Tag: front office

Broncos named among ‘Best Employers in Sports’ by Front Office Sports

Earlier this week, the Broncos were named among the “Best Employers in Sports” by Front Office Sports for the second year in a row.

The Denver Broncos are part of the 2022 class for Front Office Sports’ annual “Best Employers in Sports” award. The Broncos, who also won the award in 2021, join the Miami Dolphins (2019 and 2020) as the only professional football franchises to win the award multiple times. 

This award aims to award organizations for displaying leadership while leading the charge in diversity in the workforce.

Nancy Svoboda, the Broncos’ executive vice president of human resources, commented on her organization winning the award for the second year in a row.

“It’s a great honor for the Broncos to be included on this list alongside so many other impressive organizations across the sports industry,” Svoboda said. “To be included on this list for consecutive years is a testament to the Broncos’ leadership and employees, who constantly encourages one another to improve.”

Congratulations on the Broncos front office for their leadership and vision to push the organization toward a great future.

Follow the Broncos Wire Podcast:
Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google Podcasts

[vertical-gallery id=620142]

49ers front office could join league’s elite with successful 2022

2022 is the year the 49ers front office could become recognized as one of the NFL’s best.

While the 49ers’ front office has received deserved criticism for some of the decisions made since Kyle Shanahan and John Lynch took charge in 2017, there can be little argument it has done an impressive job of turning the franchise around.

With a Super Bowl appearance and a run to last season’s NFC Championship Game to their name in the last three seasons, the Niners have established themselves as one of the league’s premier teams.

Despite their status as an NFC heavyweight, praise for Lynch as one of the better general managers in the NFL in offseason think pieces and podcasts has not been forthcoming.

That is in part down to the structure of the front office. Shanahan has the final say on the 53-man roster and his influence on whom the 49ers go after on the offensive side of the ball has never been in question.

Assistant general manager Adam Peters also has a substantial role in talent evaluation, with the Niners keeping him in the building to this point despite interest from rival franchises.

The best front offices are a product of collaboration. Putting together any NFL roster is a group effort. But Shanahan’s influence is such that is tough to know what decisions for which Lynch is worthy of credit.

Should the Niners enjoy success in the 2022 season, however, it will be past time for Lynch and Shanahan to be recognized for running one of the top front offices in the league.

Shanahan and Lynch are staking their reputations on Trey Lance becoming a successful quarterback who can elevate the Niners’ offense to another level. Heightening the risk factor, the 49ers are entrusting the protection of a player they acquired after giving three first-round picks to the Dolphins to an entirely new interior offensive line.

Center Jake Brendel, who has started three games in his career, looks set to be flanked by second-year left guard Aaron Banks – a second-round pick last year – and rookie right guard Spencer Burford, who was a fourth-round selection.

Burford is not the only rookie set to start in 2022, as fifth-round pick Samuel Womack appears to have won the nickel corner job following his two-interception showing in the preseason opener with the Packers.

Though throwing three players who have never started an NFL game into starting roles is a gamble, Banks, Burford and Womack all looked like they belonged against the Packers, and the Niners also got strong performances from two more first-year players in edge rusher Drake Jackson and Danny Gray, who continues to produce signs he can help Lance unlock San Francisco’s deep passing game.

It is important not to read too much into one preseason showing and displays in training camp practices. Still, a continuation of these promising early efforts from this collection of young players would raise hopes of a season in which Lance is the ceiling-raiser the Niners believe him to be, and he and the 49ers excel in 2022 thanks in part to their day two and day-three rookies.

The Niners have put together one of the top rosters in the NFL, but the one outstanding item on their checklist to this point has been finding a long-term franchise quarterback with comparable talent to this new generation of star signal-callers.

San Francisco parted with all that draft capital last year because the 49ers viewed Lance as the player to tick that box.

If their evaluation is proven correct this season and they have four players from a draft class in which they did not have a first-round pick who contribute immediately as rookies in a year that also sees Banks belatedly vindicate his draft status, then it will finally be time to give Lynch, Shanahan and the rest of the staff in San Francisco’s front office their team-building dues.

[mm-video type=playlist id=01eqbxacb60r3mr0ac player_id=none image=https://ninerswire.usatoday.com/wp-content/plugins/mm-video/images/playlist-icon.png]

Packers promote Jon-Eric Sullivan to VP of player personnel

Jon-Eric Sullivan was promoted to vice president of player personnel under Brian Gutekunst in the Packers front office.

The Green Bay Packers promoted Jon-Eric Sullivan to vice president of player personnel within general manager Brian Gutekunst’s front office on Friday.

Sullivan has been the team’s co-director of player personnel since 2018. He previously spent two years as director of college scouting and 12 years as a college scout, giving him almost two decades of personnel experience in Green Bay.

Sullivan, a graduate of Gardner-Webb, originally joined the Packers as a scouting intern in 2003. He covered the Central Plains (2008-11) and Southeast (2012-15) regions as a Packers college scout before becoming an executive within the front office in 2016.

Sullivan is now third in command behind Gutekunst and director of football operations Milt Hendrickson.

Gutekunst once described Sullivan as “indispensable” to the Packers in an interview with PackersNews.com in 2018.

In 2020, NFL agents pointed to Sullivan as a future general manager candidate.

The Packers also promoted Bryan Engel to director of sports medicine/head athletic trainer, Nate Weir to associate athletic trainer/director of rehab and return to play, Chris Gaines and Sean Linton to college scout, Dawson Friedland to senior football data analyst, and Eric Prosise to manager of football application development.

[vertical-gallery id=81739]

Chiefs announce promotions, additions to front office staff

The #Chiefs have announced some changes and additions to their personnel staff, plus 2022 Norma Hunt Training Camp fellows and interns.

The Kansas City Chiefs have finalized their personnel department for the 2022 NFL season, announcing several changes and additions to the front office.

A few of the changes include shuffling the roles of members of the staff from the previous season. Here’s a look at the roles that members of the front office staff will hold during the course of the 2022 NFL calendar year:

  • Madison Aponte – Player Personnel Assistant
  • Mike Borgonzi – Assistant General Manager
  • Mike Bradway – Senior Director of Player Personnel
  • Greg Castillo – West Regional Scout
  • Will Christopherson – NFS Scout
  • Cade Ciarrocca – Training Camp Player Personnel Intern
  • Willie Davis – Senior Personnel Executive
  • Terry Delp – Senior College Scouting Executive
  • David Hinson – Co-Director of College Scouting
  • Jonathan Howard – National Scout
  • Chandler Jones – Training Camp Player Personnel Intern
  • Cassidy Kaminski – Northeast Area Scout
  • Jason Lamb – Southwest Regional Scout
  • Anthony McGee – Player Personnel Assistant
  • Jalen Myrick – College and Pro Scout
  • Ryne Nutt – Director of Player Personnel / College Scouting
  • Leesa Rockhold – Norma Hunt Training Camp Fellowship Intern
  • Chris Shea – Vice President of Football Operations / Team Counsel
  • Janae Simmonds – Norma Hunt Training Camp Fellowship Intern
  • Brian Smith – Training Camp Player Personnel Intern
  • Pat Sperduto – Co-Director of College Scouting
  • Kunal Tanna – Assistant to the General Manager
  • Tim Terry – Director of Player Personnel / Pro Scouting
  • Brandt Tilis – Vice President of Football Operations
  • Jack Wolov – Football Administration Coordinator

Most of the new additions are to the lower-level personnel roles. We’d previously reported additions of Jonathan Howard as a National Scout, Madison Aponte as a Player Personnel Assistant, and Will Christopherson as NFS Scout.

Interestingly, the Chiefs added Jack Wolov as a Football Operations Coordinator. Wolov most recently served Athletes First sports agency as a Salary Cap and Contracts Intern.

There are a few promotions that the team announced here too.

Tim Terry is now the team’s Director of Player Personnel / Pro Scouting after serving as the team’s Senior Director of Pro Scouting in 2021. Kunal Tanna has been promoted from a Player Personnel Assistant to GM Brett Veach’s assistant. Ryne Nutt is now Director of Player Personnel / College Scouting after serving as Senior Director of College Scouting in 2021. Pat Sperduto and David Hinson are now Co-Directors of College Scouting after being Senior College Scouting Executives in 2021.

In addition to the promotions and hires to the front office staff, the team announced training camp interns and the 2022 Norma Hunt Training Camp fellows. Leesa Rockhold and Janae Simmonds will be this year’s participants. The team launched the Norma Hunt Training Camp Fellowship Program last offseason with the goal of creating opportunities for women within NFL front offices. It’s safe to say it was a success being that the team hired Madison Aponte after she participated in the fellowship.

Cade Ciarrocca, Chandler Jones and Brian Smith were announced as this year’s training camp interns.

[listicle id=131476]

Lions announce 8 front office changes, continue strong culture building

The Detroit Lions announced 8 front office changes and mostly internal promotions which shows the strong culture the Lions are instilling.

Since Brad Holmes and Dan Campbell walked through the door, they have been building an influential culture from top to bottom. One that awards individuals for their continued strong efforts, giving them the platform to take the next step forward in their careers potentially. Today those efforts were awarded as the Lions announced eight front office changes this morning, with only one being an outside hire.

The one hire of strong significance is the promotion of Mike Disner, who was promoted as the Chief Operating Officer. Disner has risen through the ranks in the Lions organization when he was hired in 2019, starting as the Vice President of Football Administration, then Senior Vice President of Football and Business Administration when Brad Holmes took over as General Manager.

Disner is widely respected in the Lions organization as he was integral in the hiring of Brad Holmes and brought Holmes to the front office’s attention. He has been a main avenue for Holmes, coming in as a first-time general manager and widely recognized as an up-and-comer in the NFL, and on his continued trajectory, he could find himself running a front office shortly.

The lone outside hire was making the hire of Brandon Sosna official. The Lions are bringing in Sosna from USC and making him the team’s Senior Director of Football Administration. He is another individual making a name for himself as he was named to the Forbes’ “30 Under 30 Sports” list in 2020 as he played as USC’s athletic director Mike Bohn’s right-hand man.

Here are the rest of the front office changes to round out the recent promotions:

  • Lance Newmark from the director of player personnel to the senior director of player personnel.
  • Brian Hudspeth from national scout to assistant director of college scouting.
  • Joe Kelleher from pro scout to assistant director of pro scouting.
  • Ademi Smith from personnel assistant to scout.
  • Gina Newell from director of team operations to senior director of football operations.
  • Jesse Giambra from the coordinator of team operations to manager of team operations/head coach administration.

Jadevon Clowney contract details revealed

The details are interesting as Clowney’s new contract becomes public:

The Cleveland Browns brought back defensive end Jadeveon Clowney on a one-year deal to keep Myles Garrett’s pass rush partner in the fold. Clowney officially signed his deal Wednesday and returned to the field for the OTA practice.

According to one report, Clowney turned down bigger deals to return to Cleveland to play with Deshaun Watson. The two were teammates with the Houston Texans, the team that drafted them both.

Last year, Clowney signed a one-year, $8 million deal with the Browns. The structure of that deal included void years to help offset the cap hit in 2021. Once Clowney was not on the roster at the start of the 2022 league year, those void years became $3.6 million in dead cap for this season.

We now have details of Clowney’s newest deal with Cleveland:

As noted at the end, Clowney will count just a little over $7 million toward the team’s cap this season but the four void years will lead to cap space being used in future years even if Clowney is not on the roster.

Over two years, Clowney will earn around $18 million from Cleveland. During his 2020 free agency, there were reports that the Browns offered him a multi-year deal for big money and had the highest offer but he declined.

With this deal done, Andrew Berry turns his attention toward franchise-tagged TE David Njoku. Njoku mentioned that he was next after Clowney signed and a report says the two sides are close on a deal.

[listicle id=76499]

Michigan to hire former Jags executive Tom Gamble

Gamble was the Jags’ senior personnel executive during the 2021 season, and he was widely seen as the right-hand man for general manager Trent Baalke.

The Jacksonville Jaguars will be making changes to their front office after how 2021 went, and one member who won’t be a part of the group is senior personnel executive Tom Gamble. According to reports, he will be working on the collegiate level with Jim Harbaugh in 2022 after taking the open director of player personnel role at Michigan.

Gamble and Harbaugh have a history of working together in the past, as the former was an executive in San Francisco’s front office from 2005-12, while the latter was their head coach (2011-14). Gamble reunited with Harbaugh in 2017, too, as the former held a personnel role for the Wolverines until 2019.

Gamble also has a lengthy relationship with general manager Trent Baalke, who he also worked with during two separate stints with the 49ers. Gamble has been considered Baalke’s right-hand man in the front office, and his departure could be a sign of many changes among the administration.

The team has reportedly interviewed Rick Spielman for a high-level position that is believed to be executive vice president. If the team intends to bring someone in above Baalke in an EVP role, it could help explain why Gamble is no longer with the team.

Despite fan protest and reports that it hamstrung the coaching search, owner Shad Khan decided to retain Baalke this offseason, and while it’s always possible a move is made after the draft, it seems like Baalke will be sticking around for the 2022 season. But with that being said, Gamble’s departure could be seen as a canary in the coal mine that structural changes to the front office are coming, which Khan also hinted at in the introductory press conference for head coach Doug Pederson.

Jags interview former Vikings GM Rick Spielman for high-level front office role

Though Spielman was just fired by Minnesota, he is still generally well-regarded around the league.

It’s been a wild start to the offseason for the Jacksonville Jaguars, and it seems there’s yet another layer to unravel. The team is still searching for a head coach, and according to a report from NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, there could be a new decision-maker with a say in that process. Per Rapoport, Jacksonville interviewed former Minnesota Vikings general manager Rick Spielman on Monday for a “high-level front office position.”

Spielman, who was fired on Jan. 10 after serving as the general manager in Minnesota for the last 10 seasons, was also the general manager for the Miami Dolphins in 2004 and then served as the vice president of player personnel for the Vikings from 2006-11 before being promoted.

There’s no further detail about what role that may be, but we can certainly speculate. Given Spielman’s experience and reputation, as well as the fact that Rapoport says it’s a high-level position, it seems likely that it would be an executive vice president position, possibly in football operations with a similar role to the one Tom Coughlin held from 2017-19.

Despite fan protest and rumors that general manager Trent Baalke’s presence has limited the potential coaching pool, it seems that owner Shad Khan plans to retain Baalke. However, bringing in someone like Spielman, who has had several very successful draft picks (especially at receiver, where he drafted Stefon Diggs and Justin Jefferson) could help bring a new perspective to the process.

Regardless, the Jaguars have wasted the head start from firing head coach Urban Meyer after 14 weeks, and they need to figure out their front-office situation quickly if they plan on wooing a desirable coaching target.

Chiefs TE Travis Kelce to guest star in new TV show ‘Front Office’

#Chiefs TE Travis Kelce is set to join a panel filled with notable athletes for the new show “Front Office.” | from @EdEastonJr

When Kansas City Chiefs All-Pro tight end Travis Kelce isn’t busy dominating on the gridiron, he’s always finding new things to do off the field. From “Catching Kelce” to his clothing brand Tru Kolors, he’s always doing something to extend his reach and brand.

The latest project that Kelce is involved in is a TV show that is taking cues from “Shark Tank.” The new show is called ”Front Office” and it’s from the creative minds at the athlete-owned media network PlayersTV. Basically, entrepreneurs will have a chance to pitch their products to a panel of athlete investors.

In the debut season, Kelce will join said panel filled with notable athletes that include retired NFL Pro Bowlers Vernon Davis and Wale Ogunleye, golf champ Michelle Wie-West, US Olympic icon Alyson Felix and NBA All-Star Chris Paul, who also serves as the executive producer of the show.

“This season of Front Office will showcase an array of compelling businesses and the people behind them,” said Paul, via press release.” The series brings the athlete into the boardroom, and the audience gets a glimpse of the diligent business practices of professional athletes.”

PlayersTV’s mission is to provide sports fans with unprecedented access into the interesting lives of professional athletes, both in and outside of their sport. The show is set to debut on Sunday, November 14th and the world will see Kelce’s unique take on some brand new business ideas.

[listicle id=108325]

Browns Week 1: New additions mostly impress

How did the Browns new additions fare in their opening week?

The Cleveland Browns lost to the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 1. The problems were clear: Jamie Gillan’s gaffe, Nick Chubb’s fumble, Ronnie Harrison’s ejection and a general inability to cover Tyreek Hill and Travis Kelce.

Now that we got the negative truths out of the way, there are a lot of positives to take away from the game. The positives are not “moral victories” but assessments of the play on the field that showed promise and are encouraging looking forward.

Cleveland controlled the majority of the game with a crisp, balanced offense and a defense that stepped up at just the right time. Baker Mayfield was sharp the majority of the game and the offensive line was able to stay, mostly, solid despite the loss of Jedrick Wills early.

What about all the new additions that Browns fans were looking forward to finally seeing on the field? We saw a lot of good out of them as well but not from everyone.