Ed Policy

NFC Staff Updates: Eagles, Packers, Panthers

The Eagles recently announced a number of title changes and new hires in their personnel and operations departments, per Mike Garafalo of NFL Network.

In his 15th season in the NFL, and his ninth in Philadelphia, Matt Holland was elevated to assistant director of college scouting. After holding personnel positions in Washington and Cleveland, Holland joined the Eagles in 2017 as a pro scout, elevating to senior pro scout, northeast area scout, senior college/pro scout, and most recently, midwest area scout. His promotion goes hand-in-hand with that of Jarrod Kilburn, who’s been named assistant director of pro scouting. Kilburn worked pro scouting internships for the team back in 2012 and 2014 but didn’t join the team in an official capacity until 2022, when he was hired as a college/pro scout after a 2021 internship.

Others receiving new titles in the scouting department are new pro scout Terrence Braxton, new west coast area scout Rod Streater, and midlands area scout Duke Tobin Jr. Braxton is entering his third year with the team and earns the promotion after switching from operations to scouting last year. Streater joined the team in 2022 as a northeast area scout and has been serving as the team’s NFS scout in the two years since. Preston Tiffany has been hired to fill Streater’s vacant NFS scouting role after a lone year as the director of player personnel at LSU. Tobin, the son of the Bengals’ director of player personnel, is in his third year with the Eagles, following roles as a player personnel associate and a scouting assistant.

We also now finally have a job title for Joe Douglas, who was announced as a new hire back in May. Per Garafolo, Douglas, the former Jets general manager, will be joining Matt Russell, the former Broncos vice president of player personnel, and Dave Caldwell, the former Jaguars general manager, in the shared titles of senior personnel directors/advisors to the general manager. Howie Roseman now has two former GMs and a VP of player personnel advising him.

In operations and analytics, James Gilman has been promoted to senior director of football research and strategy, Jon Liu has been elevated to director of football analytics, and Zachary Steever has been named assistant director of football research and strategy. Gilman is in his eighth year with the team, having started as a quantitative analyst and elevating to senior quantitative analyst, assistant director of football analytics, and director of football analytics. Liu fills Gilman’s old role in his eighth year with the team. He started as a football analytics intern before elevating to football operations analyst, football analytics coordinator, and assistant director of football analytics. Steever steps into the new role after serving as a senior quantitative analyst last year.

Additionally, Grant Reiter was named football transactions coordinator after serving as football transactions intern in 2022 and football transactions associate in 2024. His 2023 season was spent with the Browns as a football administration & research/strategy assistant. New hires in the group are football operations coordinator Molly Rottinghaus and software developer Leif Thorson.

Here are a couple of other staff updates from around the NFC:

  • Back in May, it was announced that Packers president and chief executive officer Mark Murphy would be passing on his titles to Ed Policy at the team’s annual shareholders meeting, per Matt Schneidman of The Athletic. That meeting occurred on Friday inside Lambeau Field. At the meeting, the team also went over the annual financial report, released the Wednesday before, per team editor Mike Spofford. Green Bay reported $83.7MM in operating profit in FY2025, a $23.6MM increase from last year. The anomalous increase was the result of an extra home game, courtesy of the 17-game schedule, showing just how impactful those extra home games are for the teams that get them.
  • Lastly, the Panthers hired Benjamin Brown to serve as director of data science, according to ESPN’s analyst expert Seth Walder. Brown previously served as the NFL data science manager for PENN Entertainment and has held roles with SumerSports and Pro Football Focus, as well.

Packers Not Expected To Extend Matt LaFleur, Brian Gutekunst In 2025

It’s unlikely that extensions are coming for Packers leadership. Incoming Packers president/CEO Ed Policy said he won’t be signing head coach Matt LaFleur and general manager Brian Gutekunst to extensions in 2025, per ESPN’s Rob Demovsky.

Both LaFleur and Gutekunst still have two years remaining on their contracts, and since they’re not in lame-duck status, Policy refuses to give the duo new deals. The same goes for executive vice president/director of football operations Russ Ball, and Demovsky notes that all three decision makers will report directly to their new team president.

“All three of them [are] under multi-year contracts,” Policy said (via Demovsky). “None of them are up at the end of this year. We won’t be doing anything going into this season.”

With Mark Murphy retiring, Policy will officially take over as the franchise’s boss in the middle of July. The timing of the move has nothing to do with the president’s refusal to hand out extensions; in fact, Policy has worked with the Packers for more than a decade and was involved in the interviews with both LaFleur and Gutekunst. Rather, Policy’s decision appears to come down to personal preference.

However, the executive did admit that he doesn’t like having head coaches or GMs operating as impending free agents.

“I’m generally opposed — I’d never say never — [but] I’m generally opposed to a coach or GM going into the last year of their contract,” Policy said. “That creates a lot of issues. I think normally you have a pretty good idea of where that relationship is going when you have two years left — not always, but normally.

“So I think generally speaking I would avoid lame-duck status. It’s oftentimes difficult on everybody involved. But there are certain situations that probably call for it, so I would not say never.”

As Demovsky notes, that sentiment would make the 2025 campaign especially important for the head coach/GM duo. The Packers would seemingly have to be a major disappointment next season for the team to not extend LaFleur and Gutekunst. The head coach won 13 games in each of his first three seasons at the helm (Gutekunst was hired as GM a year before LaFleur caught on), and the Packers have made the playoffs in five of the past six seasons.

While speaking with the media, Policy revealed a handful of ways he may operate differently than his predecessor. The executive noted that he’ll “increase the amount and the time of formal meetings with football leadership” in an attempt to remove any silos between his top decision makers. However, Policy was quick to clarify that he’ll let his top leaders do their jobs.

“I’d stay out of their business,” Policy said. “I would not meddle in what they do. I would communicate very frequently and openly and directly with them on all things, but certainly no team needs two head coaches or two GMs. Not a lot of change in the way Mark had done that.”

Latest On Packers’ President/CEO Search

The Packers landed on a successor to Mark Murphy yesterday, with Ed Policy set to take over as the team’s president and CEO following the 2024 campaign. While Policy seemed like the natural choice to take over the top role, the organization still underwent an exhaustive search to find their new franchise leader.

[RELATED: Ed Policy To Succeed Mark Murphy As Packers President]

As Albert Breer of SI.com notes, the team whittled down a list of 90 potential candidates to around 10 by the time Memorial Day came around. The search committee then held virtual interviews with the remaining candidates before inviting a smaller group to Green Bay for in-person interviews. As Breer notes, this “thorough process” wasn’t “required through the league’s mandated hiring practices.” However, considering that the Packers president/CEO effectively functions as the team’s owner, it was obviously in the search committee’s best interest to make the right decision.

One of the final candidates for the role was Commanders president Jason Wright, per Jonathan Jones of CBS Sports. Almost a decade after his playing career ended, the former NFL running back joined Washington’s franchise as president in 2020. The executive went on to help guide the franchise through their rebranding process while also leading the day-to-day operations. As Jones notes, Wright would have made history in Green Bay as the first black individual “to be in what’s essentially an owner’s chair.” Wright previously made history as the first black team president in NFL history.

Ultimately, the team landed on Policy as their new president/CEO. The former AFL president joined the Packers organization as vice president and general counsel in 2012. He took on the added responsibility of COO in 2018, and he’ll continue in that role until Murphy’s retirement at the end of the 2024 campaign.

The bylaws governing the Packers’ board of directors dictates that members must retire upon turning 70, which will be the case for Murphy on July 13, 2025. Until that time, the current president/CEO will work alongside his successor with the hopes of a seamless transition.

Ed Policy To Succeed Mark Murphy As Packers President

Mark Murphy has one year remaining in his post as president and CEO of the Packers before mandatory retirement. The identity of his successor in that role has now been learned.

Ed Policy will assume Murphy’s responsibilities next summer, as first reported by Pete Dougherty of the Green Bay Press-Gazette. The Packers’ board of directors voted unanimously to tap Policy for the position, NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero adds. The news is now official, per a team announcement

Policy joined the Packers as vice president and general counsel in 2012. That post, in turn, came after he served as president of the Arena Football League from 2001-08, taking on acting commissioner duties for one season. The 53-year-old then served as an executive consultant with the NFL from 2009-10 before working with Green Bay. He has held the title of general counsel and chief operating officer since 2018, and he will continue in the latter capacity until Murphy steps aside next July.

A Packers search committee was formed to find a successor for Murphy, who has served as Green Bay’s top executive since 2007. He and Policy will work together in the coming months to prepare for the transition after the 2024 campaign and subsequent offseason unfolds. The bylaws governing the Packers’ board of directors dictates that members must retire upon turning 70, which will be the case for Murphy on July 13, 2025.

The team’s announcement notes that 90 candidates received consideration for the position before Policy was ultimately selected to serve as chairman of the board in addition to the dual title of president and CEO. He will be tasked with continuing the organization’s unique structure as the only pro spots team without a private owner. Policy’s relationship with seventh-year general manager Brian Gutekunst will be a key factor in roster-building decisions moving forward as Green Bay proceeds with a young core led by quarterback Jordan Lovewho will likely soon be attached a lucrative extension.

“I am incredibly honored, excited and grateful to the search committee, the Board, the shareholders and the entire organization for this treasured and one-of-a-kind opportunity,” a statement from Policy reads in part. “I am particularly grateful to Mark for 12 years of mentorship. I am looking forward to building on his leadership and considerable success on and off the field.

“We are the stewards of the most iconic and unique organization in all of professional sports. I am excited to continue to work with so many talented teammates who have ensured the Packers’ consistent success on and off the field. We are the people’s team, and I love being a part of it.”