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Morocco Brown

AFC South Notes: Colts, Radunz, Jaguars

June 14th, 2022 at 11:58am CST by Sam Robinson

Darius Leonard underwent back surgery recently; the rehab effort may prevent the All-Pro Colts linebacker from beginning training camp on time. More clarity emerged on the injury. Leonard played through an ankle problem last season, and ex-Colts punter-turned-radio host Pat McAfee said recently (via Joel Erickson of the Indianapolis Star) a nerve issue in Leonard’s back caused the ankle trouble. More specifically, Leonard’s ankle injury lingered because of a calf issue Erickson tweets was caused by the back problem. The aforementioned nerve issue prevented Leonard’s calf from full functionality. Leonard still played 91% of Indianapolis’ defensive snaps last season and, boosted by a career-high eight forced fumbles, earned his third first-team All-Pro nod. Despite this complex issue leading to back surgery, the Colts are still expecting Leonard to return near the start of camp, per Erickson.

Here is the latest from the AFC South:

  • Previously mentioned as a potential left guard option, Titans 2021 second-round pick Dillon Radunz is now concentrating on the right tackle battle. With Radunz and rookie third-rounder Nicholas Petit-Frere matching up outside, Terry McCormick of TitanInsider.com notes former UDFA Aaron Brewer and ex-Seahawks backup Jamarco Jones are vying for the left guard gig (Twitter link). The Titans must replace cap casualty Rodger Saffold and free agency defection David Quessenberry — their latest right tackle stopgap — up front this year. Both 2021 starters are with the Bills now.
  • The groin injury Jaguars backup quarterback C.J. Beathard sustained is not expected to keep him out of training camp, Doug Pederson said. But the Jags received worse injury news on another front. Linebacker Jordan Smith will miss the season with a knee injury. A 2021 fourth-round pick, Smith played in two games last season.
  • Shifting back to the Colts, Morocco Brown‘s promotion will be from college scouting director to chief personnel executive, the Indianapolis Star’s Nate Atkins notes. Brown interviewed for the Steelers’ GM job and the Eagles’ assistant GM job this offseason. This will be his sixth year with the Colts. Matt Terpening will take over as Indy’s college scouting director, with area scout Jamie Moore rising to the assistant college scouting director post Terpening held for the past six years. Terpening has been with the Colts for 22 years.
  • Additionally, the Colts are naming Kasia Omilian as an NFS scout. Omilian, who will be identifying players for future drafts, becomes the first woman to hold a scouting title with the Colts, Mike Chappell of Fox 59 notes. Omilian has been with the team since 2019. Mike Lacy will rise from the NFS scout level to be an area scout for the team.

Colts Expected To Promote Morocco Brown

June 1st, 2022 at 11:11am CST by Sam Robinson

Morocco Brown has generated considerable outside interest in recent years, most recently with the Eagles interviewing him for an assistant general manager position. But the Colts are expected to keep the veteran executive.

Not long after Brown did not move forward in the Eagles’ front office rebuild effort, the Colts are expected to promote him, per Aaron Wilson of ProFootballNetwork.com. Brown currently serves as the team’s college scouting director, a position he has held since 2017.

Indianapolis hired the former Chicago, Washington and Cleveland exec shortly after the 2017 draft. The Colts’ 2018 draft proved to reflect quite well on the college scouting director position. The team added a perennial All-Pro guard (Quenton Nelson), a Division I-FCS linebacker who joins Nelson as a three-time All-Pro (Darius Leonard), a long-term right tackle (Braden Smith) and a versatile back who joins Leonard and Smith as an extension recipient (Nyheim Hines). The Colts’ 2020 draft included reigning rushing champion Jonathan Taylor and No. 1 receiver Michael Pittman Jr. in the second round.

While the Colts have missed on picks during this span as well, they have placed a premium on drafting and extending talent. This success has led to the Falcons, Bears and Steelers interviewing Brown for GM jobs over the past two years. The Browns fired Morocco Brown as they moved to their Sashi Brown– and Paul DePodesta-led relaunch in 2016, but this Colts tenure has certainly allowed for a bounce back.

It is unclear what new role Brown will play in Indy’s front office. Ed Dodds serves as the team’s assistant GM under Chris Ballard, but Brown staying in Indianapolis stands to help the team going forward.

Morocco Brown Out Of Contention For Eagles’ Assistant GM Job?

May 20th, 2022 at 9:00am CST by Adam La Rose

One of the many positions in the Eagles’ front office which needs to be filled is that of assistant general manager. It appears that Morocco Brown is no longer a candidate to fill that role, reports Josina Anderson of CBS Sports (Twitter link).

[RELATED: Eagles Eyeing Morocco Brown]

That news is surprising, as Brown, the college scouting director of the Colts, was described as being “on track for the position as a ‘no-brainer’ hire”, per Anderson. Brown has been with Indianapolis in his current capacity for the past five seasons, earning a reputation around the league for his scouting prowess. He also has experience in Cleveland, Washington and Chicago.

His standing amongst various front offices led to interest from multiple teams this offseason apart from the Eagles, who were reported to be interviewing him earlier this month. He was a candidate to become the Bears’ general manager, in no small part due to his seven years previously spent in Chicago as assistant director of pro personnel. In the end, the Bears went in the direction of Ryan Poles to fill the spot.

Brown has also been involved in the Steelers’ ongoing GM search. He was among the many candidates to receive one interview with the team, though he is not presently on the shortlist of finalists whom Pittsburgh has met with a second time. That fact seemed to point him even more towards Philadelphia, but he will now likely remain with the Colts for at least one more season.

2022 NFL General Manager Search Tracker

May 18th, 2022 at 5:03pm CST by Sam Robinson

Along with the head coaches being fired, a few NFL teams are looking for new general managers. Listed below are the GM candidates that have been linked to each of the teams with vacancies, along with their current status.

If and when other teams decide to make GM changes, they’ll be added to this list. Here is the current breakdown:

Updated 5-24-22 (9:03pm CT)

Chicago Bears

Las Vegas Raiders

Minnesota Vikings

New York Giants

Pittsburgh Steelers

Eagles To Hire Matt Russell, Interview Colts’ Morocco Brown

May 10th, 2022 at 6:55pm CST by Sam Robinson

Although longtime Broncos executive Matt Russell was previously headed toward stepping away from football, the Eagles are luring him back. Russell will join Howie Roseman‘s front office staff, Bo Wulf of The Athletic reports (subscription required).

Philadelphia’s Russell addition comes shortly after Tom Donahoe‘s exit, and Wulf notes Russell will serve in the same senior personnel exec-type role Donahoe had. The Eagles have lost a host of high-ranking front office staffers this offseason — from Donahoe to Brandon Brown to Ian Cunningham to Catherine Raiche, with the latter trio each moving into second-in-command roles elsewhere — but will add Russell, who spent several years as a right-hand man in Denver.

[RELATED: Eagles To Hire Charles Walls As Player Personnel Director]

Elway promoted Russell to director of player personnel in 2012. Elway and Russell rebuilt a Broncos team that had drifted off the contention radar for a while, adding a host of free agents, productive late-round picks and UDFAs to supplement their Peyton Manning-led squad. This resulted in the team earning four straight playoff byes during Manning’s tenure, voyaging to two Super Bowls and winning Super Bowl 50.

When Elway vacated his role atop Denver’s front office after the 2020 season, Russell left as well. He spent 2021 out of football. Roseman is still filling out his staff but will turn to Russell, 48, as a key personnel man going forward. This will be Russell’s second stint with the Eagles. He worked in Philly as a scout from 2006-08, when Roseman was rising through the team’s front office to his eventual GM role. Russell became the Broncos’ college scouting director in 2009.

The Eagles also have Colts scouting director Morocco Brown on their radar. They are set to interview Brown this week, according to InsidetheBirds.com’s Geoff Mosher and Adam Caplan (via Twitter). Brown interviewed for the Steelers’ GM job earlier this offseason but has not received a second interview yet. The Eagles will interview Brown for a “high-ranking position” and are considering Steelers scouting director Brandon Hunt and Senior Bowl director Jim Nagy. The team interviewed Hunt over the weekend, per Caplan and Mosher.

Steelers Interview Dan Morgan For GM Job

February 18th, 2022 at 4:13pm CST by Sam Robinson

In place as the Panthers’ assistant general manager for less than a year, Dan Morgan is already attracting interest for GM jobs. The Steelers interviewed him for their soon-to-be vacant role recently.

The former Panthers linebacker has worked his way up the chain to the point GM interest is logical. He was the Seahawks’ director of pro personnel and spent three years (2018-20) as the Bills’ player personnel director.

Morgan, 43, is now working as Scott Fitterer‘s right-hand man in Carolina. Although Morgan played high school and college football in Florida, starring as a Miami Hurricane, he is a Pennsylvania native, having grown up in a Philadelphia suburb. The former first-round pick played seven seasons with Carolina. He spent time with the Saints in 2009 and was working as a scout the following year, transitioning quickly to the executive side.

The Steelers are looking to replace Kevin Colbert, who intends to step down from his post after the draft. The team also announced it has finished interviews with Buccaneers VP of player personnel John Spytek, Packers co-player personnel director John Wojciechowski and Colts college scouting director Morocco Brown.

Here is how the Steelers’ search looks thus far, courtesy of PFR’s GM search tracker:

  • Morocco Brown, college scouting director (Colts): Interviewed
  • Ryan Cowden, vice president of player personnel (Titans): Interviewed 2/4
  • Ed Dodds, assistant general manager (Colts): Interviewed 2/4
  • Omar Khan, vice president of football and business administration (Steelers): Mentioned as candidate
  • Dan Morgan, assistant general manager (Panthers): Interviewed
  • Louis Riddick, former director of pro personnel (Eagles): Interview scheduled
  • John Spytek, director of player personnel (Buccaneers): Interviewed
  • John Wojciechowski, co-director of player personnel (Packers): Interviewed
  • JoJo Wooden, director of player personnel (Chargers): Interviewed by 2/4

Steelers Request Morocco Brown Interview

February 9th, 2022 at 9:57am CST by Zachary Links

The Steelers requested permission to interview Colts college scouting director Morocco Brown for their GM vacancy (Twitter link via Adam Schefter of ESPN.com). If their request is granted, Brown will be one of a handful of candidates to potentially take over for longtime GM Kevin Colbert.

Brown was also in the running for the Bears’ GM search, but Chicago ultimately went with Chiefs executive director of player personnel Ryan Poles. Before joining the Colts, Brown enjoyed a seven-year stint as the Bears’ assistant director of pro personnel, so he was believed to be a strong candidate. The Bears were also said to be impressed with him after his initial GM interview.

His last five years have been spent as a top executive in Indy. Brown has long been lauded for his scouting ability, which explains why the Browns retained him in 2017, even as most of the front office was sent packing. His biggest draft hits include the likes of linebacker Darius Leonard and guard Braden Smith, who contributed to some of the Colts’ very best offensive lines.

Here’s the current rundown of the the Steelers’ GM search:

  • Morocco Brown, college scouting director (Colts): Interview requested
  • Ryan Cowden, vice president of player personnel (Titans): Interviewed by 2/4
  • Ed Dodds, assistant general manager (Colts): Interviewed by 2/4
  • Omar Khan, vice president of football and business administration (Steelers): Mentioned as candidate
  • JoJo Wooden, director of player personnel (Chargers): Interviewed by 2/4

Latest On Bears’ GM Search

January 24th, 2022 at 8:41pm CST by Ben Levine

At least three finalists have emerged for the Bears GM gig. According to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport (via Twitter), the organization has requested second interviews with Titans director of player personnel Monti Ossenfort and Patriots senior consultant Eliot Wolf. We previously learned that Chiefs director of player personnel Ryan Poles would also be getting a second interview. Colts director of college scouting Morocco Brown could also be a candidate for a second interview, per Rapoport.

[RELATED: Bears Request Second GM Interview With Ryan Poles]

Ossenfort has been the director of player personnel in Tennessee for the past two years. Prior to the Titans, he spent 17 seasons in the Patriots’ organization, acting as the director of college scouting in his last six years in New England.

Wolf started off as a pro personnel assistant in 2004 with the Packers, where his father, Ron Wolf, served as general manager. In eight years with the team, Eliot worked his way into the director of pro personnel role, which he held for three years. In his last two seasons in Green Bay, he spent time in the roles of director of player personnel and director of football operations. He left Wisconsin for the assistant general manager position in Cleveland before taking his current position as a senior consultant in New England.

Brown had a seven-year stint as the Bears assistant director of pro personnel. He’s served as a top executive in Indy for the past five years, with Brown earning credit for his draft evaluation. He interviewed for the Falcons GM gig last offseason.

Bears Request To Interview Chargers’ Wooden

January 14th, 2022 at 12:47pm CST by Ely Allen

Do not be surprised if you start getting calls from Chicago because the Bears are searching far and wide to fill their vacant general manager position and they are interviewing EVERYBODY! The newest candidate to add to the list is Chargers’ director of player personnel, JoJo Wooden, according to a tweet from NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport.

Wooden has been with the Chargers since 2013 overseeing the pro and college scouting department for the Chargers. He got his start with the Jets in 1997 and spent 10 seasons working his way up from pro personnel assistant to the assistant director, player personnel, a position he held for six more years.

What makes Wooden an interesting candidate for the Bears’ job is the connections he has to the search committee. Bears Senior Writer Larry Mayer reported a couple days ago that Bill Polian, who has spent time as a general manager for the Bills, Panthers, and, most notably, the Colts, will be a resource to the Bears as they go through the process of hiring a new head coach and general manager. Wooden is known as a key lieutenant for the Chargers’ current general manager Tom Telesco, and Telesco worked under Polian during Polian’s entire tenure in Indianapolis.

To date, the Bears have already interviewed the Browns’ Kwesi Adofo-Mensah and Glenn Cook and their own assistant director of player personnel, Champ Kelly. They’ve also requested interviews with the Colts’ Morocco Brown and Ed Dodds, the 49ers’ Ran Carthon, the Saints’ Jeff Ireland, the Steelers’ Omar Khan, the Giants’ Joe Schoen, and the Patriots’ Eliot Wolf. Texans’ former general manager Rick Smith has also been identified as a candidate.

Bears Request Interviews With Three Execs For GM Gig

January 10th, 2022 at 7:33pm CST by Ben Levine

In addition to head coach Matt Nagy, the Bears also decided to fire GM Ryan Pace today, and the organization is initially eyeing three names to lead their front office. Per Albert Breer of TheMMQB (via Twitter), the Bears requested interviews with Browns VP of football operations Kwesi Adofo-Mensah and VP of player personnel Glenn Cook. Meanwhile, NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport tweets that the Bears also requested an interview with Colts director of college scouting Morocco Brown.

[RELATED: Bears Fire HC Matt Nagy, GM Ryan Pace]

Adofo-Mensah started his NFL career as director of football research with the 49ers before getting hired into his current role in Cleveland. While the Stanford product hasn’t been in Cleveland all that long, he’s already turned into a popular GM candidate, with the executive getting an interview for the Panthers GM opening last offseason.

Cook was previously in the Packers organization before joining the Browns in 2016. After initially starting in the scouting department, Cook eventually got promoted to VP of player personnel.

Brown had a seven-year stint as the Bears assistant director of pro personnel, so he’s already got plenty of familiarity with ownership. He’s served as a top executive in Indy for the past five years, with Brown earning credit for his draft evaluation. He interviewed for the Falcons GM gig last offseason.

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