The Panthers have hired Dan Morgan as their new General Manager and they are making more changes to their football operations staff as well.
A team spokesperson confirmed with David Newton of ESPN.com that vice president of football administration Samir Suleiman is no longer with the team. Suleiman was promoted from director of player negotiations and salary cap manager to that position in 2022.
Suleiman continued to have a hand in negotiations and cap management in his new role. He also had an expanded role in other areas of the financial side of the operation in Carolina.
There could be more changes to come as Morgan and the Panthers try to chart a better course than the one they’ve been on in recent years.
This year, the hiring process has moved more slowly than usual, thanks to a new rule that delays in-person interviews with coaches under contract elsewhere until the divisional round has come and gone. Once the window for in-person interviews opened, the Titans shifted into overdrive.
The decision to hire Bengals offensive coordinator Brian Callahan came on the same day the Titans interviewed both Callahan and Panthers offensive coordinator Thomas Brown in person, the first day that such interviews could happen.
The interview of Brown, coupled with the prior interview of former Stanford coach David Shaw, satisfied the Rooney Rule requirement of two in-person interviews with minority candidates.
In all, the Titans interviewed 10 candidates at least once. Nine were interviewed virtually and one (Shaw) was interviewed in-person only. On Monday, Brown and Callahan got in-person interviews — and Callahan got the job.
The Jets opted to stay the course with head coach Robert Saleh, but it looks like he won’t be bringing back the same staff that he had during the 2023 season.
Connor Hughes of SNY reports that running backs coach Taylor Embree will not return to the team. Embree spent the last three seasons on the staff with the AFC East club and helped develop 2022 second-round pick Breece Hall over the last two years.
Josina Anderson of CBS Sports reports that the Jets recently met with former Eagles, Lions, and Panthers running backs coach Duce Staley. He was let go by the Panthers when they fired head coach Frank Reich during the regular season.
Staley also met with the Browns recently, so he may not wind up as Embree’s successor with the Jets.
The Eagles will now need two coordinators.
Per Jeff McLane of the Philadelphia Inquirer, Brian Johnson will not return to the team as offensive coordinator.
Johnson had just completed his first year as the team’s OC after two seasons as Philadelphia’s quarterbacks coach. But while the Eagles finished No. 7 in points and No. 8 in yards, the unit was marred by inconsistency, particularly down the stretch. The Eagles scored just nine points in their wild-card round loss to the Buccaneers.
Quarterback Jalen Hurts’ interceptions also went up from six in 2022 to 15 in 2023.
Johnson had received some interest in the head coaching market, interviewing with the Falcons and receiving requests from the Panthers and Titans.
The Eagles have also reportedly parted ways with defensive coordinator Sean Desai and senior defensive assistant Matt Patricia as the team looks to reshape its coaching staff after dropping six of seven games to end the year.
Texans offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik is set to have a pair of second interviews this week, starting with a team in the NFC East.
Slowik will have an in-person interview with the Commanders on Tuesday night, according to NFL Media’s Ian Rapoport. He’ll then have a second interview with the Falcons later this week.
Slowik, 36, just completed his first season as Houston’s offensive coordinator, calling plays for rookie quarterback C.J. Stroud. One of the top offensive rookie of the year contenders, Stroud completed 64 percent of his passes for 4,108 yards with 23 touchdowns and just five interceptions.
The Texans finished No. 12 in total yards and No. 13 in points scored.
Slowik has also drawn interest from the Panthers and Seahawks. While he interviewed with the Titans as well, Tennessee has elected to hire Bengals offensive coordinator Brian Callahan.
