Catherine Raiche - Pro Football Rumors

Exec Rumors: Caserio, Peters, Aponte

January 7th, 2024 at 12:45pm CST by Rory Parks

With Bill Belichick perhaps coaching his last game for the Patriots today, the club could have head coach and general manager vacancies in relatively short order (Belichick, of course, has operated as New England’s de facto GM throughout his tenure). Jason La Canfora of the Washington Post hears that Texans GM Nick Caserio, whose 20-year stint in the Pats’ personnel department earned him the Houston gig, would be open to a return to Foxborough, but Dianna Russini of The Athletic (subscription required) says Caserio does not want to leave the Texans.

Russini points out that Caserio, who squeezed an excellent return from the Browns in the 2022 Deshaun Watson trade and who appears to have hit a home run in drafting quarterback C.J. Stroud and hiring head coach DeMeco Ryans last year, has laid the groundwork for sustained success in Houston and wants to see it through. Indeed, it is difficult to imagine Caserio leaving a young and talented HC-QB pairing for the uncertainty that would await him in New England.

Here are a few more rumors relating to league executives:

49ers assistant GM Adam Peters is once again expected to be a hot name in the upcoming hiring cycle, as Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com writes in a subscribers-only piece. Peters turned down GM interview requests from the Cardinals and Titans last year, and it has been rumored for some time that he is the heir apparent to current San Francisco GM John Lynch. Per Fowler, it remains possible that the Niners will simply promote Peters to general manager now that Lynch has been given the additional title of president of football operations.
Like Peters, Falcons assistant GM Kyle Smith has been viewed as a future general manager, and as Albert Breer of SI.com notes, Atlanta GM Terry Fontenot promoted Smith to his current role this year partly to dissuade rival clubs from trying to poach him (a team can block an assistant GM from interviewing for anything other than a GM job). While the Falcons have yet to find a long-term answer at quarterback since Fontenot and Smith joined the team, they have injected a great deal of talent into the rest of the roster, and Smith appears poised to generate serious GM interest.
We recently heard that the Commanders may wish to add a president of football operations to oversee both their head coach and general manager, and Nicki Jhabvala of the Washington Post reports that Dawn Aponte‘s name has come up in connection with that role. Aponte, who presently works as the league’s chief administrator of football operations, was mentioned as a potential candidate for the Giants’ GM job in 2022, though she was not interviewed for that post. Aponte has, however, served in high-ranking executive positions for the Jets, Browns, and Dolphins.
In another subscribers-only piece, Fowler and Dan Graziano of ESPN.com compiled a list of other top candidates for GM jobs, a list that includes Bears assistant GM Ian Cunningham, Ravens director of player personnel Joe Hortiz, and Browns assistant GM Catherine Raiche. Cunningham was offered the Cardinals’ GM job last year but turned it down, while Hortiz and Raiche have both taken GM interviews in recent years.

Glenn Cook, Catherine Raiche To Serve As Browns Assistant GMs

May 22nd, 2022 at 4:56pm CST by Adam La Rose

There is Browns news not only on the field, but in the front office as well today. The team is promoting Glenn Cook to the position of assistant general manger, which is the same title Catherine Raiche will hold (Twitter links via Jonathan Jones of CBS Sports).

Cook, who has been with the Browns since 2016, will remain the team’s vice president of player personnel in addition to his new duties. A well-respected executive, his promotion comes after he received interest from multiple teams during this year’s GM hiring cycle.

One of those was the Bears, who interviewed him in January. The other was the Vikings, whom Cook met with one week later; Minnesota did hire from the Browns organization, but their preference was Kwesi Adofo-Mensah. Still, Cook’s candidacy speaks to his reputation from inside and outside Cleveland, and suggests he may be in contention for a GM role in the near future.

In Raiche’s case, this news comes as little surprise. When it was reported she would be leaving the Eagles’ front office, reuniting with Andrew Berry in the process, it was widely believed she would be given the AGM position. With that being confirmed, she is well-positioned to continue her noteworthy climb up the NFL executive ladder.

As Jones notes, the Browns are putting themselves in a somewhat unique situation by employing multiple AGMs. Given the high regard both individuals are kept in, though, these moves should help the team in its attempt to become AFC contenders for both the sort- and long-term future.