Jon Dykema

AFC Staff Updates: Chargers, Texans, Jaguars, Colts, Ravens, Patriots

The Chargers announced two promotions and two new hires earlier this month in their front office. In the scouting department, Mike Jasinski was promoted to national scout, Jaylen Bannerman-Oden was promoted to area scout, and Kevin Weidl was hired as a national scout. In analytics, Maya Harvey was hired as a football systems developer.

Jasinski has been with the Chargers since 2018, when he joined the team as a combine area scout after recruiting roles at Purdue and Northwestern. In two years, Los Angeles promoted him to an area scouting role, in which he covered the northeast area for two years and the plains area for the past three. The son of Titans pass game coordinator & cornerbacks coach Tony Oden, Bannerman-Oden entered the NFL as a video intern and external scouting game charter for the Browns in 2020. He joined the Chargers the next year as a pro scouting/operations intern and worked two years after that as a scouting assistant before getting promoted to college & pro scout last year.

Weidl reunites with second-year general manager Joe Hortiz, coming from Hortiz’s old team in Baltimore. Weidl ended an eight-year stretch with the Ravens, in which time he served as a southeast/southwest area scout for four years and a southeast/midwest area scout for the other four. Before arriving in Baltimore, Weidl spent 10 years with ESPN Scouts Inc.

Harvey earns her new job after working as a fellow for the Chargers during the final year of her computer science degree program (with a concentration on human computer interaction) at Stanford last year. In addition to her computer science background, Harvey was an athlete for the Cardinal, lettering all four years in beach volleyball.

Here are a few other staff updates from around the AFC:

  • The Texans were the other team to make multiple additions in the month of June. In the front office, Aaron Wilson of KPRC 2 tells us that Mack Marrone has joined the staff as a scouting and administration assistant. The son of Patriots offensive line coach Doug Marrone, Marrone debuts in the NFL after finishing a collegiate playing career as a linebacker at Colgate. The second addition in Houston was Will Stokes who joins the analytics department as a football data analyst, according to Neil Stratton of SucceedinFootball.com. Stokes worked last summer as a football data analyst with the Commanders.
  • Jon Dykema can’t seem to keep away from the NFL. Four months after leaving the Lions to serve as Michigan State’s executive senior associate athletic director and assistant general counsel, Matt Zenitz of 247Sports reports that Dykema is expected to be hired by the Jaguars. His role in Jacksonville is not year known, but his 14 years in Detroit were spent as the team’s director of football compliance.
  • Per Stratton, the Colts have promoted Greg Liverpool III to midlands area scout. He began in football working recruiting internships throughout his education at Coastal Carolina and served internships for the Colts doing operations during training camps in 2021 and 2022 and for the NFL Scouting Combine in 2022. In 2023, he joined Indianapolis in a full-time role, serving as a scouting assistant until this promotion.
  • The Ravens have hired Ramon Ruiz away from Rutgers, according to Zenitz. Most recently serving as the Scarlet Knights director of recruiting, Ruiz has reportedly been a key contributor to head coach Greg Schiano‘s turnaround of the Rutgers football program, helping the team to winning records in back-to-back seasons for the first time in 12 years. Jeff Zrebiec of The Athletic adds that Ruiz’s title with the team will be player personnel assistant.
  • Lastly, ESPN’s Seth Walder tells us that the Patriots have hired Max Mulitz as personnel analytics coordinator. Mulitz came to the NFL as a full-time intern in the Eagles’ data research department in 2015. Three years later, the Dolphins hired him as a football analyst and promoted him to manager of coaching analytics after just a year. He held the position for four seasons before parting ways with Miami in March. Mulitz joins Ekene Olekanma as the second analytics hire for New England this month.

NFC North Notes: Mack, Lions, Pack, Addison

As Ryan Poles‘ rebuild effort began in 2022, the Bears traded Khalil Mack for second- and sixth-round picks. After three Chargers seasons, Mack is hitting free agency for the first time. The decorated pass rusher showed sustained health in Los Angeles, missing only one game in three years, and earned three Pro Bowl nods. The Chargers want Mack back, but the Washington Post’s Jason La Canfora notes to not rule out a Bears reunion. Mack is heading into his age-34 season and would profile as a decorated but declining rusher opposite Montez Sweat. Although Poles is expected to receive an extension, he is 0-for-3 in playoff berths for a team trying to maximize Caleb Williams‘ rookie-contract window. The Bears will have a chance to add talent, as they are projected to hold more than $69MM in cap space, and Mack would be an interesting bookend piece — even though both the GM and team president roles have changed from when Chicago acquired him in 2018.

Here is the latest from the NFC North:

  • Staying on the Bears, they are not likely to retain Gerald Everett for too much longer. Given a two-year, $12MM deal, Everett followed Shane Waldron to a third team. Waldron was done by midseason as Chicago’s OC, and The Athletic’s Kevin Fishbain indicates the veteran tight end will be as well. The Bears gave Everett a two-year, $12MM deal but saw him total just eight catches for 36 yards despite playing all 17 games. By cutting the former Rams, Seahawks and Chargers TE, the Bears would save $5.5MM.
  • The Lions have announced their coaching staff, and some new names have emerged. The most notable among them, Marques Tuiasosopo will make an NFL return more than 15 years after his playing career wrapped. The former Raiders QB is joining the Lions as an offensive assistant. He comes over after four seasons as Rice’s OC, having previously coached QBs and tight ends at Washington, UCLA, USC and Cal. Detroit also hired Justin Mesa as a quality control staffer, and Caleb Collins and August Mangin are joining as defensive assistants. Mesa spent the past four seasons at Washington State, working most recently as the Cougars’ tight ends coach.
  • Detroit is also losing two staffers. Director of scouting advancement Mike Martin is heading to Notre Dame to become the program’s GM, ESPN’s Adam Schefter notes. Martin has worked under Brad Holmes throughout the GM’s time in Detroit. Another Lions staffer, Jon Dykema, is leaving for the college ranks. Michigan State is hiring the exec to handle contract management for its athletics programs, ESPN.com’s Pete Thamel adds. Dykema had worked as the Lions’ director of football compliance, staying with the team for 15 years; he will now help the Spartans navigate the NIL waters.
  • The Packers are adding to Jeff Hafley’s defensive staff. They are bringing in recent Patriots assistant Jamael Lett as a defensive quality control coach, 247Sports.com’s Matt Zenitz tweets. A former staffer at North Carolina and Akron, Lett also spent time as South Alabama’s special teams coordinator. Lett was part of the Pats’ defensive staff under DeMarcus Covington, who is now the Packers’ D-line coach.
  • Circling back to the player side of the NFC North, Jordan Addison‘s DUI case continues. The Vikings wideout filed a continuance and is set to appear in court, for a pretrial hearing, March 12, per the Minneapolis Star Tribune’s Ben Goessling. Addison pleaded not guilty to two misdemeanor DUI charges — stemming from an August 2024 arrest — earlier this year. A suspension would stand to affect his 2025 availability, should this matter be resolved this offseason.