HEADLINES

Ethan Waugh

NFL Staff Notes: Bears, Jaguars, 49ers, Raiders

May 21st, 2022 at 9:48pm CST by Ely Allen

New Bears general manager Ryan Poles announced several promotions and additions to the team’s scouting and football administration departments this week.

Breck Ackley has been promoted from area scout to assistant director of college scouting. Former pro scout Chris White is now assistant director of pro scouting. Former national scouts Sam Summerville and Francis Saint Paul have added “senior” to the their titles. Ashton Washington made a large leap going from a scouting assistant to player personnel coordinator. Fellow former scouting assistant Charles Love has been made a pro scout. In terms of area scouts, John Syty will now cover the Southwest area, Brendan Rehor will cover the Southeast area, Tom Bradway comes from the Raiders to cover the Northeast area, and former long-time Texans scout Ryan Cavanaugh comes from Ohio State to cover the Midwest area. Finally, Ryan Weese joins the staff from Montana State as a scouting assistant.

Mike Santarelli has been promoted from director of football systems to executive director of football technology. Former salary cap/pro scouting analyst James Cosh has been promoted to manager of football administration/pro scout.

Here are a few other staff hires from around the NFL:

  • According to Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated, former 49ers vice president Ethan Waugh has been hired by Jacksonville in the role of assistant general manager, rejoining Jaguars general manager Trent Baalke, whom he worked with from 2005-16. With Waugh out of the picture, San Francisco’s player personnel hierarchy is much clearer with assistant general manager Adam Peters and director of player personnel Ran Carthon directly under general manager John Lynch.
  • The Raiders have made an addition to their football analytics department, according to ESPN’s Seth Walder, hiring Brad Goldsberry away from Chicago to serve as director of football systems.

Jaguars Expected To Hire 49ers’ Ethan Waugh As Assistant GM

April 22nd, 2022 at 4:59pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Jaguars are expected to hire a key 49ers executive to be Trent Baalke‘s right-hand man. Ex-Baalke 49ers lieutenant Ethan Waugh is on track to be the Jaguars’ next assistant GM, Nick Wagoner of ESPN.com tweets.

Baalke has offered Waugh the job, and Wagoner adds the former is expected to join Jacksonville’s front office after the draft. Waugh has been with the 49ers for 17 years, some of those coming during Baalke’s GM run in San Francisco.

Waugh works as the 49ers’ vice president of player personnel, being promoted earlier this offseason. He joined the 49ers as an assistant and became an area scout in 2008. Under Baalke’s leadership, Waugh rose to the title of senior personnel coordinator. Prior to his most recent promotion, Waugh served as the 49ers’ college scouting director.

An assistant GM bump will be a nice boost for Waugh, who will be a key player in helping craft the latest Jaguars rebuild effort. With Urban Meyer gone after less than a year, Baalke is leading the way here. It remains to be seen if the team’s Rick Spielman connections will produce a hire. Nothing has emerged on that front in several weeks. Spielman interviewed for an executive VP position that would outrank Baalke, but the former Vikings GM has not been hired. He later interviewed for the Steelers’ GM position. Waugh’s hire does not necessarily stonewall a Spielman addition, with a separate report indicating Shad Khan was looking to hire an exec to work above Baalke in addition to a key staffer below the GM level.

This will represent another personnel loss for the 49ers, who lost Martin Mayhew in 2021; Mayhew is now Washington’s GM. The 49ers have also seen Adam Peters and Ran Carthon receive GM interviews, though both remain on staff.

49ers Make Front Office Changes

June 19th, 2021 at 4:47pm CST by Sam Robinson

The 49ers may be a team to watch for GM hires in the near future. In addition to top John Lynch lieutenant Adam Peters, the team has moved other staffers to jobs from which teams often poach GMs.

Going into his fifth year with the 49ers, Ran Carthon will rise to the position of director of player personnel. The former Florida Gators fullback has spent nearly a decade as a pro personnel director, doing so with the Rams from 2012-16 and in his first four-plus years with the 49ers.

This was Peters’ post during his first three-plus years with the 49ers; he rose to assistant GM in February. R.J. Gillen, a seventh-year 49ers staffer, will succeed Carthon as the 49ers’ director of pro personnel.

Ethan Waugh will become San Francisco’s VP of player personnel. Having spent nearly 20 years with the franchise, Waugh has climbed from the assistant level to the scouting tier to college scouting director to this high-level executive post. Peters received multiple interviews for the Panthers’ GM job that went to Scott Fitterer. It would not surprise if one of the other 49ers high-ranking execs joined him on the GM interview circuit soon.

The 49ers are also promoting Salli Clavelle to an area scout post. A three-year 49ers staffer, Clavelle previously served as a pro personnel analyst. In 2019, Clavelle was the only woman to hold a full-time NFL scouting position. Additionally, the 49ers hired Jessi Seumalo as a scouting assistant. The younger sister of Eagles starting guard Isaac Seumalo, Jessi was part of Washington State and Utah’s recruiting operations over the past three years. Clavelle and Seumalo join the likes of Kelly Kleine (Broncos), Catherine Raiche (Eagles) and others in what has been a banner offseason for women advancing in the NFL front office and scouting ranks.

West Notes: Sherman, Chiefs, Raiders, 49ers

March 1st, 2018 at 9:53pm CST by Dallas Robinson

The Seahawks dangled cornerback Richard Sherman in trade talks at this time a year ago, but given that he’s currently unable to pass a physical after undergoing another procedure on his torn Achilles, Sherman won’t be dealt any time soon, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (video link). Injured players can’t be traded, and Sherman likely won’t be healthy until training camp. In 2017, Seattle ultimately dropped its asking price for Sherman to a first-round and a mid-round selection, but no deal was ever made. While Sherman may not hit the trade market any time soon, the Seahawks are reportedly shopping veteran defensive lineman Michael Bennett.

  • The Chiefs will retain edge rusher Dee Ford on his 2018 fifth-year option, but given that he’s still recovering from a back injury, they likely didn’t have a choice, as Tom Pelissero of NFL.com tweets. Fifth-year options are guaranteed for injury only, so Ford — like Blake Bortles in Jacksonville — would have earned his money whether he was on Kansas City’s roster or not, provided he couldn’t pass a physical before the new league year begins on March 14. Ford, 26, only managed to appear in six games last season, but he managed 10 sacks as recently as 2016. He’ll earn an $8.718MM base salary for the upcoming year.
  • Marshawn Lynch is not a lock to make the Raiders‘ 2018 roster, and for what it’s worth, the veteran running back reportedly became a “problem” for Oakland’s previous coaching staff in 2017, reports Albert Breer of TheMMQB.com (Twitter link). Lynch, who got better from an on-field perspective as last season progressed, is scheduled to earn a $4MM base salary next year, and also has a $1MM roster bonus due by March 3, so the Raiders will likely decide on his future with the club by the weekend.
  • After blocking him from an interview with the Titans earlier this year, the 49ers have promoted DeMeco Ryans from defensive quality coach to inside linebackers coach, according to Matt Barrows of the Sacramento Bee (Twitter link). Ryans, who enjoyed a decade-long playing career, is well-respected in NFL circles, and 49ers DC Robert Saleh recently claimed Ryans will someday become a head coach. Additionally, San Francisco announced that it has promoted Keena Turner to vice President and senior advisor to the general manager and promoted Ethan Waugh to college scouting director.