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David Socie

AFC Staff Notes: Jets, Jaguars, Bills, Titans

February 5th, 2025 at 9:56am CST by Sam Robinson

While new regimes have been known to wait until after the draft to make major front office changes, the Jets are acting early to start their Aaron Glenn-Darren Mougey run. The team is moving on from two veteran execs. Co-director of player personnel Greg Nejmeh is out after 16 years with the organization, CBS Sports’ Jonathan Jones reports. Jones classifies this as a mutual parting. Senior director of football administration David Socie is done as well, per the New York Post’s Brian Costello. Socie had been the Jets’ chief negotiator since 2018, Costello adds, while Nejmeh climbed to his post upon Joe Douglas‘ 2019 GM hire. These moves come a year after the team fired assistant GM Rex Hogan, leaving Mougey with work to do in the front office. Woody Johnson had prevented Douglas from replacing Hogan or Chad Alexander, who left to become Chargers assistant GM, so it will be interesting to see how the Jets move forward here.

Additionally, one of the other veteran presences in the front office — ex-Browns GM Phil Savage — is being retained as a consultant, Costello adds. Savage, who closed the season as Jets interim GM, interviewed for the full-time job as well. It is unclear if Savage is being retained for the long haul, as Costello expects more changes post-draft; the veteran exec has been with the Jets since their Douglas hire. He spent six years as a senior personnel advisor.

Here is the latest from AFC staffs:

  • Liam Coen still needs to hire an offensive coordinator, but that to-be-determined Jaguars staffer will oversee a new quarterbacks coach. Spencer Whipple is coming over from the Cardinals to take that job, ESPN’s Adam Schefter tweets. A Kliff Kingsbury hire, Whipple stayed on in Arizona under Jonathan Gannon. He had climbed to co-pass-game coordinator under Kingsbury before sliding to the title of pass-game specialist during Gannon’s first two seasons. This will be a key promotion, as Coen will entrust him to help elevate Trevor Lawrence.
  • Elsewhere on Coen’s offensive staff, the team is interviewing Vikings assistant offensive line coach Shaun Sarrett for its O-line coaching position, ESPN.com’s Michael DiRocco notes. This has been a rather difficult position for Coen to fill, as attempts to add Buccaneers staffers Kevin Carberry and Brian Piccuci failed due to Tampa Bay blocking the moves. The Bucs have let it be known they are not letting contracted assistants follow Coen, who departed after indicating he would stay. Sarrett served as Steelers O-line coach from 2019-20, spending nine years with the organization, before settling in as an assistant OL coach. He was with the Chargers during Brandon Staley‘s three seasons in Los Angeles. The Jags also have Rams staffer Zak Kromer on the radar for this gig.
  • Former Bears assistant Travis Smith will find his way to Tennessee, joining the Titans as the team’s defensive run-game coordinator. Smith worked as D-line coach under Matt Eberflus for three seasons. Prior to that, he was with the Raiders for 10 years. Smith’s hire comes shortly after the Titans added ex-Raiders GM Reggie McKenzie to the front office. Smith arrived in Oakland during McKenzie’s first offseason as Raiders GM.
  • The Bills are signing off on a reunion for their defensive staff. Jason Rebrovich is coming back, per ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, to work as the team’s assistant D-line coach. A Packers staffer for the past three seasons, Rebrovich had previously worked as Bills assistant D-line coach — one of his Buffalo titles during a four-year stay — in 2014. The Bills had hired Rebrovich to work under Doug Marrone and retained him under Rex Ryan. Rebrovich spent the past three seasons with the Packers.
  • The Chargers lost their previous safeties coach, Chris O’Leary, to the college level. After O’Leary became the DC at Western Michigan, ESPN.com’s Pete Thamel indicates the team has selected his replacement from the ACC. Florida State DC Adam Fuller will fill the position. Fuller had been the Seminoles’ DC for five seasons and has only coached in college, doing so since the late 1990s.

NFL Staff Rumors: Jets Front Office, Frost

September 13th, 2024 at 9:15pm CST by Ely Allen

The Jets announced some restructuring in their personnel department back in August. According to the team site, Jon Carr and Greg Nejmeh will be taking over as co-directors of player personnel. New York will also make Dan Zbojovsky the team’s new senior director of football operations.

Carr is an 18-year NFL veteran in his seventh season with the Jets. During his time in New York, Carr has overseen the college scouting process, managing national and area scouts. He recently added oversight of the pro personnel department to his docket, as well.

Nejmeh’s been with the team since 2009, when he started as a scouting intern, and is now entering his 16th year with the Jets. He has overseen the pro personnel day-to-day operations and managed the free agency process and pro player evaluations. He recently started assisting and overseeing with the college process, as well. With Carr and Nejmeh’s responsibilities bleeding over into each other so much, and with both serving as key generals under general manager Joe Douglas, it makes sense to see them now split a title the same way they split their job duties.

Zbojovsky is also an 18-year veteran in NFL front offices, spending all 18 years with the Jets. In his new role, Zbojovsky will oversee the athletic training staff, medical staff, player development, personnel operations, and video department. He will also still retain some of the scouting responsibilities he held from his previous role.

Here are some other NFL staff moves from the last few weeks:

  • Those weren’t the only adjustments the Jets made to their front office. Formerly a national scout, Jay Mandolesi will spend his 21st year with the Jets as director of college scouting with a new promotion. Nick Sabella has also been promoted after two seasons as assistant director of football administration. He will now serve as senior director of football administration in his sixth year with the team. Sabella will be filling the vacancy left by David Socie who has also been promoted to senior director of football strategy. Socie is in the eighth year of his second stint with the team after a one-year stint back in 2006. Jonathan Stigall is another staffer to earn a promotion, moving into the role of national scout. Stigall has been in the NFL since 1999 and with the Jets since 2014 in various roles. Additionally, after three years as assistant director of personnel operations, Christina Wedding née Salvemini has been promoted to director of personnel operations. Former pro scout Evan Ardoin is also getting a promotion into the role of co-assistant director of pro personnel, alongside Kevin Murphy in the same role. Ardoin will monitor NFL practice squads and league transactions while evaluating players for free agency. Lastly, after serving as a personnel assistant for the past two years, Jordan Burton will spend his third year in New York as the NFS college scout for the team.
  • At the beginning of the month, the Rams announced that they would be adding former UCF and Nebraska head coach Scott Frost to their coaching staff, according to ESPN’s Pete Thamel. Scott is expected to be joining as a senior football analyst. Rams senior staff writer Stu Jackson says that Frost will help special teams coordinator Chase Blackburn but will be expected to contribute on both offense and defense, as well. This makes sense as Frost has playing experience on both sides of the ball, playing quarterback in college at Stanford and Nebraska before getting drafted as a safety in the NFL. He also has experience coaching on both sides of the ball, spending time as an assistant over linebackers, wide receivers, and quarterbacks and spending time as both an offensive and defensive coordinator at the collegiate level.