Tag: front office

Report: Andre Johnson out as Texans’ special advisor to general manager

Former All-Pro receiver Andre Johnson is out as the special advisor to the general manager. He will still stay on a Houston Texans ambassador.

Andre Johnson is not a part of the daily operations of the Houston Texans again.

According to Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle, Johnson, who had a unique role as a special advisory to the coach, general manager, and scouting department, will be stepping away from the job. However, he will still be a part of the team in a limited capacity that centers around the team’s community outreach.

“Yes, I’m not actually on the staff anymore, but I’ll still be around,” Johnson said. “For me, it just won’t be an everyday thing. I’ll still be around and helping the guys out.”

According to John McClain of the Houston Chronicle, Johnson is staying onboard as a Texans Ambassador, a former player, coach, or member of the team who takes part in community appearances.

Last year, Johnson spent time with the receivers.

“Pretty much now, on a day to day basis, I’m just around the receivers a lot,” Johnson said on June 4, 2019. “Helping them out, just giving advice in situations when I see it. Just trying to help out with anything I see and try to help make the team better.”

Johnson feels he can help the team better as an ambassador for community appearances. It doesn’t mean his off-field football career is over or that any bad blood exists between Johnson and the Texans. The inaugural Ring of Honor member will still be around the team and represent the franchise.

Shaquill Griffin wants to play for Seahawks as long as he can

Seattle Seahawks cornerback Shaquill Griffin professed that he wants to play for the organization for the rest of his career if he can.

Seattle Seahawks cornerback Shaquill Griffin told reporters on a Zoom call Friday that he wishes to remain in the Emerald City for a long time, if not his entire career.

The young cornerback had a minor conversation with the team’s front office regarding his contract situation and stated that he will take things one day at a time as he enters the final year of his rookie deal.

“The main thing is the coaches, the organization – they know I love it here,” Griffin said. “I feel like that’s very noticeable. I’d like to be here as long as I can, if not forever. It’s going to work itself out. The only thing I can focus on is the next day, the next play.

“Whenever it’s going to be ready for me, it’s going to be there.”

Griffin professed that he has enjoyed himself throughout his first three years in the NFL, but is wary of the complications and unpredictability that come with being a player in this league.

“It’s been a wonderful time so far,” Griffin said. “I’d love to be here forever, but some things are just out of your control. At the end of the day, I know it’s a business.”

Griffin stated that he will do his best to make plays no matter the situation on the field and do what he is supposed to at any given moment.

“I’m not going to sit here and say I’m going to start jumping routes,” Griffin said. “The play that’s on top of the ball, where I’m on top of the receiver? If that ball is in the air and I can make it, I’m going to make it. If it’s a comeback that I know that he just broke on and the ball is in the air and I know I can get there, I’m going to try and make it. But there are some (plays) where I’m a step behind and I know I have to play the hands or punch it out. I’m going to punch it out. You just have to know our battles.”

What Seattle will choose to do with Griffin is unknown, but it is evident that he likes playing for the Seahawks, and one can only hope the organization has the same enthusiasm over him.

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Saints promote Terry Fontenot to VP/assistant general manager

The New Orleans Saints promoted longtime director of pro scouting Terry Fontenot to assistant general manager, just like Jeff Ireland.

The start of NFL training camps are often a time for new hirings and in-house promotions to scouting departments around the league, and for once, 2020 is going no differently. NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reported that the New Orleans Saints promoted longtime director of pro scouting to the role of vice president/assistant general manger of pro personnel. He’s one of about a dozen of executives around the league to carry that assistant G.M. title.

Fontenot has been with the Saints for 16 years, overseeing the pro scouting department for the last six seasons after seven years as a pro scout. It’s been his responsibility to monitor the waiver wire, evaluate upcoming opponents, and gauge free agents to-be, helping the Saints land big-time veterans like All-Pro linebacker Demario Davis, guard Larry Warford (who went to three Pro Bowls in three years with the Saints), tight end Jared Cook (who set personal bests in several stats last season), and wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders, who will hopefully keep things trending upwards.

Intriguingly, this puts Fontenot on the same level as Jeff Ireland within the Saints organization. Ireland, the infamous ex-Miami Dolphins general manager, has held the title of vice president/assistant G.M. for some time now. But he’s now added “assistant general manager of college scouting” to better reflect his duties as head of that department. Both Ireland and Fontenot report to Mickey Loomis, who is titled executive vice president/general manager.

It’ll be interesting to see where things go form here. Ireland has steadily climbed the ladder within the Saints organization since joining them back in 2015, helping assemble some of the strongest draft classes in team history. Both he and Fontenot could be candidates for general manager jobs in the NFL’s next hiring cycle, much like former Saints director of player personnel Ryan Pace (now the embattled Chicago Bears shot-caller). This promotion for Fontenot likely carries a pay raise and more decision-making influence within the front office, but only time will tell if it’s enough to keep a good group together.

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Stefanski and his staff were able to …

Stefanski and his staff were able to keep the Pistons afloat, navigating through the salary cap and staying away from the luxury tax. They also added a couple of young pieces in the draft and through shrewd trades to buoy their future hopes. “Ed has come in and done a great job of stabilizing our front office and cleaning some things up,” team owner Tom Gores said this week. “We just felt it was time to go big or go home. Let’s just go get the best. We have a great coach ready to go. Dwane (Casey) and Troy have a great chemistry that they’ve built — that was important to me.”

When Gores targeted Weaver, it was with …

When Gores targeted Weaver, it was with the understanding that he would fit within the existing structure and utilize the experience and feedback from the key stakeholders. Weaver brings the eye for talent, but working with the other key pieces helps to solidify everything and ensure everyone is going in the same direction. “There’ll be a nice divide-and-conquer coming in and again that’s why I trust Troy to come in as someone smart enough to leverage resources,” Gores said. “At a high level, we’ll work all this out in the detail. Really, Troy, and Ed and Dwane will work on a day-to-day basis with each other, and Troy will have normal — and even higher than normal — GM responsibilities and he’s got a lot to learn. He’s going to get on the ground and know each player well and connect with (Casey) and so on and then as it bubbles up to ownership, Arn and I — if there’s big decisions that need to be made — we’ll all gather.”

With Weaver in place, the Pistons could …

With Weaver in place, the Pistons could have a more traditional structure for the first time since 2018, with plenty of input from the other involved parties. It meant making room for Weaver’s expertise and agreeing to work collaboratively to make it work. “They all had reasons not to like this, because we’re bringing in a very powerful person in Troy,” Gores said. “Troy’s got a lot of responsibility and power in this team. I’m just really happy that he’s going to leverage all the resources, but at the end of the day, I think Troy will work with Ed on a day-to-day basis and coach, and as things bubble up that need Arn and I, obviously we’ll, you know, we’ll step in there.”

Seahawks hire Alonzo Highsmith as personnel executive

The Seattle Seahawks officially hired longtime NFL executive Alonzo Highsmith, making him a personnel executive in the scouting department.

After bringing him on as a consultant ahead of the 2020 NFL draft, the Seattle Seahawks have officially hired longtime league executive Alonzo Highsmith.

Highsmith is listed as a personnel executive on Seattle’s team website. His extensive experience in the NFL includes 19 years spent with the Green Bay Packers. He was promoted to senior personnel executive in 2012 and held that position until he left in 2018 to become the Browns’ vice president of player personnel.

Highsmith was let go by the Browns in January after the team hired Andrew Barry as their new general manager, and he was reunited with Seahawks general manager John Schneider in February as a consultant.

Highsmith and Schneider worked together in Green Bay for eight seasons from 2002-2009.

Highsmith’s long track record in the NFL goes back even further, as he played fullback in the league from 1987-1992 with the Houston Oilers, Dallas Cowboys and Tampa Bay Buccaneers before embarking on a brief career as a professional boxer, and eventually landing in Green Bay’s scouting department.

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Packers promote Ross, Goodson to new scouting roles

Brandian Ross and Demetri Goodson will take over new scouting roles for Packers GM Brian Gutekunst.

The Green Bay Packers promoted two of the team’s former defensive backs to new scouting roles within GM Brian Gutekunst’s player personnel department.

The team announced Brandian Ross will take over scouting duties in the southwest region while Demetri Goodson will replace Ross as the new midlands region scout.

Ross, a former undrafted free agent who played two seasons with the Packers, returned to Green Bay as a scouting intern in 2017. He has spent the last two years as the midlands region scout. Ross will replace Charles Walls as the new southwest scout after Walls left to take a new job in Cleveland.

Goodson, a sixth-round pick of the Packers in 2014, spent last season as a scouting intern. He will be a first-time college scout in 2020.

The Packers’ area scouts are now Ross, Goodson, Luke Benuska (west), Joe Hueber (midwest), Patrick Moore (southeast), Mike Owen (northeast) and Brett Thiesen.

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Texans selected draft picks by consensus, not Bill O’Brien’s mandates

Houston Texans coach Bill O’Brien says that the front office personnel made moves in the 2020 NFL Draft by consensus.

With coach Bill O’Brien now the general manager of the Houston Texans, there was a perception that he would unilaterally make the decisions for the team in the 2020 NFL Draft.

According to O’Brien, he was part of a team, seeking to build consensus for every selection, every transaction in the draft.

“We just have a great team of people,” O’Brien told reporters after the conclusion of the draft on Saturday. “We make decisions that are formed around a consensus. I think really that’s Bob McNair [late founder], that’s the way he wanted it, that’s the way [chairman and CEO] Cal McNair wants it, and that’s what we try to do.”

O’Brien has a team around him that sees it almost the same way that the seventh-year coach does. Jack Easterby, the executive vice president of football operations, comes from the New England Patriots’ system, the same as O’Brien. Kevin Krajcovic, the director of football administration, has been with the organization as long as O’Brien has. Then, Matt Bazirgan, the director of player personnel, and James Liipfert, director of college scouting, have been with the organization since 2018.

The Texans made all five of their picks, executed their three trades, all by consensus.

“We have a great team here,” O’Brien said. “I’ve said it and I’ll say it over and over. I really mean it.”

When the team is able to commence their offseason program, the fruits of the front office team’s consensus will manifest as they evaluate their 90-man roster.

Texans coach Bill O’Brien: ‘We’ll play football at some point’

Houston Texans coach Bill O’Brien believes football will return, but the chief focus has to be preserving quality of life and saving lives.

The NFL is mulling over ideas on how to play the 2020 schedule despite the complications arising from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Even though the NFL will conduct its annual draft on April 23-25 in a virtual setting, even teams are staying away from their facilities for social distancing purposes, Houston Texans coach Bill O’Brien believes life will return to normal and there will be football eventually.

However, the seventh-year coach doesn’t want to rush matters and endanger lives at the expense of kicking the ball off the tee in September.

“In my opinion, just my opinion, before we let people back into stadium and things like that, we better have the testing down, we better be on our way to a vaccine,” O’Brien told the Houston media on a conference call on April 16. “I don’t think you’re going to be able to move forward until we have a better grasp of the whole thing.”

The COVID-19 pandemic’s effect has been unequally distributed. For instance, according to Worldometers, the state of New York leads the United States with 241,041 confirmed COVID-19 cases as of 12:40 a.m. ET on April 18. However, the state of Texas only has 18,679 cases. Minnesota is the only state with an NFL team and the fewest number of cases at 2,213.

What if states such as Texas and Minnesota are the next hot spots waiting to happen?

Said O’Brien: “We can’t be in a rush. I think life as we know it is going to change and we can’t be in a rush. We’ll play football at some point. We will definitely play football. When that is, who knows, but we’ll just keep doing what we have to do to stay up with the competition and when they tell us to get ready to play, we’ll try to get ready to play.”

In the meantime, O’Brien, who is now the fourth full-time general manager in Texans history, is enjoying the simple things in life during the social distancing period, including spending more time with his family and working on improving the Texans’ roster from the back patio of his Houston home.

When the world is back to normal, O’Brien, the Texans, and the rest of the NFL hope to be back to football.