Phil Bhaya

Eagles Announce Numerous Updates To Front Office

The Eagles announced a host of changes to their front office staff this week. While the litany of moves was mostly comprised of promotions and title changes, three new hires were announced, as well.

In the front office, Bryce Johnston continues to rise through the ranks as he heads into his ninth season with the team. After seeing a promotion to vice president of football transactions and strategic planning last year, Johnston now sees a promotion to senior vice president/tertiary football executive. Jeff Scott also earned a promotion with his title changing from director of football operations to vice president of football operations going into his fourth season with the team. Katie David, going on 17 seasons in the Eagles’ football operations department, has gone from football operations director to chief of staff to the general manager.

Dom DiSandro has added a new title to his position. Serving as senior advisor to the general manager/chief security officer in 2023, the Eagles will add the moniker of gameday coaching operations to his job. DiSandro was involved in a sideline incident with 49ers linebacker Dre Greenlaw that resulted in the ejection of both parties and the banning of DiSandro from the sidelines for the subsequent game. Jeff McLane of the Philadelphia Inquirer posits that the new title may be a preliminary measure to prevent similar discipline should any future sideline incidents occur.

Adam Berry, twin brother of Browns general manager Andrew Berry, is also receiving a promotion. After coming to the NFL after a career at Goldman Sachs last year, Berry goes from vice president of football operations to vice president of football operations and strategy. Former Pro Bowl linebacker Connor Barwin continues to work his way up the executive ladder, as well. Named the team’s player development director in 2022, Barwin will now serve as head of football development and strategy. Also a former player who retired after signing a reserve/futures deal with the team, Matt Leo earned a promotion from defensive/football operations assistant to player development assistant.

The football operations new hire is Isabel Pantle, who joins the team as a quantitative analyst. Pantle previously served as a player personnel analyst intern for the Ravens in 2022.

In the player personnel department, Charles Walls and Alan Wolking have both been named vice presidents of player personnel. Walls was hired as the Eagles’ director of player personnel in 2022 after two years as a national scout for the Browns. In the same year, Wolking had been promoted to director of player personnel, as well. Wolking is entering his 14th season with the team. Filling the vacated role of director of player personnel will be Phil Bhaya, who previously served as director of college scouting. Bhaya will have Jeremy Gray, as well, after Gray’s promotion from assistant director of pro scouting to assistant director of player personnel. Terrence Braxton joins the group as player personnel coordinator after a promotion from football operations coordinator.

On the scouting front, Brandon Hunt was promoted from director of scouting to senior director of scouting as he enters his 20th year of scouting experience. Ameena Soliman, who added the director of personnel operations title to her pro scouting duties in 2022, will now serve as director of football operations while continuing to work as a pro scout. Also, former mid-Atlantic area scout Cam Bradfield has been assigned a different area for this season. In 2024, Bradfield will cover the southwest area.

The other two new hires mentioned above were in the scouting department, as well. Laurel McHale has been hired on as a full-time scouting assistant after working last year as a player personnel and scouting associate intern. Lastly, Duke Tobin Jr., son of the Bengals’ director of player personnel for the last 25 years, was also hired as a scouting assistant. He first connected with the team as a training camp scouting intern before working a seasonal job as a player personnel associate.

Eagles Announce Front Office Changes; Rod Streater, Ben Ijalana Join Scouting Staff

After seeing one of the more offseason significant brain drains in recent memory take place, the Eagles announced how they will move forward without the front office talent they lost.

Philadelphia saw four executives become assistant general managers elsewhere — Ian Cunningham (Bears), Brandon Brown (Giants), Catherine Raiche (Browns) and Andy Weidl (Steelers) — and have moved forward without former GM Tom Donahoe and director of scouting operations Casey Weidl. Had the Steelers not hired Andy Weidl as their assistant GM, the Eagles would have aimed to retain him — despite his brother’s firing — according to The Athletic’s Zach Berman (subscription required). But the team announced Friday its revamped front office.

Jon Ferrari and Alec Halaby are indeed Howie Roseman‘s assistant GMs. The Eagles have not used that title in recent years, but offering it certainly aids in retaining key staffers. The team hired longtime Steelers pro scouting director Brandon Hunt to accompany the in-house risers as a top Roseman lieutenant. Joining Andy Weidl, Omar Khan and others as a finalist for the Pittsburgh GM job, Hunt is now Philadelphia’s director of scouting. The Eagles were interested in adding Hunt back in 2016, and the veteran Steelers staffer will now play a key role in the NFC East franchise’s reconstructed front office.

Connor Barwin, who joined the Eagles during the 2020 offseason, will be the team’s player development director. Fellow recent retirees are among Philly’s new hires. Former Raiders wide receiver Rod Streater will join the Eagles as their northeast area scout. Streater, who played in the NFL from 2012-18, went to college in Philadelphia (Temple). Streater, 34, spent time as a Browns scout, working under former Eagles exec Andrew Berry, since retiring. The Eagles also hired ex-Jets and Colts tackle Ben Ijalana, 32, as a scouting assistant. Ijalana, who also went to college in Philly (Villanova), played from 2011-19.

Fellow recent hires Matt Russell and Jordan Dizon will serve as a senior personnel advisor and a national scout, respectively. The Eagles also hired Jeremy Gray as their assistant director of pro personnel. Gray previously worked at the University of Arizona. He is the son of longtime NFL assistant Jerry Gray. Let go from Washington’s staff last year, Jeff Scott also received a promotion with the Eagles; he is now their director of football operations. Scott was with Washington for nine years.

The Eagles also promoted Alan Wolking from college scouting director to director of player personnel and gave former Jaguars GM Dave Caldwell a more official title. Caldwell, who joined Roseman’s staff last year, will now serve as a senior personnel director and an advisor to the GM. Previously, Caldwell simply carried a “personnel executive” title. Max Gruder will rise from assistant pro scouting director to the top of that department, while Ryan Myers will move from an area-scout gig to the assistant scouting director post. An eight-year Eagles staffer, Phil Bhaya will climb from the area-scout level to the team’s director of draft management.