HEADLINES

Mike Disner

Panthers Request HC Interview With Eagles OC Brian Johnson; Lions Exec Mike Disner Withdraws From GM Consideration

January 20th, 2024 at 7:23pm CST by Sam Robinson

JANUARY 20: Disner has withdrawn from general manager consideration, Tom Pelissero of NFL Network reports. As a result, he will remain in Detroit for at least a fifth straight season. Carolina was the only team to request an interview with him, but the Panthers have reached out to a number of other candidates in recent days as their search for a Fitterer replacement continues.

JANUARY 10: Although this Eagles season has skidded well off course, the team still reached 11 wins. Philadelphia’s defensive coordinator situation has seen some twists and turns, but its offensive play-caller is now part of the coaching carousel.

The Panthers sent Eagles OC Brian Johnson an interview request Wednesday, ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter tweets. This would be Johnson’s first NFL head coaching interview. The former college OC is finishing up his first season as an NFL play-caller. Johnson has been on Carolina’s radar for a bit. Steve Wilks had eyed Johnson as his OC, but the Panthers gave the HC job to Frank Reich.

Johnson, 36, has seen his profile raised since Shane Steichen accepted the Colts’ offer to become their head coach. The Eagles moved outside the organization to fill their DC post — something they may need to do again soon, considering what has transpired since Jonathan Gannon‘s Cardinals interview — but promoted Johnson after his two-year run as QBs coach.

The Eagles have dipped a bit offensively since last season, when Steichen’s attack featured dramatic Jalen Hurts improvement and third-place rankings in both scoring and yardage. Johnson’s offense ranks seventh and eighth, with Hurts suffering an early-season injury and playing through it. The Eagles have lost five of their past six games.

Carolina has been connected to a young, offense-oriented coach. Johnson checks both boxes and joins Brian Callahan (Bengals), Dave Canales (Buccaneers), Ben Johnson (Lions), Todd Monken (Ravens), Bobby Slowik (Texans) and Frank Smith (Dolphins) as OCs contacted by the Panthers, who are searching for both a head coach and a GM for the first time in the same cycle since John Fox and Marty Hurney were hired in 2002.

The Panthers have also completed a virtual interview with interim HC Chris Tabor. Tabor is not expected to be a serious candidate to become Carolina’s full-time HC. That said, ESPN.com’s David Newton indicates he is likely to receive consideration to stay on as special teams coordinator under the new coach.

On the GM note, the Panthers have two more candidates on their radar. In addition to Dan Morgan, another internal staffer — VP of football administration Samir Suleiman — is interviewing for the job. A salary cap specialist, Suleiman received a promotion in 2022. The Panthers have been linked to pairing Morgan with a football ops-side hire; Suleiman joins a list filled with this genre of GM candidate.

Adding another name to that list, Lions COO Mike Disner received an interview request as well. Disner’s background also is cap- and contract-related. Disner, who has been with the Lions for four years, has a connection in Carolina. He and the Panthers’ VP of player personnel, Adrian Wilson, worked in the Cardinals’ front office together under Steve Keim. Then again, it is far from certain the Panthers will carry over many Scott Fitterer-era front office staffers; the team hired Wilson last year. A relationship to perhaps monitor more closely: Ben Johnson has been with the Lions throughout Disner’s Detroit stay.

NFC North Notes: Lions, Bears, OTAs, Rookies, Packers, Vikings

June 20th, 2022 at 12:04pm CST by Adam La Rose

The Lions recently detailed a number of updates to their front office. Included among them is new titles being given to members of both the player personnel and football operations departments.

Lance Newmark is now the team’s senior director of player personnel, a slightly different job title than the one he had held since 2017 as the head of that department. The veteran executive has spent all but two of his 26 years in the NFL with the Lions, and was a candidate for Detroit’s GM position, which ultimately went to Brad Holmes. He was also linked to the GM job with the Jets prior to that.

Another notable change is the promotion of Mike Disner to chief operating officer. He had previously served as the team’s VP of football and business administration, playing a key role across a number of departments in the organization. He has spent the past three years in Detroit, having been hired as the replacement for Matt Harriss after a stint in Arizona.

Here are a few other notes from around the NFC North:

  • The Bears forfeited one of their OTA practices earlier this month, as detailed by Dan Wiederer of the Chicago Tribune (subscription required). The team held May practices which involved live contact, something prohibited by the CBA. Wiederer reports that the Bears were “requested to alter their practice activity,” but because the staff now led by Matt Eberflus didn’t do so, the team became subject to that minor penalty.
  • The Packers took not one, but two, former Georgia defenders in the first round of the draft in April. Their top selection, linebacker Quay Walker, has immediately seen practice time alongside starter De’Vondre Campbell. As noted by Rob Demovsky in an ESPN breakdown of first-rounders, Walker’s significant presence in both base and sub packages suggests he could start immediately.
  • In that same piece, Demovsky’s colleague Kevin Seifert writes that another former Bulldog, safety Lewis Cine, is pushing for a spot with the Vikings’ first-team defense. The No. 32 pick is in competition with Camryn Bynum for a starting role, but his ascension to that spot “appears inevitable” after his showing this spring.

Lions To Add John Dorsey To Front Office

January 24th, 2021 at 12:41pm CST by Rory Parks

The Lions have a brand new power structure, having recently hired Brad Holmes as general manager and Dan Campbell as head coach. Now, Detroit is adding a more experienced voice to the mix, with Tom Pelissero of the NFL Network reporting that the team is expected to hire John Dorsey as a senior personnel executive (Twitter link). Dorsey, 60, had been working as a consultant for the Eagles.

Dorsey, who drew interest from the Texans for their GM post before Houston elected to hire Nick Caserio, has served as general manager for both the Chiefs and Browns. Neither of those tenures ended on a particularly positive note, but that wasn’t due to Dorsey’s abilities as a talent evaluator. His reputation in that area is sterling, and he is largely responsible for the construction of the current iteration of the Browns — who nearly advanced to the AFC Championship Game this year — and for Kansas City’s starry corps of Patrick Mahomes, Tyreek Hill, and Travis Kelce.

In addition to his drafting of Mahomes and Cleveland QB Baker Mayfield while serving as a general manager, Dorsey was the Packers’ director of college scouting when Green Bay drafted Aaron Rodgers in 2005. And as a young scout in 1994, he recommended that the Packers sign Kurt Warner as a UDFA.

His eye for quarterback talent is especially important this year, as the Lions are preparing to trade Matthew Stafford and may well turn to the draft for his replacement. Plus, Dorsey’s experience should be an asset to Holmes, who is getting his first shot as a GM after working as the Rams’ director of college scouting for the past eight seasons.

Campbell will also have a major role in personnel decisions, as Justin Rogers of the Detroit News writes. Rather than a traditional HC-GM-owner structure, Holmes, Campbell, and vice president of football operations Mike Disner will report directly to president Rod Wood and owner Sheila Ford Hamp.

North Notes: Packers, LaFleur, Ravens, Brown

January 8th, 2019 at 8:09pm CST by Zachary Links

It’s a four-year deal with a fifth-year option for the Packers and Matt LaFleur, a source tells Tom Pelissero of NFL.com (on Twitter). LaFleur is a fast riser who is becoming a head coach for the very first time, but he appears to have solid job security in Green Bay. The financial terms of the deal are not yet known, but it would not be a surprise if he was on the lower end of the scale given his age and lack of experience at this level.

Here’s more from the North divisions:

  • Ravens wide receiver John Brown says he’d love to return in 2019, but he’s unlikely to accept a one-year deal this offseason (Twitter link via Jeff Zrebiec of The Athletic). Brown, 29 in April, had a bit of a resurgence in Baltimore with 42 catches for 715 yards and five touchdowns in 2018.
  • Ozzie Newsome is transitioning out of his role as the Ravens‘ GM, but he isn’t retiring, Jeff Zrebiec of The Athletic hears. Newsome will remain under contract with the Ravens for the next couple of years, though his title and duties are not yet known. Per the succession plan, longtime assistant Eric DeCosta will take over as GM from here.
  • The Lions parted ways with VP of football operations Matt Harriss, who was touted as a salary cap expert. To take his place, the Ravens have hired Mike Disner. Disner spent the last six seasons with the Cardinals and was directly involved in their cap planning, so he appears to be a natural replacement.