Tag: public relations

Former Ravens public relations advisor wins prestigious award

Public relations advisor Kevin Byrne was given the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s Award of Excellence after spending 41 years with the Ravens

The Baltimore Ravens are known to host a tight-knit and highly competent front office that defines the cutting-edge of administrative superiority in the NFL. One of the most recognized members of their team, senior public relations advisor Kevin Byrne, was granted the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s prestigious Award of Excellence on Wednesday for his role in making Ravens football into the juggernaut it is today.

According to the Pro Football Hall of Fame, which first started giving this distinguished recognition in 2022, the Award of Excellence program is “an effort to recognize individuals from various groups that have propelled the success of teams and the sport of professional football”.

Byrne certainly played an integral part in keeping Baltimore at the forefront of the NFL’s extremely competitive landscape, serving in various capacities as a part of the Ravens’ public relations staff over the course of his 41 years with the team. He is considered to be an “original Raven”, having moved with the team as a member of the Cleveland Browns in 1996 to lay the groundwork for Baltimore football as fans know it today.

According to the Ravens’ official website, the team’s public relations staff won three Pete Rozell awards under his direction between 2010 and 2016 for their excellent work, and Byrne was a recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award from Marquette’s Department of Intercollegiate Athletics.

For all of his accomplishments though, this official recognition by the Pro Football Hall of Fame for the work he did as a member of Baltimore’s front office should stand apart from the rest. Byrne is no longer with the Ravens after electing to retire after the 2021 season, but his legacy lives on as Baltimore looks to continue pushing the envelope in every way it can.

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J.J. Watt says Texans firing Amy Palcic ‘a very difficult loss’ for the organization

Houston Texans defensive end J.J. Watt took time to express his thoughts on the firing of vice president of communications, Amy Palcic.

The Houston Texans shook up more of their behind-the-scenes operation Wednesday when they fired vice president of communications Amy Palcic.

For the average Houston sports fan, Palcic may have been recognizable as the lady who would accompany Deshaun Watson or J.J. Watt during postgame interviews. For many of the players, especially Watt, she was part of the fabric of Texans football at NRG Stadium.

“I think you can tell from the universal response from prominent people in the business, what type of person Amy is and how well respected and well liked she is, both inside our building and outside the building,” Watt said. “Extremely professional; just really good at her job, cared a lot, just wants what’s best for the team and what’s best for the organization.”

Palcic would normally help Watt out with his annual charity softball game, but the biggest assist she gave Watt was in 2017 in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey. As Watt sought to raise money for the city of Houston and areas of South Texas affected by the hurricane, Palcic worked her connections to get in touch with GoFundMe directly to handle all of the donations that were pouring into the site, up to $37 million worth.

“Always trying to do what’s best, and was a massive helping hand with me during the hurricane, during my entire time here,” Watt said. “So, I think it’s a very difficult loss. She’s an incredible person and I think she’s going to have another job in an absolute heartbeat. I think it’s a big loss for us.”

Incidentally, the Texans are playing the Cleveland Browns Sunday at 12:00 p.m. CT at FirstEnergy Stadium. Before coming to the Texans in June 2013, one of Palcic’s prior jobs was with the Browns for 10 years, which also included the Romeo Crennel regime from 2005-08.

Texans fire vice president of communications Amy Palcic

The Houston Texans have fired their vice president of communications, Amy Palcic.

The Houston Texans continue to make changes inside the building as they attempt to get to the bottom of why they started the year 0-4.

On Wednesday morning, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported the club fired vice president of communications Amy Palcic, who had been with the team since June 2013. However, she was no longer considered a “culture fit,” according to Schefter’s source.

According to the Houston Chronicle’s John McClain, team president Jamey Rootes was the one who fired Palcic. In addition to leading public relations for the team, Palcic also handled all relationship management with the league’s network TV partners.

Palcic was the first woman to be the head of an NFL public relations department, and her work was meritorious. In 2017, Palcic and the Texans PR department won the Pro Football Writers of America’s Pete Rozelle Award, which is given to the most outstanding team PR staff for that year. Not only was Paclic the first woman PR director to win the award, but she was the first PR director to win the award in their first year.

In 2016, Palcic was promoted from director of corporate communications to director of communications and eventually earned the vice president of communications title in April of 2018.

A graduate of Auburn, Palcic spent her 10 years as the director of communications for the Cleveland Browns.