HEADLINES

Drew Raucina

NFL Front Office Updates: Titans, Browns, Eagles, Cardinals, Bears

May 5th, 2024 at 9:03pm CST by Ely Allen

We mentioned yesterday how a number of teams who have seen changes in the leadership of their front office may be making changes following the NFL Draft. These teams needed their staff at the time, with only weeks leading up to the draft, but with that process now over, the new leadership has started making changes.

The Titans are one such team making changes in recent days. One change is the apparent departure of college scout Tom Roth, who no longer appears on the team’s website, according to Neil Stratton of SucceedinFootball.com. Roth had spent the last six years in Tennessee after serving 14 years as a college scout for the Bills.

It’s not all departures, like yesterday. Stratton noticed two promotions in Tennessee’s front office, as well. Previously the team’s pro scouting coordinator, Rob Riederer now appears on the team’s website as assistant director of football strategy. Likewise, Bryce Wasserman has been promoted from manager of football strategy to chief of staff of football strategy.

Here are a few other updates in player personnel offices around the league:

  • The Browns also see a departure, per Stratton, with Joe Dever reportedly not returning to the team for 2024. Joining the team as a scouting intern in 2019, Dever had spent five years with Cleveland. He had risen to the position of mid-Atlantic scout before his departure.
  • The Eagles are also losing a longtime staffer, according to Stratton. A 15-year veteran of the NFL, Brad Obee will use the expiration of his contract with Philadelphia as a reason to pursue new opportunities in the NFL. Obee began his scouting career on the personnel staff of the Eagles in 2009, working his way up the ladder for six years. He left to serve as a pro scout for the Bears for the next six years before ultimately returning to Philadelphia as a college/pro scout for the past three.
  • The Cardinals, who we noted lost a personnel staffer in yesterday’s post, will also part ways with area scout Darius Vinnett, per Stratton. Vinnett’s contract was expiring, as well, and though Arizona offered him an extension to return in 2024, Vinnett has declined and will seek other opportunities.
  • Lastly, the Bears are moving forward without area scouts Drew Raucina and Sam Summerville, according to Stratton. Raucina is a holdover from the Ryan Pace-era, serving the last six years with the team. He had previously been a combine scout for the NFL. Summerville’s departure is a bit more surprising. He had been with Chicago since 2012 and was voted the BART List as one of the NFC’s best scouts in 2022, per Stratton. He was also named NFC Scout of the Year in 2019. Regardless, general manager Ryan Poles is making changes for the 2024 NFL season.

NFL Front Office Rumors: Bears, Panthers, Falcons, Titans, Cowboys

June 9th, 2023 at 9:44pm CST by Ely Allen

A number of teams have made some recent adjustments to their front office staff. The Bears are one of those teams, making adjustments to both their scouting and analytics staffs, according to Courtney Cronin of ESPN.

On the scouting side, Chicago named Drew Raucina as an area scout and Ryan Weese as a combine scout. Raucina was previously the team’s combine scout. He’s been with the Bears since 2018, starting as a scouting assistant and working his way up. Weese moves into the newly open combine scout role after joining the staff last year as a scouting assistant. Before coming to Chicago, Weese held a role at Montana State.

In analytics, the Bears announced Ryan Hubley as a football research analyst. Hubley joined the team last year as a football systems developer working under director of football analytics Krithi Chandrakasan. It sounds like he’ll remain in that department in an adjusted role.

Here are a few other front office changes from around the league:

  • The Panthers are another one of the above-mentioned teams, making several adjustments to their scouting staff, according to Panthers staff writer Darin Gantt. After coming to Carolina two years ago from Washington as the new director of college scouting, Cole Spencer has been promoted to director of player personnel, where he’ll work alongside recently hired vice president of player personnel Adrian Wilson, who will focus on pro scouting while Spencer retains his focus on college scouting. Former assistant director of college scouting Jared Kirksey will fill Spencer’s old role as college scouting director. Kirksey joined the team in 2021 as an area scout. Formerly the Southwest scout, Eli Montague will now cover the Southeast area, with Corey Fuller moving from the West area to cover the Southwest. Scouting intern Caden McCloughan and scouting assistant Jordan Trgovac have been promoted to area scouts, and former safety Juston Burris will be a scouting intern for the team this year. McCloughan will cover the West and Trgovac the Mid-Atlantic.
  • Two Falcons scouts will be changing roles this year, according to Neil Stratton of SucceedinFootball.com. Former player personnel coordinator Rushell Harvey will now serve as the team’s Northeast area scout. Additionally, Ben Martinez, who has worked as a scout for the BLESTO service, will now be a pro scout for Atlanta. Both joined the Falcons in 2021. Lastly, Stratton also informs us that the team has parted ways with Peniel Jean, Atlanta’s former pro scout. Jean joined the team in 2017 and had served his most recent role for four years.
  • The Titans will have a new name atop their analytics department after hiring Sarah Bailey as director of football research and development. Bailey comes over from Los Angeles, where she started in 2017 as a football analyst for the Rams before being promoted to manager – football analytics in 2020.
  • Lastly, the Cowboys have added a new name to their front office, as well. After serving as director of football research for the Colts since 2016, John Park heads to Dallas to serve as director of strategic football operations, according to ESPN’s Seth Walder.