Tag: GM search

Falcons hire Washington’s Kyle Smith as VP of player personnel

The Falcons are hiring Kyle Smith away from Washington, making him the new VP of player personnel.

In a move that will surely frustrate a large portion of the fanbase, the Washington Football Team has lost a key member of the front office. Kyle Smith, the young hotshot VP of player personnel who has been credited with a lot of the young talent that’s been added to Washington’s roster over the past few seasons, is heading to Atlanta.

The Falcons announced on Friday that they have hired Smith as their VP of player personnel.

With the addition of both Martin Mayhew, the new general manager, and Marty Hurney, the new cxecutive VP of football/player personnel, it seemed that Smith was being pushed to the side as Ron Rivera opted to get more experience into the front office. With both Mayhew and Hurney now at Rivera’s sides, there are more than 60 years of front-office experience in Washington.

After letting young coaching talents like Sean McVay, Kyle Shanahan, Matt LaFleur and Kevin O’Connell leave Washington to find greener pastures elsewhere, it makes sense that fans are a bit wary to let Smith leave, especially when they had an open GM spot this offseason.

Nonetheless, it is Rivera who is making these moves, and he’s the one who is still in charge. Losing Smith hurts, but the front office remains in good hands with plenty of experienced talent evaluators.

[listicle id=46380]

Washington GM Tracker: A list of executives interviewing for top job in D.C.

Washington is on the hunt for a new general manager, so here is an up-to-date list tracking those who have or will be interviewed for the position.

After coming off of an offseason in 2020 where the Washington Football Team completely upended their coaching staff and brought in a whole host of new blood into the team headquarters, things are much quieter this time around in D.C. However, Washington is in search of a new executive that can fill the place of General Manager, helping to take some of the front-office work off of Ron Rivera’s plate and help further the success starting to form in Washington.

There are a number of candidates that have already emerged, and the coming and days and weeks will surely bring more. At the moment, here is a list of people who either have or will be interviewed for the GM spot in Washington.

Report: Lions will hire Brad Holmes as the team’s new GM

Holmes has been the Rams director of collegiate scouting

Numerous reports, including one from ESPN’s Adam Schefter indicates that the Detroit Lions are hiring Brad Holmes as the team’s new general manager.

Holmes has been one of the primary candidates and completed his second interview with the team on Wednesday. He has been the director of collegiate scouting for the Los Angeles Rams since 2012 and has spent his entire NFL front office tenure with the Rams organization.

Per Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network, Holmes and the Lions agreed to a five-year contract.

There is no immediate indication on who Holmes is seeking to be the team’s new head coach. Holmes replaces Bob Quinn, who was fired midway through the 2020 season.

[lawrence-related id=57639]

Detroit Lions GM search appears to be narrowed to 4 candidates

Based on multiple reports surrounding the Detroit Lions general manager search, their focus appears to be narrowed to four candidates.

The Detroit Lions have done an extensive search for the general manager position, completing 12 candidate interviews, as well as inquiring about several others.

Now, based on multiple reports, they have taken the next step and narrowed the list to just four candidates: Brad Holmes (Los Angeles Rams’ director of college scouting), Ed Dodds (Colts’ assistant GM), Jeff Ireland (Saints’ Assistant GM, Formerly Dolphins GM), and Terry Fontenot (Saints’ VP/assistant GM of pro personnel).

In most years, this second round of interviews would be “contract on the table” interviews, meaning the team would likely offer them the job at the end of the meeting if they were interested. If there was no contract, the odds of them reaching a deal were slim.

But this is not a typical year.

It appears, with most initial interviews taking place virtually, it’s added another layer to the process. So this year’s next step involves a second round of interviews that would take place in person, but it is still a narrowing of options.

First up for these in-person interviews was Holmes, who completed his second interview on Wednesday. Who’s next? Well, that’s a bit muddled.

MMQB’s Albert Breer reported that “Detroit would like to get Dodds, Ireland, and Fontenot into the building before making a decision. Whether they’ll have the chance to do that, given all the balls in the air right now, is another question.”

Some of these questions center around availability. Because the Saints are still in the NFL Playoffs, neither Fontenot nor Ireland can interview a second time until they are eliminated or they reach the bye week ahead of the Super Bowl.

Dodds, who eligible to interview again at any time, just interviewed on Tuesday and the Lions may want more time to process his interview before scheduling a second. If he is going to get/take a second interview, logistics point to him being the next likely candidate to be scheduled.

The Lions are getting closer to a decision, but it doesn’t look like they’re going to rush this process.

Stay tuned to Lions Wire for daily updates as things continue to unfold.

Detroit Lions confirm a second completed interview with Brad Holmes

The Detroit Lions confirmed that they have completed a second interview with Los Angeles Rams director of college scouting Brad Holmes.

The Detroit Lions confirmed that they have completed a second interview, this time in person, with Los Angeles Rams’ director of college scouting Brad Holmes.

The Lions were reportedly focused on five general manager candidates for a second round of interviews, but after George Paton accepted a position with the Denver Broncos, the anticipated list now stands at a final four.

In addition to Holmes, the Lions are believed to be targeting Ed Dodds (Colts’ assistant GM), Jeff Ireland (Saints’ Assistant GM, Formerly Dolphins GM), and Terry Fontenot (Saints’ VP/assistant GM of pro personnel) as the candidates for a second interview.

Holmes, who also completed two rounds of interviews with the Atlanta Falcons, is believed to be a finalist for them as well. It has been suggested that he is in direct competition with Fontenot, who has also interviewed with them twice, for their open general manager position.

For the Lions, the field is narrowed but there are competing reports on who could be the front runner.

ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported that he believes Homles is “the favorite to become the Lions’ GM”. While NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport suggested both Holmes and Fontenot are “still considered a strong candidate for the Lions and Falcons” GM positions. And MMQB’s Albert Breer says that all four listed above are still being considered.

Detroit Lions confirm a second completed interview with Brad Holmes

The Detroit Lions confirmed that they have completed a second interview with Los Angeles Rams director of college scouting Brad Holmes.

The Detroit Lions confirmed that they have completed a second interview, this time in person, with Los Angeles Rams’ director of college scouting Brad Holmes.

The Lions were reportedly focused on five general manager candidates for a second round of interviews, but after George Paton accepted a position with the Denver Broncos, the anticipated list now stands at a final four.

In addition to Holmes, the Lions are believed to be targeting Ed Dodds (Colts’ assistant GM), Jeff Ireland (Saints’ Assistant GM, Formerly Dolphins GM), and Terry Fontenot (Saints’ VP/assistant GM of pro personnel) as the candidates for a second interview.

Holmes, who also completed two rounds of interviews with the Atlanta Falcons, is believed to be a finalist for them as well. It has been suggested that he is in direct competition with Fontenot, who has also interviewed with them twice, for their open general manager position.

For the Lions, the field is narrowed but there are competing reports on who could be the front runner.

ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported that he believes Homles is “the favorite to become the Lions’ GM”. While NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport suggested both Holmes and Fontenot are “still considered a strong candidate for the Lions and Falcons” GM positions. And MMQB’s Albert Breer says that all four listed above are still being considered.

Lions GM candidate George Paton will join the Denver Broncos

Paton leaves the Vikings to take over for John Elway

The Denver Broncos are finalizing a long-term deal with Minnesota Vikings assistant general manager George Paton to become the team’s new GM, per reports from Adam Schefter of ESPN and others.

That takes Paton out of the running for the general manager vacancy with the Detroit Lions. The team interviewed Paton last week, when he also first interviewed with the Broncos. His willingness to accept interviews was a surprise after he had turned down requests to leave his longtime perch in Minnesota over the past few offseasons.

Paton takes over for John Elway, who kicked himself upstairs and no longer had interest in being so involved in the day-to-day operations of the team he legendarily led during his Hall of Fame career.

The news of Paton taking the Broncos job came as Rams director of collegiate scouting Brad Holmes was in his second interview with the team. Holmes should now be seen as a leading candidate.

Lions announce completed interviews with Ed Dodds and Arthur Smith

The Detroit Lions announced that they had completed two more interviews on Tuesday, bringing their total interview counts up to 12 general manager candidates and six head-coaching candidates.

Ed Dodds, Indianapolis Colts assistant general manager, has officially interviewed for the Lions open general manager position. While Arthur Smith, Tennessee Titans offensive coordinator, has interviewed for the head coaching position.

The Detroit Lions announced that they had completed two more interviews on Tuesday, bringing their total interview counts up to 12 general manager candidates and six head-coaching candidates.

Ed Dodds, Indianapolis Colts assistant general manager, has officially interviewed for the Lions open general manager position. While Arthur Smith, Tennessee Titans offensive coordinator, has interviewed for the head coaching position.

After a thorough few weeks of laying the groundwork on initial interviews, the Lions entered this week by bringing in candidates whose teams were in last weekend’s NFL playoffs.

With regards to their coaching search, the Lions brought in Saints’ tight end coach/assistant head coach, Dan Campbell to interview on Monday, Smith completed his interview today, and Todd Bowles, Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ defensive coordinator, is reportedly set to interview at an undisclosed time this week.

At general manager, Dodds was a surprise addition to the Tuesday schedule, as he is notoriously particular about the interviews he accepts, having already withdrawn his name from the Panthers search. He is a highly respected candidate and one that is pursued every cycle.

It’s possible Dodds was the final GM candidate in the initial stages of Lions’ interviews, as it has been reported that the Lions will hold their first second-interview on Wednesday with Rams’ Brad Holmes (director of college scouting).

The general manager search appears to be narrowing down, while the coaching search is still underway and may have a few more candidate names added to the interview list.

Stay tuned to Lions Wire for more updates as they unfold.

Report: GM candidate Brad Holmes to meet in person with Lions on Wednesday

ESPN Adam Schefter is reporting that general manager candidate Brad Holmes (Rams) to meet in person with the Detroit Lions on Wednesday.

ESPN Adam Schefter is reporting that general manager candidate Brad Holmes (Los Angeles Rams director of college scouting) is scheduled to meet in person with the Detroit Lions on Wednesday.

After meeting with the Lions in late December, Holmes is the first known candidate to land a second interview with the Lions for their general manager position.

Holmes is known as an evaluator with an eye for talent and is best known for being the voice in the Rams organization who pushed for them to draft defensive tackle Aaron Donald in the 2014 NFL draft.

With eight years of experience running the Rams college scouting department, and 18 total years with the organization, Holmes has gotten a lot of attention in this general manager search cycle.

The Atlanta Falcons have also been making a strong push for Holmes services. They have also reportedly had two rounds of interviews with Holmes according to multiple reports.

John Schneider signs an extension to remain the GM in Seattle

Schneider will stick in Seattle through the 2027 NFL draft

Cross John Schneider off the Detroit Lions’ general manager search list. The longtime Seattle Seahawks GM has agreed to a contract extension with the team to remain in Seattle for several more years.

Schneider’s extension carries through the 2027 NFL draft, a five-year window beyond when his contract was set to expire. His old deal, as well as his lack of final personnel authority with the Seahawks — head coach Pete Carroll has that power — left some opportunity for a team like the Lions to try and lure Schneider away for a new start. Reports of the Lions interest in Schneider created some real buzz.

Financial terms of Schneider’s extension in Seattle are not immediately known. It is possible he leveraged the interest from the Lions into coaxing the extension from the Seahawks.