Tag: Terry Fontenot

Lions interviewed Saints’ Terry Fontenot for vacant GM position

Fontenot is the vice president and assistant GM of pro personnel for the New Orleans Saints

The Detroit Lions acknowledged the team completed a formal interview with Terry Fontenot for the vacant general manager position. The Lions interviewed Fontenot remotely on Tuesday.

Fontenot is the vice president and assistant GM of pro personnel for the New Orleans Saints. He was promoted to that title in 2020 after serving as the director of pro scouting for several years. Fontenot has been with the Saints for the past 16 seasons in various capacities, working under longtime GM Mickey Loomis.

From his bio on the Saints’ team website,

His responsibilities in managing the pro personnel department include recommending player acquisitions by evaluating players from all professional leagues, including the Saints roster, monitoring the waiver wire and supervising the advance scouting of upcoming opponents.

Fontenot has also interviewed with the Atlanta Falcons for their GM vacancy.

Report: Jaguars file interview request for Saints personnel exec Terry Fontenot

The Jacksonville Jaguars reportedly requested an interview for their general manager position with New Orleans Saints VP Terry Fontenot.

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Another team has entered the Terry Fontenot sweepstakes, with the Jacksonville Jaguars formally requesting an interview for their vacant general manager position, per the MMQB’s Albert Breer. The Jacksonville job is considered one of the most lucrative availabilities in this year’s NFL hiring cycle, owing to the Jaguars’ ample salary cap resources and a strong assembly of draft picks — including the first overall selection in 2021.

Fontenot, a longtime pro personnel evaluator with the New Orleans Saints, has been a popular candidate for teams looking to start a rebuild. Breer previously reported interest from both the Detroit Lions and the Atlanta Falcons, both of whom have scheduled virtual meetings with Fontenot later this week. He’s earned these opportunities after years of success in New Orleans, so it’s great to see him commanding this kind of attention.

It’ll be tough for the Saints to keep their talented front office together. Between the interviews Fontenot is scheduling and the interest his college scouting counterpart Jeff Ireland is receiving, it’s very possible the Saints could lose both of their assistant general managers in the very near future. It’s a situation to watch closely as things develop further.

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Report: Jaguars request interview with Saints front office executive Terry Fontenot

With the Jags now able to interview executives in the league, they’ve requested a meeting with one of the Saints’ top executives.

The Jacksonville Jaguars had a busy Monday in terms of their coaching search after firing Doug Marrone, but it appears their front office search is taking off, too. Per Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated and “The MMQB,” they also put in a request to interview Terry Fontenot of the New Orleans Saints’ front office.

Fontenot is another candidate of interest who appears to have a busy schedule ahead of him with interviews set up with the Detroit Lions and Atlanta Falcons in the next two days. However, with 11 draft picks (including the first overall pick) and a ridiculous amount of cap space set to be available, it’s hard to imagine he won’t have interest in meeting the Jags.

Fontenot, who currently holds the Saints’ vice president/ assistant general manager of player personnel role, has been with the organization his whole career (16 seasons). He initially was a marketing intern for the team and found his way into the scouting department. As for his current title, he’s held it for the last six seasons.

During Fontenot’s time with the Saints, they’ve made a postseason appearance nine times and have been NFC South champions seven times. They also won Super Bowl XLIV during the 2009 season.

Per the Saints’ official site, his job description with the team is as follows:

“His responsibilities in managing the pro personnel department include recommending player acquisitions by evaluating players from all professional leagues, including the Saints roster, monitoring the waiver wire and supervising the advance scouting of upcoming opponents.”
The Jags’ interest in Fontenot makes a lot of sense when looking at how well the Saints have flourished with team-building over the years. Of course, that’s been a big reason why they’ve become a world-class organization, which seemingly has intrigued owner Shad Khan.
Fontenot’s biography indicates just how highly the organization views him as they selected him to attend the Stanford Business School’s Executive Education NFL-Stanford Program for Managers. According to their site, the program and honor is one that is a vital training ground for promising executives.

Report: Saints VP of pro personnel Terry Fontenot to interview with Lions, Falcons

New Orleans Saints vice president of pro personnel Terry Fontenot has scheduled G,M. interviews with the Detroit Lions and Atlanta Falcons.

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When you’ve had as much success as the New Orleans Saints have enjoyed in recent years, other teams start to pay attention. And those that can’t beat the Saints on the field are starting to try and pry away the behind-the-scenes decision-makers that have engineered four straight division wins.

The MMQB’s Albert Breer reports that the Detroit Lions and Atlanta Falcons have scheduled interviews for their open general manager positions with Terry Fontenot, the Saints’ vice president of pro personnel. Fontenot has spent the bulk of his career in New Orleans, where he’s played a critical role evaluating NFL free agents and helped the Saints acquire Pro Bowlers like Demario Davis, Larry Warford, and Jared Cook.

He’s also done a great job identifying players who can help pad out the depth chart and the practice squad, doing a lot to maintain one of the league’s best special teams units. It’s not for nothing that the Saints routinely rank among the NFL leaders in starting field position, in large part due to the diamonds in the rough Fontenot has unearthed.

So, yes, he’d be a huge loss to the front office. But someone with his skill at identifying talented players deserves the opportunity to call his own shots, and this early interest in his services from around the league speaks to that shared belief. Expect more teams to contact him as the hiring cycle spins ahead.

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Report: Detroit Lions have 4 GM and 3 coaching interviews scheduled this week

Multiple sources are reporting that the Detroit Lions are aggressively interviewing general manager and coaching candidates this week.

MMQB’s Albert Breer and NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport have reported several interviews this week for the Detroit Lions general manager and coaching vacancies.

In total, the Lions reportedly will interview four general manager and three coaching candidates over the next five days, as well as two more coaching interviews set up for next week.

At a glance interview schedule

Monday Eric Bieniemy, Chiefs’ OC (source)
Tuesday Darrell Bevell, Lions’ OC (source) Terry Fontenot, Saints’ Asst. GM, VP Pro personnel (source)
Wednesday Brad Holmes, Rams’ Dir. College Scouting (source) Geroge Paton, Vikings’ Asst. GM (source)
Thursday Robert Saleh, 49ers’ DC (source)
Friday Jeff Ireland, Saints’ Asst. GM, VP college scouting (source)
Next Week Arthur Smith, Titans’ OC (source) Dan Campbell, Saints’ Asst. Head Coach, TE coach (source)
TBD John Schneider, Seahawks’ GM (source)

Bieniemy, Saleh, and Smith were all identified and profiled in Lions Wire’s Top-10 coaching options for the Lions, and fans should be familiar with Bevell as he was the Lions OC over the last two seasons, but this is the first time we have discussed Dan Campbell.

Campbell is a former NFL tight end, spent three seasons (2006-08) with the Lions, and began coaching in 2010 with the Miami Dolphins. After five years as their tight ends coach, he was promoted to interim coach in 2015 but was let go after the season. He joined the Saints the next season as their tight ends coach and also carried an assistant head coach (to Sean Payton) title.

Paton and Ireland were candidates identified and profiled in Lions Wire’s Top general manager candidates, we also profiled Holmes last week, then Schneider over the weekend, and while we have mentioned Fontenot in other articles, we haven’t profiled him yet.

Fontenot, like Ireland, is an assistant general manager with the Saints, but while Ireland is focused on the college scouting side of the front office, Fontenot deals with their pro personnel department. Fontenot has been with the Saints’ organization for 16 seasons, beginning his career as a scout, and overseeing the pro scouting department for the last six seasons.

Lions completed GM interviews:

Lions completed coaching interviews:

Names the Lions are reportedly interested in but nothing set up yet

Falcons request interview with Rams scouting director Brad Holmes

According to a report by NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero, Atlanta has requested an interview with Brad Holmes, the Los Angeles Rams college scouting director, for the team’s GM opening.

Now that the 2020 NFL season is officially over, the Falcons are busy trying to interview candidates for the team’s head-coaching and general manager vacancies. Over the weekend, it was reported that Atlanta would virtually interview both 49ers defensive coordinator Robert Saleh and Chiefs offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy for head coach on Monday.

According to a report by NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero, Atlanta has also requested an interview with Brad Holmes, the Los Angeles Rams college scouting director, for the team’s GM opening.

Holmes, who was previously linked to the Falcons, has an impressive resume helping build a talented Rams roster. Along with Holmes’ interview request, Atlanta has also reportedly scheduled an interview on Tuesday with New Orleans Saints vice president/assistant GM Terry Fontenot.

It may feel wrong for Falcons fans to want any member of the Saints to run the franchise, but New Orleans has dominated the division in recent years. In 2020, the Saints won the NFC South again without QB Drew Brees for a number of weeks.

Stay tuned for more Falcons interview updates as they emerge.

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Report: Detroit Lions have begun initial stages of head coaching search, already interviewed Marvin Lewis

According to NFL Network, the Detroit Lions have begun the initial stages of their head coaching search and have already interviewed Marvin Lewis.

According to a joint NFL Network article written by Ian Rapoport, Tom Pelissero, and Mike Garafolo, the Detroit Lions have begun the initial stages of their head coaching search and have already interviewed former Cincinnati Bengals coach Marvin Lewis.

After 16 seasons coaching the Bengals, Lewis was let go in 2018 and is currently a co-defensive coordinator at Arizona State, working alongside former NFL coach and current Sun Devils coach Herm Edwards.

Per the report, Lewis interviewed with the Lions last Thursday and is the first of several candidates the Lions will be considering.

The Lions have put “in as many as 10 interview slips for head coaching candidates” for current NFL coordinators/coaches, and are even exploring the college ranks as well.

The NFL network made a point to mention several other candidates as well, including 49ers’ DC Robert Saleh, Chiefs’ OC Eric Bienemy, and Titans’ OC Arthur Smith as potential targets. All of which — including Lewis — were among the top-10 candidates we at Lions Wire included in our initial coaching candidates examination.

Not included in our top-10 but also mentioned in the NFL Network piece, was former Lions’ tight end and current Saints’ assistant head coach/tight ends coach Dan Campbell. After taking over as interim coach for Miami in 2015, Campbell joined the Saints and is widely considered a head coaching waiting.

Additionally, if the Lions were to pursue a college coach, in our top-10 list, we listed Iowa State coach Matt Campbell — whom both Lions Wire editors Jeff Risdon and Erik Schlitt are big fans of –, while NFL Network suggested Northwestern’s Pat Fitzgerald — who we also profiled in a separate piece.

Finally, the NFL Network also mentioned some general manager names that the Lions are expected to interview, including several we at Lions Wire have already profiled: Seahawks GM John Schneider, Colts’ Ed Dodds, Vikings’ George Paton, and Seahawks’ Scott Fritterer — who we identified in our GM candidates article — as well as Rams’ Director of college scouting Brad Holmes.

New names we have yet to profile include Saints’ VP of player personnel/assistant general manager Terry Fontenot, Steelers’ VP of football administration Omar Khan, Cowboys VP of player personnel Will McClay, and Patriots front office consultant Eliot Wolf, who is better know for his time with the Packers front office.

Report: Falcons to interview Saints exec Terry Fontenot for G.M. opening

New Orleans Saints pro scouting director Terry Fontenot was reported to be a candidate for the Atlanta Falcons general manager position.

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At least one member of the New Orleans Saints is getting consideration for a big move to a new city: Terry Fontenot, who holds the titles of vice president, assistant general manager, and director of pro scouting.

And he wouldn’t be moving far. Fontenot is a candidate to be interviewed for the Atlanta Falcons general manager job, as first reported by D. Orlando Ledbetter for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution this week. Atlanta parted with longtime G.M. Thomas Dimitroff earlier this season.

While the Saints-Falcons rivalry is one of the most heated and pettiest feuds in football, it makes sense for Fontenot to put his career first and put himself out there for this opportunity. There are only 32 jobs like it, and he’s spent the last 16 years preparing for his chance to run his own team.

It would hurt the Saints to lose Fontenot to this departure or any other (he interviewed for the New York Jets opening last offseason), but it’s worth considering that the NFL approved a rules change that would reward teams that lose minority candidates to these sort of promotions with draft picks.

A lack of diversity in leadership structures around the league prompted a diversity committee headed by Pittsburgh Steelers owner Art Rooney II to push for this new measure, which he described to Jarrett Bell for USA TODAY Sports as: “I don’t look at this as a silver bullet. This is just one more piece of the puzzle, one in a number of steps.”

Bell reported the terms of the new rules change, which as follows:

•”A team that loses a minority assistant coach who becomes a head coach or loses a personnel executive who becomes a general manager will receive third-round compensatory picks in each of the next two drafts.

• A team that loses two minority staffers to head coach and general manager positions would receive three third-round picks.”

Fontenot has been a major help for the Saints during his years with the team, helping scout and acquire valuable additions like linebackers Demario Davis and Kwon Alexander, cornerback Janoris Jenkins, guard Larry Warford, and tight end Jared Cook. He’s taken a “no stone left unturned” approach and has been an avid supporter of players making the jump from the Canadian league like Delvin Breaux, Adam Bighill, and Erik Harris, who has developed into a Las Vegas Raiders starter after initially signing with New Orleans.

So it will be interesting to see where he goes next. Earlier this year, the Saints promoted Fontenot to vice president and assistant G.M., the same titles held by college scouting director Jeff Ireland. Fontenot would be a huge potential loss, but the Saints have taken hits like this before; his predecessor Ryan Pace has been working as Chicago Bears general manager since 2015.

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Report: Falcons to interview Saints VP Terry Fontenot for GM

Fontenot played a key role in landing some big-time free agents, including LB Demario Davis, OL Larry Warford, TE Jared Cook and WR Emmanuel Sanders.

Following Monday’s report that the Atlanta Falcons were considering Louis Riddick, the former Eagles director of pro personnel and current ESPN NFL analyst, for their vacant general manager position, another name emerged on Tuesday.

As reported by D. Orlando Ledbetter of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, New Orleans Saints vice president/assistant general manager, Terry Fontenot, will be interviewed by the Falcons.

Fontenot has spent nearly two decades with the Saints and held many titles within the organization. Most notably, he spent 13 years in the scouting department — seven years as a pro scout and then six years overseeing the pro-scouting department. Here’s an excerpt from a NewOrleansSaints.com feature on Fontenot:

Fontenot has held multiple positions in the scouting department, including as a pro scouting assistant – where he helped evaluate free agents, track player movement, studied film and aided in the planning for the NFL Draft – and as an assistant in player personnel.

Fontenot played a key role in landing some big-time free agents, including LB Demario Davis, OL Larry Warford, TE Jared Cook and WR Emmanuel Sanders. That success ultimately led to Fontenot’s promotion to his current vice president/assistant general manager role in August of 2020.

Fontenot spent his college days locally at Tulane University (1999-2002) and a team captain in 2001. Fontenot joined the Saints organization as a marketing intern after his football days ended at Tulane.

Off the field, Fontenot was selected by New Orleans to attend the “Stanford Business School’s Executive Education NFL-Stanford Program for Managers.” Being selected to attend this program is highly regarded around the league and a sign of a promising general manager.

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6 Saints coaches, staffers who should get buzz in the NFL’s next hiring cycle

The Saints could lose important members of the organization when the 2021 NFL hiring cycle kicks off, from Terry Fontenot to Dennis Allen.

Could this be the year the New Orleans Saints start to lose personnel to rival teams? With coaching staffs and front offices around the league already preparing for turnover in the offseason, it seems likely. Somehow half a dozen teams interviewed Saints assistants last year without hiring any of them away. Expect that to change as new opportunities present themselves to the people working behind the scenes in New Orleans that are hungry for more high-profile jobs in the NFL.

Others, like offensive coordinator Pete Carmichael Jr., haven’t shown as keen an interest; his interview for the Packers job last offseason was just the third time he’s seriously considered an opportunity with another team in 12 years with the Saints, having interviewed for head coaching positions with the Raiders and Bears in 2012 and 2013, respectively. It’s possible he puts his name out there again in 2021, but there appear to be other, more ambitious candidates in New Orleans. Here are six names we’ll be watching closely: