Tag: Joe Hortiz

Chargers hiring Joe Hortiz as next general manager

The Chargers have finally found their new general manager.

The Chargers have finally found their new general manager.

According to multiple reports, Los Angeles is working to finalize a deal to hire Ravens director of player personnel Joe Hortiz as their next GM.

Hortiz, 48, has worked for the Ravens since 1998, where he started as a scout. He was then promoted to the team’s director of college scouting for ten years before becoming the director of player personnel in 2019, overseeing both the pro and scouting departments since then.

Hortiz has plenty of experience and has benefited from learning under Ravens executive vice president Ozzie Newsome, one of the most well-known executives in the league.

Hortiz is a graduate of Auburn with a degree in accounting. He was an undergraduate assistant coach for the Tigers’ football team from 1995- 97. He worked with the quarterbacks and wide receivers and coached the scout team linebackers and secondary.

Where the Chargers’ general manager search stands after hiring Jim Harbaugh

After hiring Jim Harbaugh to be their next head coach, the Chargers will now figure out who will be the general manager.

The Chargers hired Jim Harbaugh as head coach last night in a franchise altering move. After years of flirting with NFL interest and winning the College Football Playoff National Championship at Michigan, he’s back in the NFL. But now, the focus shifts to “building infrastructure” as Harbaugh said yesterday. That will most likely start with the completion of the Chargers’ general manager search.

Brandon Brown completed a second interview yesterday for the position. Ravens Director of Player Personnel Joe Hortiz will also come back for a second in-person interview today. The Chargers first round of interviews included Hortiz and Brown as well as JoJo Wooden, Ian Cunningham, Terrance Gray, Jeff Ireland, Ed Dodds, Jeff King, and Dawn Aponte.

Of those candidates, quite a few have some connections to Harbaugh. Brandon Brown has been mentioned by Albert Breer as a candidate that could fit that mold. Per Benjamin Allbright, Michigan was a school Brown scouted while he was with the Colts and Eagles.

Joe Hortiz doesn’t have a direct connection to Jim Harbaugh himself, but obviously has worked directly with his brother John Harbaugh in Baltimore. The same is true for Ian Cunningham, who spent nearly a decade with the Ravens as a scout.

After missing out on the Raiders general manager job following the hiring of Tom Telesco, Ed Dodds is still available too. Dodds has long been viewed as a potential “Harbaugh GM” if he was to make a return in the NFL. The two reportedly have a strong relationship dating back to Harbaugh’s time as quarterbacks coach with the Raiders. Back then, Dodds was a Pro Personnel Intern in Oakland.

Harbaugh will presumably want to put together his staff and mobilize the Chargers’ offseason as soon as possible, so I’d expect the general manager search to quickly accelerate now that the former Michigan coach has finally put pen to paper.

Chargers general manager candidate profile: Joe Hortiz

Examining who Joe Hortiz is, where he comes from and why he’d be a good choice to be the GM of the Chargers.

The Chargers interviewed Ravens’ Director of Player Personnel Joe Hortiz for their general manager vacancy on Saturday.

Hortiz, 48, has been in Baltimore since 1998. He’s played pivotal roles in college scouting and the Ravens’ draft process. Hortiz was originally a scout who was promoted to Baltimore’s Director of College Scouting in 2009. 10 years later, in 2019, he earned the promotion to his current title of Director of Player Personnel.

The legacy of Baltimore over the past two decades needs no further explanation. Under Ozzie Newsome, the Ravens have consistently dominated the draft in constructing several playoff and Super Bowl teams. Eric DeCosta was promoted to general manager following Newsome’s retirement. Hortiz has remained a constant in Baltimore as he potentially waits for his own opportunity elsewhere to become a GM.

Hortiz also has coaching experience, albeit brief. He was a graduate assistant at Auburn for three years under then-head coach Terry Bowden.

Hortiz’s biggest asset is his decades of college and scouting and draft experience. Baltimore has consistently been a draft enigma in their team construction. Whether it’s slithering up the board or meticulously accumulating capital by trading down, April is where the Ravens are truly built. They also pursue free agency and other team-building moves, of course, but Baltimore hasn’t existed in their current form over the last two decades without success in the spring’s primetime event.

LA also needs a vision of team management that is flexible in approach. Tom Telesco’s hesitance to trade back in the draft has the Chargers generally having fewer draft assets outside of years where they earned compensatory picks. For a team about to enter some version of “cap hell,” more swings at the bat under a GM with Hortiz’s vision and experience could be massive.

Chargers conclude interview with Joe Hortiz for general manager opening

Joe Hortiz has worked with the Ravens since 1998.

The Chargers on Saturday confirmed they have interviewed Joe Hortiz for their general manager position.

Hortiz, 48, has worked for the Ravens since 1998, where he started as a scout. He was then promoted to the team’s director of college scouting for ten years before becoming the director of player personnel in 2019, overseeing both the pro and scouting departments since then.

Hortiz has plenty of experience and has benefited from learning under Ravens executive vice president Ozzie Newsome, one of the most well-known executives in the league.

Hortiz is a graduate of Auburn with a degree in accounting. He was an undergraduate assistant coach for the Tigers’ football team from 1995- 97. He worked with the quarterbacks and wide receivers and coached the scout team linebackers and secondary.

12 general manager candidates for Chargers to consider

Here are 12 candidates from around the league the Chargers could consider to replace Tom Telesco.

The Chargers ended the Tom Telesco era on Friday, firing their general manager after a decade in charge.

Here are 12 candidates from around the league they could consider as his replacement.

Joe Hortiz says Ravens will have advantage in draft given Todd Monken’s experience

Newly hired offensive coordinator Todd Monken could play a key role in helping the Ravens excel in the 2023 NFL draft

The Baltimore Ravens have several holes on their roster after their slow start to the 2023 offseason, and with the NFL draft fast approaching, it seems that the team will opt to add younger talent rather than take their chances on veteran free agents.

One advantage that Baltimore has is the familiarity that their new offensive coordinator Todd Monken will bring the Ravens after previously coaching at the University of Georgia. Given that several of the class’ best prospects played their college ball in Athens, Baltimore’s director of player personnel Joe Hortiz told reporters in a pre-draft press conference that he feels the team has a distinct advantage.

“Yes, we certainly do. We know the Georgia players with [offensive coordinator] Todd [Monken]. But we’re still going through that process, and we’ll have medical meetings, and then we’ll talk it over with the coaching staff. [Scouting information & research manager] Steve Clagett does a great job with all our background investigations and research. So, we kind of talk through it. We don’t eliminate anyone based on a quote-unquote grade; it’s a discussion and a conversation that we talk through with the coaching staff during the meetings.”

While he went out of his way to make it clear that other departments will have a significant impact on the team’s evaluations of prospects, Hortiz’s comments about Monken’s presence shouldn’t be taken lightly. The newly-minted offensive coordinator has been around the game for a long time, especially at the collegiate level, and should prove to be invaluable to Baltimore as the Ravens look to re-tool for a comeback 2023 season.

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Ravens GM Eric DeCosta gives thoughts on 2023 cornerback position

Ravens general manager Eric DeCosta talked about the cornerback depth in the upcoming 2023 NFL Draft

The Baltimore Ravens held their pre-draft press conference on Wednesday at their facility in Owings Mills. General manager Eric DeCosta, head coach John Harbaugh, and director of player personnel Joe Hortiz spoke to the media in preparation of the upcoming draft later this month, which should provide Baltimore with the opportunity to add multiple key pieces to the roster.

DeCosta was asked about the cornerback depth in the draft as the position is a key need heading into this month’s festivities. The general manager called the group “a strong position”, and reminded the media that they love cornerbacks as a whole, evidenced by their spending pattern.

“Yes, it’s a strong position. [There are] probably four or five guys that you look at and say, ‘Yes, that’s a first-round-type of guy. That’s a first-round pick.’ [There are] maybe six guys. So – you know us – we have a history of drafting defense in the first round. We love corners; our defense is really built to succeed with a great, strong secondary. [Head] coach [John] Harbaugh loves big, physical, press-type guys. There are a lot of these types of guys in the draft. So, for us to look at that, we think it’s one of the most important positions on your football team, and it’s a position that we’ll always look at very closely.”

The Ravens only have five picks in the 2023 NFL draft, so the front office needs to do whatever they can to maximize the assets that they currently have. They also could move back and obtain more picks for later in the draft, but that will be determined on draft day.

Cardinals request to interview key member of Ravens’ front office for open GM role

The Cardinals requested to interview a key member of the Ravens’ front office for their open general manager role

The Baltimore Ravens have been known to be very popular during the NFL’s hiring cycle. Other teams look up to how Baltimore is run from the top down, usually resulting in plenty of interview requests for coaches and front office members alike.

It was reported by Adam Schefter of ESPN that the Arizona Cardinals have put in a request to interview with Ravens’ director of player personnel Joe Hortiz, who was a popular interview candidate last offseason. Hortiz interviewed with both the Pittsburgh Steelers and New York Giants in 2022.

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Cardinals seek interview with Ravens exec for GM job

The latest candidate in the Cardinals’ GM search is Ravens exec Joe Hortiz.

The Arizona Cardinals were expected to cast a wide net to find a new general manager, replacing Steve Keim after he stepped down for health reasons after 10 years in the position.

The latest candidate is Baltimore Ravens director of player personnel Joe Hortiz.

According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the Cardinals have requested permission to interview Hortiz, who was a candidate last offseason for the general manager positions of the Pittsburgh Steelers and New York Giants.

Hortiz has been with Baltimore for 25 years. The last four seasons have been in his current position, overseeing college and pro scouting and being one of the team’s chief personnel evaluators.

From 2009-2018, he was the director of college scouting. He was a national scout before that and started as an intern.

Listen to the latest from Cards Wire’s Jess Root on his podcast, Rise Up, See Red. Subscribe on Apple podcasts or Spotify.

Ravens director of player personnel Joe Hortiz breaks down film of 2022 rookies

Ravens director of player personnel Joe Hortiz breaks down film of 2022 rookies

The Baltimore Ravens had a busy weekend during the 2022 draft, but came out of everything with an impressive 11-player rookie class. They were able to secure falling stars as well as players at positions of need, both of which contributed to the balanced draft that the team had.

Baltimore’s top-two picks came in the first round in safety Kyle Hamilton and Tyler Linderbaum. Ravens director of player personnel Joe Hortiz sat down and broke down film of the top two prospects, sharing what he sees when he watches the two play and what things both show him on the field.