When is a primary football executive truly the primary football executive?
Regarding the Falcons’ hiring of former Bears assistant G.M. Ian Cunningham to be the successor to Terry Fontenot, the NFL decided that Cunningham will not be the primary football executive. Which prevented the Bears from getting a pair of third-round picks under the provision in the Rooney Rule that rewards teams for developing minority employees who secure promotions.
“The policy for receiving picks pertains to the head coach or the primary football executive,” the NFL told PFT on Tuesday via email. “The primary football executive position was filled by Matt Ryan.”
Ryan was hired to be the Falcons’ president of football operations. After he took the job, it was reported that the Bears would not receive compensatory draft picks if Cunningham (who also interviewed for Ryan’s job) becomes the G.M.
The issue resurfaced last week, after Ryan said Cunningham will control free agency and the draft.
“He’s in charge of that space,” Ryan said regarding Cunningham. “He is driving this boat, and he’s the one leading us moving forward. This is Ian’s regular season right now, and he is in it; he is driving the ship right now.”
Our question to the league was prompted by Ryan’s comments. The answer, as quoted above, is that Ryan is the primary football executive.
Here’s where it gets confusing. When the Falcons hired Fontenot to be the G.M. in 2022, the Saints (Fontenot’s former employer) received the compensatory picks. But Rich McKay was the team president and CEO — and as of 2022 he was involved in football operations.
We’ve asked for an explanation as to why the picks were awarded then, if they’re not being awarded now. Stay tuned.
The Browns have added two more candidates to the list of possible defensive coordinators on Todd Monken’s coaching staff.
Jeremy Fowler of ESPN reports that they have requested interviews with Panthers passing game coordinator Jonathan Cooley and Falcons passing game coordinator Mike Rutenberg.
Cooley has spent the last three years on Dave Canales’s staff in Carolina and the last two seasons in his current role. He spent three seasons with the Rams and made several stops on the college circuit before moving into the NFL.
Rutenberg was a candidate in Tennessee before the Titans hired Gus Bradley as their coordinator. Rutenberg joined the Falcons after spending four years with the Jets.
More details have emerged regarding the recent arrest of Falcons linebacker James Pearce Jr., who has professed innocence through his lawyer.
Via Marc Raimondi of ESPN.com, Rickea Jackson of the WNBA’s Los Angeles Sparks had been trying to end a relationship with Pearce. Jackson told police that, on Saturday morning, she saw Pearce approaching her vehicle in a white Lamborghini SUV. When she stopped at a red light, Pearce got out and tried to open the door to her car.
She drove away, heading toward a police station. He got back inside his vehicle and chased her. Jackson said Pearce rammed his SUV into the rear end of her car. After she tried to drive away, he allegedly drove head-on into her vehicle.
When police responded to the crime scene, they saw Pearce standing outside his car, door open. When an officer pulled his gun and ordered Pearce to get on the ground, Pearce got back inside closed the door. The officer opened the door. Pearce pulled it shut and locked it.
Pearce then drove away, striking the officer in the knee.
Police chased Pearce until his SUV crashed. He got out and ran. Officers caught him, and he allegedly continued to resist arrest.
Pearce faces five felony counts and a misdemeanor charge.
“We look forward to working with the State Attorney’s Office in fully investigating this case and uncovering the truth,” Pearce’s lawyers said in a statement issued to Raimondi. “Mr. Pearce maintains his innocence and urges the public to understand that while allegations have the power to shape a narrative, that it is hardly the full, complete story. We look forward to vigorously defending our client and remain confident that he will continue contributing positively to both his team and the community he serves so well.”
The NFL separately said the situation will be reviewed under the Personal Conduct Policy.
Falcons pass rusher James Pearce Jr. faces five felony counts after his arrest Saturday, Marc Raimondi of ESPN reports.
Pearce posted $20,500 bond and will be released “sometime today,” a Miami-Dade corrections official told Raimondi.
Pearce’s case was assigned to the felony domestic crimes intake unit, and he was given a pre-trial conditional stay-away order with regard to Los Angeles Sparks forward Rickea Jackson, per Raimondi.
He faces two counts of aggravated battery with a deadly weapon and a count of aggravated stalking. Pearce is also charged with fleeing and eluding police officers, aggravated battery of a law enforcement officer and resisting an officer without violence to his person.
Pearce crashed his vehicle after fleeing from police, who were called to a domestic dispute.
The Falcons issued a statement saying they are “aware of the incident.”
Pearce, who finished third in defensive rookie of the year voting, is subject to discipline under the NFL’s personal conduct policy.
The Falcons say they are in the midst of gathering information after pass rusher James Pearce Jr. was arrested on Saturday.
“We are aware of an incident involving James Pearce Jr., in Miami. We are in the process of gathering more information and will not have any further comment on an open legal matter at this time,” the team’s statement said.
Pearce was arrested on charges of aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, aggravated stalking and fleeing police. According to police, they were dispatched to a call of a domestic dispute when Pearce fled the area and led them on a chase that resulted in Pearce crashing his car.
Pearce was booked into Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center.
After the Falcons traded up in the first round to draft Pearce last year, he played in all 17 games as a rookie and recorded 10.5 sacks. He finished third in Defensive Rookie of the Year voting.
In addition to criminal charges, Pearce will face an investigation under the NFL’s personal conduct policy that could lead to a suspension.
