Tag: personnel

Notre Dame Football: Irish reportedly losing key staffer to Big Ten

More moves for Fighting Irish football…

According to FootballScoop, Notre Dame is losing a key member of their football staff.

Butler Benton joined the Notre Dame staff as Assistant Athletic Director for Player Personnel in April of 2023 after spending the two previous seasons as the General Manager at the University of Arkansas.

Accoring to the FootballScoop report:

Sources tell FootballScoop that Benton has left his post as the assistant athletic director to become the new GM for DeShaun Foster at UCLA.

The report goes on to mention that the deal could be announced as early as Monday.  Benton heading to UCLA sets him up to return to the Big Ten where he served as the player personnel coordinator at Michigan State under Mark Dantonio.

Ejected Eagles security man won’t be allowed on sidelines vs Cowboys

From @ToddBrock24f7: Dom DiSandro will not be allowed on the AT&T Stadium sideline following his physical altercation with a 49ers player last week.

Friday’s final injury report showed both the Cowboys and Eagles at nearly full strength heading into a Sunday night showdown that will help decide the NFC East.

But Philadelphia will nevertheless be a man down, at least as far as their usual sideline staff goes.

Dom DiSandro, the Eagles head of security who was involved last week in a confrontation that got physical with 49ers linebacker Dre Greenlaw, has been barred from Philadelphia’s sideline when the team visits AT&T Stadium in Week 14, per NFL insider Adam Schefter, citing sources.

DiSandro is being allowed to travel with the Eagles team and perform all of his other duties during their trip to Dallas, but he will not be allowed to be on the sideline during the game.

Greenlaw got into a shouting match with several Eagles players on their sideline after making a tackle that drew an unnecessary roughness penalty. DiSandro positioned himself among the players and tried to push Greenlaw away. Greenlaw’s hand then appeared to make contact with DiSandro’s face while making pointing gestures.

Greenlaw was disqualified from the game for the contact; DiSandro was booted from the Philadelphia sideline for “contributing to the escalation” of the argument.

The NFL sent a memo to all 32 teams this week with a reminder to “please ensure that all members of your game-day staff understand that their role does not extend to being involved with game day altercations and that they must refrain from such involvement.”

Greenlaw and DiSandro reportedly exchanged formal apologies through respective team channels, but the league is said to still be considering further discipline. Both men could face fines for their actions.

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The league was expected to take further action past even the game-day ejections and memo; there was some concern that teams could begin instigating such incidents intentionally, using a low-tier staffer to bait an opponent’s star player into an altercation in an effort to get that player disqualified.

“It won’t be [a strategy]. It can’t be, and that’s why they probably did make a big deal out of [it],” 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan said earlier in the week. “It can’t be a strategy. They’ll put an end to that, which I think they already have.”

Things were already sure to be plenty tense on both sidelines this Sunday night, as the longtime rivals square off for the 130th time and with the late-season division lead on the line. The absence of one Eagles staffer likely won’t completely prevent tempers from flaring at some point, but DiSandro’s presence after last week’s scuffle with a star player would only have made an ugly incident more likely.

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Vikings finalize football operations and personnel departments for 2023 season

Vikings GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah finalized the team’s football ops and personnel departments ahead of the 2023 season.

The Minnesota Vikings finalized their football operations and personnel departments on Friday, the team announced in a statement.

The changes to the departments include ten new hires and four promotions, including a number of new college area and pro scouts.

“We are pleased to finalize our football operations and personnel departments and extend a warm welcome to our new staff members,” Vikings General Manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah said in the statement provided by the team. “The Vikings organization is comprised of talented individuals that possess unique skills and strengths and we are excited to continue fostering a collaborative and innovative culture that promotes working together to achieve shared success.”

Here are all the moves made in these departments:

  • Sam DeLuca – Senior Assistant Director of Pro Personnel (new hire)
  • Salli Clavelle – Pro Scout (new hire)
  • Steve Sabo – College Area Scout (new hire)
  • Matt Kelly – College Area Scout (new hire)
  • Jack Murphy – College Scout/BLESTO (new hire)
  • Michelle Makoff – Scouting Associate (new hire)
  • Shantel Rodgers – Scouting Associate (new hire)
  • N’Tare Williamson – Scouting Associate (new hire)
  • Lexus Blunt – Assistant Athletic Trainer (new hire)
  • Anthony Caron – Football Information Systems Developer (new hire)
  • Tyler Williams – Vice President of Player Health and Performance (Promotion)
  • Luke Burson – Director of Football Information Systems (Promotion)
  • Emily Badis – Manager of Football Administration (Promotion)
  • Alex Dale – Pro Scout (Promotion)

Brandon Staley takes ownership of Chargers’ personnel decisions

Brandon Staley did not deflect any blame for the personnel decisions that the Chargers made in their Week 18 loss to the Broncos.

The Los Angeles Chargers made a few personnel decisions in their Week 18 loss to the Denver Broncos that left some fans and analysts wondering what the team was thinking ahead of the playoffs.

Wide receiver Mike Williams went down with a back injury in the game, and speculation abounds that edge defender Joey Bosa may have aggravated a groin injury he suffered earlier in the season. Linebacker Kenneth Murray left the game after suffering a stinger.

For his part, though, Staley didn’t make excuses on Monday in his comments to reporters about his decision to play his starters on Sunday.

“Those decisions are mine — obviously, we’re collaborating with our coaching staff, front office and ownership,” Staley explained of the choice he made to play his starters. “I think that yesterday is an example of the tough side of the NFL, of balancing competition, and then keeping your team as healthy as possible going into the playoffs, and trying to build a culture within a football team and an organization in how you want to do things. We were trying to strike that balance yesterday. I think that our guys did a good job with it. We’ll learn a lot from it and keep getting better as we go.”

Fortunately, Williams’ MRI showed no fracture or muscle injury in his back, and it is just a contusion, which means that Williams is expected to return to practice at some point this week and should play. The same applies to Bosa and Murray, who are fine and should play this weekend against the Jaguars.

Had the availability of those starters become impacted, Staley would have faced even tougher questions to answer as to why he played his starters for as long as he did.

Lovie Smith provides timeline for Eno Benjamin’s inclusion in Texans offense

Fans shouldn’t hold their breath for Benjamin to be on the #Texans’ gameday roster in Week 11 against the #Commanders

The Houston Texans’ latest addition to their running back group has been a hot topic of discussion since the team acquired him via waivers earlier this week. It seems that everyone on the team has been asked about third-year back Eno Benjamin, and for good reason.

Benjamin has shown flashes of brilliance since entering the NFL in 2020 but has yet to get a legitimate shot at meaningful playing time in his short career. Reporters asked head coach Lovie Smith about the timeline for getting Benjamin involved in the team’s offense, prodding specifically about his potential inclusion on Sunday’s gameday roster.

Smith was surprised to be asked such a question about a player who was so recently added to the Texans’ roster and told the media that he is in no rush to push Benjamin onto the field without adequate time to prepare him for the job.

“How long have we known each other,” Smith asked reporters jokingly. “He hadn’t been in the building yet, so you want me to predict whether he’s going to play? I’ll put it like this. We have to keep moving on like he’s not going to play. Since we’re bringing a new player into the mix, we played a lot of games when he wasn’t a part of the team, so we’re moving on like he is not and will not [play]. We’re going to give him a little bit of time, at least get in the building and then we’ll see.”

Though he may not be on the field for Week 11, Benjamin will almost certainly get his chance to make an impact for Houston in the coming weeks. Smith played coy in his response to the question about him in Wednesday’s press conference, but is sure to be aware of the potentially game-breaking advantage his offense could enjoy with yet another capable back at their disposal.

Jaguars cut 10 players on Monday, are set to part with more today

The #Jaguats are in for a wild ride through the rest of the week as they trim their roster to 53 players.

The arduous task of cutting the roster from 80 players to 53 has begun for the Jacksonville Jaguars, as an even 10 players got the ax on Monday with more to follow in the coming days. Big names on both sides of the ball were relieved of their duties, and with 17 players left to be shown the door, tensions are sure to be high in Duval County for the rest of the week.

While Tyrell Adams, Laquon Treadwell, and Ryquell Armstead headlined the departures on Monday, the Jaguars also quietly parted ways with seven other players to bring the total number on their roster to 70.

The remaining casualties, in no particular order, were: Rudy Ford, Auzoyah Alufohai, Benjie Franklin, KC McDermott, Brandon Rusnak, Chapelle Russell, and Badara Traore. These players constituted the majority of the bottom-end of Jacksonville’s depth chart at their respective positions, leaving the red meat of their roster left to cut down.

With about a third of their cuts out of the way, some players can breathe a little easier, while others should still be looking over their shoulders until the week officially ends. Safties Daniel Thomas and Andrew Wingard are likely safe following the departure of Ford, but since no defensive ends were among the players cut on Monday, guys like Israel Antwine, Adam Gotsis, and Arden Key will likely be kept in suspense through the end of the week.

The 2022 Jaguars are loaded with defensive talent, and will likely look to part with a few more offensive players than usual to accommodate more players in the linebacker corps and secondary. Standout receiver Tim Jones seems to be safe following Treadwell’s release and the team’s decision to trade former second-round pick Laviska Shenault, but running backs Snoop Conner and Mekhi Sargent are likely to come down to a one-or-the-other type decision on the part of the coaching staff.

This Jacksonville team is in a full-on rebuild, so any move the front office decides might give them a better chance to win will be given priority over any other potential personnel call.

Stay tuned here on Jaguars Wire for all the breaking news this week, and keep your eye out for some more movement on Jacksonville’s roster as they finalize their depth chart ahead of the regular season.

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.

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Ravens promote nine personnel members

The Ravens have promoted nine members of the personnel department

The Baltimore Ravens organization is known to be a model franchise in the NFL. They regularly promote from within, which gives employees a sense of job security as well as the mindset that hard work can pay off with promotions.

On Wednesday, it was announced that nine personnel members of the Baltimore organization were promoted. These promotions are well deserving and it means that the Ravens have the utmost trust and respect for the hard work that these individuals do to make the organization one of the best.

  • David Blackburn: Director of college scouting
  • Mark Azevedo: Assistant director of player personnel
  • Houegnon “Q” Attenoukon: Full-time area scout
  • Patrick McDonough: Northeast area scout
  • Derrick Yam: Manager of data and decision science
  • Jenn Hoffman: Chief of staff to the general manager
  • Kevin Domboski: Associate head athletic trainer
  • Mark Bievenu: Vice president of football video operations
  • Collin Ferguson: Director of football video operations

Keeping with the tradition of hiring from within, the Ravens are still one of the classiest organizations in all of sports, so promoting their personnel members is nothing new. They have been one of the best organizations at identifying talent on the field, but off of it they’ve also done a great job.

Panthers to interview Seahawks’ Scott Fitterer for general manager job

The Carolina Panthers will be interviewing Seattle Seahawks’ VP of Football Operations Scott Fitterer for their vacant general manager job.

Now that the 2020 NFL regular season has wrapped up, many teams across the league are looking to fill vacant personnel positions.

The Carolina Panthers, who finished the year with an unimpressive 5-11 record, are on the hunt for a new general manager and are looking across the country to the Emerald City.

NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport is reporting Carolina will interview a member of Seattle’s front office.

“The #Panthers are set to interview #Seahawks VP of Football Operations Scott Fitterer for their vacant GM job today, source said,” Rapoport tweeted Monday morning. “The interview will happen over zoom.”

This won’t be the first time a team has come calling on Fitterer, who has had interviews with the Colts and the Jets in the past.

Stay tuned as this story continues to develop.

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Saints offense playing its best football out of 21 personnel

The New Orleans Saints offense has played like one of the NFL’s best without Michael Thomas, leaning on Alvin Kamara and Latavius Murray.

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Which position group has impressed the most for the New Orleans Saints offense? The quarterbacks and wide receivers have had their struggles, while the offensive line and tight ends have been dealt a tough hand with injuries.

On a week-to-week evaluation, it’s hard to argue against running backs Alvin Kamara and Latavius Murray as the most consistent performers: they’re each averaging more than 4.0 yards per carry and rank first and third on the team in yards from scrimmage through the first five games. So getting them on the field as often as possible in 21 personnel packages, either together or lined up with fullback Michael Burton, makes sense.

But the Saints have run just 12 percent of their plays out of this package with one tight end, two running backs, and two wide receivers, but they’ve had impressive success. They’re averaging 5.0 yards per carry on 21 rushing attempts and 11.1 yards per pass attempt on 15 throws. It’s a total success rate of 65%, among the best in the league.

The Carolina Panthers haven’t used it often as the Saints (21 plays) but they have also achieved a 65% success rate out of 21 personnel. The Cincinnati Bengals and Seattle Seahawks each have a 100% success rate in that package, but they’ve combined for just three plays. Six other teams run 21 personnel more often than the Saints, but none of them are as effective.

However, this doesn’t necessarily mean the Saints should wildly change what they’re doing. They’re performing as one of the NFL’s better offenses regardless of personnel packages; their least successful look is 22 personnel with two backs, two tight ends, and just one receiver, and even that success rate (48%) trails only the Baltimore Ravens (51%) among teams using it 25 or more times this season.

What the Saints are doing on offense is working. It might not be as flashy as we’re used to, but they’re still scoring 30.6 points per game — more than the Ravens, who lead the league in total points scored in six weeks but at just 29.8 points per game. And they’ve done that without Michael Thomas, the reigning Offensive Player of the Year. If the team’s pass defense can improve just slightly and if Thomas can help open up the offense, they’ll have a vastly different perception in just a few weeks.

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