Tag: NFL executives

Panthers name Chiefs executive Brandt Tilis as their new Executive VP of Football Operations

The Carolina #Panthers named former Kansas City #Chiefs executive Brandt Tilis as their new Executive VP of Football Operations.

The Carolina Panthers are hiring former Kansas City Chiefs front office executive Brandt Tilis as their next Executive VP of Football Operations.

According to a new report from ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the Panthers are officially finalizing a deal to hire Tilis. He was linked to Carolina in 2021 when the franchise searched for a new general manager. The veteran executive has earned the salary cap expert title from many around the league for his exceptional insight into the team’s roster finances.

Tilis has spent the last 14 seasons with the Chiefs and the last three as vice president of football operations. He has been notably the lead contract negotiator since 2017, working to develop a structure enabling Kansas City to give quarterback Patrick Mahomes his record-breaking 10-year, $450 million contract extension in 2020.

In his new role, Tilis is expected to be responsible for all football administration and non-coaching matters related to operations, equipment, video, and analytics, among other areas. According to the Panthers press release, He will also lead player contract negotiations, compliance with the NFL Collective Bargaining Agreement and league rules, salary cap management, and maintenance and labor administration.

The Chiefs continue to see many of their executives move on to new opportunities, showing the ongoing development of the front office tree. Teams around the league are watching Kansas City’s success, hoping to take a piece of their talent to spark their franchises.

NFL execs, coaches and players still rank Rams’ Aaron Donald over Chiefs’ Chris Jones

A pair of anonymous AFC executives had vastly different opinions on #Chiefs DT Chris Jones in ESPN’s recent top-10 rankings:

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NFL executives, coaches and players ranked Kansas City Chiefs DT Chris Jones as the No. 2 defensive tackle in the league in ESPN’s recent top-10 rankings.

Jeremy Fowler polls league-wide opinion to create these rankings every year and the defensive tackle rankings this year sang a familiar tune. Los Angeles Rams DT Aaron Donald took home the No. 1 spot, as he has since these top-10 rankings became a thing back in 2020. In fact, if you look at the captions for each previous story on Google, it usually reads something like, “Aaron Donald is the best interior defensive lineman in football. Who follows from 2-10?”

Even in a year where Donald didn’t perform as he usually does, Jones was still left sitting in Donald’s shadow. It didn’t matter that Jones had a career year that ended in a Super Bowl victory. Even though he had no votes lower than No. 3 and had several No. 1 votes, including one from an anonymous AFC executive, who seems to have played the team twice in 2022.

“One-on-one matchups, he has a natural answer for everything,” said an AFC exec who voted Jones No. 1. “Wrecked our games.”

That wasn’t the consensus apparently, as another AFC executive had a vastly different opinion on Jones and his ability.

“I think a lot of his production is inflated,” another AFC exec told Fowler. “And he’s not always consistent against the run.”‘

What’s funny about that is these executives didn’t seem to hold Donald to the same standard. A high-ranking NFL scout admitted to Fowler that Donald was in a “slight decline” and said his performance was “a byproduct of what was around him.”

Basically, Donald had a down year in 2022, but all is forgiven because his team also had a bad year. Jones doesn’t get that type of pass, but instead, he gets dinged for “inflated production.”

When takes like this exist among NFL decision-makers and peers, you can hardly blame Jones for having a chip on his shoulder. It’s understandable why he’s out to earn his respect, looking for a top-tier contract and setting lofty personal goals for the 2023 NFL season.

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Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes wins MVP in poll of NFL executives

NFL.com’s poll of NFL executives says Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes will win his second MVP award.

If NFL executives had a vote, Kansas City Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes would be the MVP of the 2020 NFL season.

NFL Network reporter Tom Pelissero surveyed executives from 22 NFL teams in hopes of determining the winners of the NFL’s end of season awards. The Most Valuable Player award this year has been considered a close race between Patrick Mahomes and Green Bay Packers QB Aaron Rodgers lately, but the NFL executives polled by Pelissero seem to believe otherwise. Here was the final tally of votes collected:

  1. Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes: 13
  2. Packers QB Aaron Rodgers: 6
  3. Bills QB Josh Allen: 2
  4. Titans RB Derrick Henry: 1

That’s essentially a runaway win for Mahomes with over double the votes to Rodgers. The votes for Allen and Henry seem to do more harm to Rodgers than Mahomes. What the executives had to say about Mahomes just speaks to the reputation that he has earned within the NFL over the past three years.

“You can’t stop him,” an NFC executive told Pelissero of Mahomes. “He is the hardest player to stop in the league. Rodgers is right there. But this guy (Mahomes) — he makes the unique look routine. He’s unbelievable.”

Mahomes has led the Chiefs to the best record in the NFL at 13-1. He currently sits at 4,462 passing yards, 36 touchdowns and five interceptions on the season. He’s 635 yards and 14 touchdowns shy of the numbers that helped him earn his first MVP award back in 2018.

While MVP is typically judged on the body of work within a single season, I think the reputation that Mahomes has built over the past three seasons might help him here. He’s picking apart some of the best teams in the league this season and nothing has really been able to slow him down. Short of a miraculous performance in the final two weeks from Rodgers, it feels as if Mahomes may have already locked up his second career MVP award. We’ll have to wait until the NFL honors ceremony to find out for sure, but this is certainly a good sign.

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Former NFL exec urges players to vote yes for current CBA (Touchdownwire)

A former NFL executive says the proposed collective bargaining agreement that players are voting on this week isn’t a great deal, but players should probably approve it anyway.

A former NFL executive says the proposed collective bargaining agreement that players are voting on this week isn’t a great deal, but players should probably approve it anyway.

Former NFL exec urges players to vote yes for current CBA

A former NFL executive says the proposed collective bargaining agreement that players are voting on this week isn’t a great deal, but players should probably approve it anyway.

A former NFL executive says the proposed collective bargaining agreement that players are voting on this week isn’t a great deal, but players should probably approve it anyway.