-do list for new Lions GM Bob Quinn, which will include important decisions on extensions for certain members of the team’s impressive 2013 draft class. That class included Ziggy Ansah, Darius Slay, Sam Martin, and Theo Riddick.
Now that the Chargers know where they will be playing their home games in 2016, the conversations regarding the team can return, at least to some degree, to football, writes Michael Gehlken of the San Diego Union-Tribune. Gehlken takes a brief look at what the future will hold for the team’s 23 free agents and potential cap casualties.
Texans linebacker Jadeveon Clowney will not need foot surgery this offseason, according to Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle. Clowney finished the 2015 season with 4.5 sacks and 40 tackles with one forced fumble, but he was limited to 13 games and nine starts due to injuries. He missed the team’s playoff contest this year with a sprained foot.

East Rumors: Wentz, Eagles, Giants

January 28th, 2016 at 8:33pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Bills were the team North Dakota State quarterbacks coach Randy Hedberg recalled being the most enamored with Carson Wentz, staging several visits to the Fargo, N.D.-based Division I-FCS school to gauge the first-round prospect, Tyler Dunne of the Buffalo News reports.

Bills representatives attended several Bison practices and were a constant in North Dakota State’s football facility, Hedberg told Dunne, to look at the rare non-FBS first-round quarterback prospect. Dunne notes, however, that at this rate the fast-rising Wentz won’t be available when the Bills select at No. 19, as the 6’5″ signal-caller has impressed this week in Senior Bowl workouts.

Buffalo still has Tyrod Taylor and EJ Manuel under contract for 2016.

Here is the latest on the most unlikely top-tier quarterback prospect in a while and other news from around the Eastern divisions.

Even though the Jets are set to negotiate an extension with Ryan Fitzpatrick, Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News notes they are pondering first-round quarterbacks, with Wentz being the most intriguing. “Every NFL team probably goes into the draft — with maybe a few exceptions of people who have really well-established quarterbacks — looking at that position as a position of interest,” Jets GM Mike Maccagnan said. “We’ll be no different than them.” The Jets pick at No. 20.
The Eagles will meet with Steelers executive Brandon Hunt for a second interview Friday for their director of player personnel position, Philly.com’s Jeff McLane tweets. Steelers owner Art Rooney II gave the 35-year-old Hunt permission to interview with the eastern-Pennsylvania franchise. He’s already met with Jeffrey Lurie and Howie Roseman.
Although Hunt is their only confirmed candidate, McLane reports former Browns VP of player personnel Morocco Brown is on the Eagles’ radar for this job. Eagles director of pro scouting Dwayne Joseph looms as an internal candidate, per McLane.
The Giants are planning to add Patriots linebackers coach Patrick Graham as their defensive line coach, Adam Caplan of ESPN.com reports (on Twitter). The 37-year-old Graham’s been with the Patriots since 2009 and prior to taking over the Pats’ linebackers in 2014, he supervised their defensive linemen in 2012-13.

East Notes: Dolphins, Marino, Bills, Incognito

January 28th, 2016 at 4:23pm CST by Luke Adams

The Bills have indicated that they’ll prioritize re-signing Richie Incognito in the coming weeks, and that interest in a new deal is mutual, according to the veteran guard (link via Chris Brown of BuffaloBills.com):

“My goal is to come back and play in Buffalo,” Incognito said during an appearance on The John Murphy Show. “I love it there. I love my teammates and I love playing for coach Rex and Greg Roman. I really think that my personality and my hard work approach and physical nature really resembles the spirit of Buffalo. A blue collar town and a bunch of hard working people up there, and they just want to win. That’s my number one goal is just to win and restore the glory of Buffalo.”

Here are a few more items from out of the NFL’s East divisions:

Hall of Fame quarterback Dan Marino was a part of the Dolphins‘ contingent at the Senior Bowl and he’s becoming more and more involved in the team’s personnel decisions, according to Jason Cole of Bleacher Report (video link). Originally, Marino was more involved in the PR side of things than the front office. Ultimately, he wants to work his way into more of an executive role and the current higher-ups say they’re delighted with him.
At a press conference today, Steelers president and co-owner Art Rooney II revealed that the Eagles have received permission to interview Steelers executive Brandon Hunt for their director of player personnel job (Twitter link via Ed Bouchette of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette). According to Geoff Mosher of CSNPhilly.com (Twitter links), Hunt has already met with Howie Roseman and Jeffrey Lurie, and will meet with Tom Donahoe on Friday — Donahoe, a former Steelers GM, is having a major impact on Philadelphia’s search for a top personnel exec, tweets Mosher.
Eagles left tackle Jason Peters turned 34 this month, and his cap hit will rise to nearly $10MM in 2016, but new head coach Doug Pederson doesn’t want Peters to go anywhere, as Reuben Frank of CSNPhilly.com writes. “I think J.P.’s got several good years left in him,” Pederson said. “I think that he does the right things in the offseason to get himself ready to go for another year.”
Former Bengals defensive coordinator Vance Joseph, now the defensive coordinator in Miami, admitted today that he felt responsible for Adam Jones‘ penalty against the Steelers in the Wild Card game, referring to Pacman as his “guy.” As Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald (Twitter links) observes, Joseph’s new role means Jones might be on the Dolphins‘ radar in free agency this winter.