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Steve Sabo

NFC Front Office Updates: Vikings, Cowboys, Packers, Lions

June 25th, 2023 at 6:48pm CST by Ely Allen

The Vikings announced a number of front office adjustments last week, finalizing their staff moving into 2023. Five employees got promotions and another ten were added to the team’s staff. Some of these changes have been noted in previous posts.

Of the five, four promotions four were administrative, analytics, or personnel positions. Formerly the manager of football information systems, Luke Burson was promoted to director of football information systems in the analytics department. Emily Badis was elevated from football administration coordinator to manager of football administration. In personnel, Alex Dale, previously a scouting associate, was promoted to pro scout, and Mitch Johnson-Martin‘s title was updated to player personnel analyst-pro scouting.

As for the new hires, seven of the announcements were new information to the analytics and personnel staffs. In analytics, Anthony Caron was hired to the role of football information systems developer. In personnel, Minnesota brought in Salli Clavelle, who has spent the past five years in the 49ers’ personnel department. She will come on as a pro scout for the Vikings. The team has brought on a new area scout in Steve Sabo, as well. Sabo is a veteran who, last year, stepped down from his role as director of pro personnel of the Falcons. Jack Murphy joins the staff as a BLESTO/college scout. Lastly, the team added three scouting associates in Michelle Mankoff, Shantell Rodgers, and N’Tare Williamson. Rodgers is getting her first official NFL opportunity after spending a week as the team’s Nunn-Wooten Scouting Fellow last August. This will be Williamson’s first NFL job, as well.

Here are a few other front office updates from around the NFC:

  • The Cowboys have made two additions to their analytics staff this offseason. After adding John Park as the team’s new director of strategic football operations earlier this month, the analytics staff added Sarah Mallepalle as strategic football analyst, according to Seth Walder of ESPN.
  • The Packers handed out two promotions last week, according to Neil Stratton. Previously a pro scouting intern, Daric Whipple has been elevated to scout. Another pro scouting intern, Quandon Christian, also received a promotion, earning the role of pro scout.
  • Lastly, the Lions promoted former assistant director of college scouting Brian Hudspeth to director of college scouting. The veteran is entering his 23rd season in the NFL, including six in Detroit. He spent four seasons as a national scout before being promoted to his previous position last year. He takes the position in place of Dave Sears, who took the assistant general manager job in Arizona this January.

NFC South Notes: Pickett, Bucs, Falcons

February 11th, 2022 at 5:54pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Panthers have received substandard quarterback play for several years and still have Sam Darnold‘s fully guaranteed fifth-year option ($18.9MM) on their books going forward. While Carolina will undoubtedly be linked to veteran passers — potentially Deshaun Watson for a second straight offseason — the team may have early interest in Pitt prospect Kenny Pickett. The Panthers are believed to be high on Pickett, per CBS Sports’ Jason La Canfora, who notes multiple evaluators do not believe the ACC talent will make it past Carolina’s No. 6 overall pick. Panthers owner David Tepper was previously a minority Steelers owner and, per JLC, is a Pitt booster, connecting some dots here. Tepper was believed to be behind the Panthers’ aggressive Watson interest last year, before the Texans QB’s legal issues surfaced. Based on that and the team’s push for Matthew Stafford last year, it can be assumed the owner will endorse a splashy QB addition. Although this year’s crop of prospects is not viewed especially well, Pickett impressed at the Senior Bowl and would give the Panthers a low-cost starter amid the Darnold deal.

Here is the latest from the NFC South:

  • Tristan Wirfs could not finish the Buccaneers‘ wild-card win and missed their divisional-round Rams matchup, halting a quality run of durability to start his career. Tampa Bay’s All-Pro right tackle is moving toward taking care of his recent ankle issue. Wirfs plans to undergo surgery, per The Athletic’s Jeff Howe (subscription required). Although Bruce Arians said a non-surgical option exists (via Buccaneers.com’s Scott Smith), the standout blocker suffered a rather severe ankle injury. The former first-round pick tore two ligaments, one ripping off the bone completely, Howe adds. Wirfs said he will undoubtedly be ready for training camp.
  • The Bucs have not made a roster move regarding Tom Brady yet, Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk notes, despite the all-time great announcing his retirement last week. The team has $32MM in dead money associated with its two-year quarterback. A post-June 1 placement on the reserve-retired list would defray $24MM of that total to 2023. The Saints and Panthers did this with Drew Brees and Luke Kuechly, respectively, over the past two offseasons. The Bucs doing this would also mean they would retain Brady’s rights for 2022, entitling them to compensation if the ageless passer decides he wants to play again but for another team. Should the Bucs release Brady after June 1, he would be free to sign with any team.
  • Falcons director of pro personnel Steve Sabo is leaving the team. Sabo spent the past 12 years with the Falcons, working in various roles. Previous GM Thomas Dimitroff hired Sabo, but he stayed on in Terry Fontenot‘s first year. Sabo previously served as the Falcons’ college scouting director.
  • The Panthers made a change in their front office recently as well. They are promoting cap guru Samir Suleiman to a newly created position of VP of football administration, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. Suleiman previously worked as Carolina’s salary cap manager.