Here is the latest on the Carolina Panthers GM search: Who interviewed? Who’s out?
The search for the next Carolina Panthers general manager is in full swing.
Over the past week, the team has interviewed 15 candidates from a variety of NFL teams.
Team owner David Tepper and vice president of communications and external affairs Steven Drummond are leading the search, along with head coach Matt Rhule, for the person who will replace former GM Marty Hurney, who was fired two weeks ago.
They will be looking for someone who can complement the vision that Rhule and Tepper have for the future of the organization. The head coach does not want to make all personnel decisions, but he is expected to have a say in the 53-man roster decisions.
“I want everything to be collaborative; I want to work with somebody that wants to get the players and establish the vision that we established, that we believe in,” Rhule said Monday. “I’m not going to get caught up on little tags and things like that, I want to collaborate with someone that they wake up every morning, saying, ‘Hey, how can I get the right players to make our offense, defense and special teams work.’ ”
The following is a list of some of the candidates who at this point the Panthers have interviewed, as confirmed by league sources with direct knowledge of the situation. A decision on the GM search is expected this week, per the team.
Internal candidates interviewed:
Samir Suleiman — Director of player negotiations and salary cap manager
▪ Suleiman has completed his first season with the Panthers. He was previously with the Pittsburgh Steelers from 2013-2019 as football administration coordinator, managing their salary cap and negotiating player contracts, along with other roles. Tepper was a Steelers minority owner from 2009-18. From 2000-09, he worked for the St. Louis Rams after starting his career in the NFL with the league’s Management Council (1997) and the Jacksonville Jaguars (1998-99).
Interviewed with Panthers: Yes, on Friday.
Pat Stewart — Director of player personnel
▪ Stewart was formerly a national scout for the Philadelphia Eagles from 2018-19. He began his NFL career in New England and served in a variety of scouting roles from 2007-17. His relationship wiht Rhule goes back to Western Carolina (2005). They worked together at Temple, as well.
Interviewed with Panthers: Yes, on Friday.
External candidates interviewed
Joe Schoen, Buffalo Bills
Current role: Assistant general manager.
Age: 41
Background: Schoen has history with the Panthers. He started his career in Carolina, interning with the team’s ticket office in 2000. He was hired as a scouting assistant in 2001 and became a Southeast and Southwest scout with the organization, spending a total of sven years with the team. After his time with the Panthers, he filled a variety of roles with the Miami Dolphins, including national scout, assistant director of college scouting and director of player personnel.
He joined former Panthers assistant general manager Brandon Beane in Buffalo in 2017.
Interviewed with Panthers: Yes, on Tuesday.
Other interest: There have been multiple teams linked to Schoen after the Bills’ recent success. It would not be a surprise for him to get a variety of interest.
Kwesi Adofo-Mensah, Cleveland Browns
Current role: Vice president of football operations.
Background: Tepper has not been shy about his interest in having a general manager that has a background in analytics. Adofo-Mensah would certainly fit that. He was hired by the Browns last offseason after spending seven years with the San Francisco 49ers from 2013-2020 as their manager of football research and development, and then was promoted to director of that department. Prior to his time in the NFL, Adofo-Mensah was a commodities trader and portfolio manager on Wall Street.
Interviewed with Panthers: Yes, on Monday, January 4.
Other interest: He has been listed as one of the sleeper GM candidates.
Jerry Reese, former New York Giants GM
Current role: Unemployed.
Age: 57
Background: Reese was general manager of the Giants from 2007-17 and has been without a job since. He was with the Giants organization since 1994, working his way from a college scout to pro scout and then advancing from director of player personnel to the GM job.
His time in New York overlapped with Rhule’s 2012 season as the Giants assistant offensive line coach. Reese was part of two Super Bowl wins with the Giants.
Interviewed with Panthers: Yes, on Monday, January 4.
Jeff Ireland, New Orleans Saints
Current role: VP/assistant general manager of college personnel.
Age: 50
Background: Ireland has been with the Saints since 2015. Prior to that, he was the general manager of the Miami Dolphins from 2008-13 and with the Dallas Cowboys in various roles from 2001-07. Ireland started his career as an area scout and is a Baylor graduate, playing football as a placekicker.
Interviewed with Panthers: Yes, on Tuesday.
Other interest: There have been reports of the Detroit Lions interviewing Ireland, as well.
Ryan Poles, Kansas City Chiefs
Current role: Assistant director of player personnel.
Age: 35
Background: Poles has been with the Chiefs for his entire NFL career and in his current role since 2018. He has moved up the personnel ranks since being hired in 2009 as a scouting assistant. Previously, the former offensive lineman spent a year as a football recruiting graduate assistant at Boston College after graduating from the school.
Interviewed with Panthers: Yes, on Wednesday.
Brandt Tilis, Kansas City Chiefs
Current role: Director of football administration.
Background: Tilis joined the Chiefs in 2010 as a salary cap/contract analyst before he was promoted to the director of salary cap and football operations analytics in 2014. He has been in his current roles since 2017 and works with coach Andy Reid and GM Brett Veach closely with a focus on contracts and the salary cap, which has allowed them to sign multiple players to big long-term deals as of late.
Interviewed with Panthers: Yes, on Thursday.
Adam Peters, San Francisco 49ers
Current role: Vice president of player personnel.
Age: 41
Background: Peters has spent the last four years with the 49ers. Prior to that, he was with the Denver Broncos from 2009-16, working in a variety of scouting roles, including director of college scouting. His first NFL experience was with the New England Patriots from 2003-08 in scouting roles.
Peters is a candidate to keep an eye on partly for his connection to Rhule. The Panthers’ head coach was the UCLA defensive line coach in 2001, Peters’ final season as a defensive end for the Bruins.
Interviewed with Panthers: Yes, on Wednesday.
Monti Ossenfort, Tennessee Titans
Current role: Director of player personnel.
Age: 42
Background: Ossenfort has been with the Titans for one season. He previously spent 15 years with the Patriots, including six as director of college scouting, and also spent time with the Houston Texans.
Interviewed with Panthers: Yes, on Tuesday.
Other interest: His name has not come up much yet this hiring cycle, but he did interview for the Browns GM job last offseason before Andrew Berry was hired for the role.
Champ Kelly, Chicago Bears
Current role: Assistant director of player personnel.
Age: 41
Background: He has also served as director of pro scouting for the Bears. Kelly spent eight seasons with the Broncos from 2007-14, serving in a variety of scouting and personnel roles. Before his career in the NFL, he was a certified NFL contract advisor and general manager/WR coach for the Lexington Horsemen of United Indoor Football (UIF).
Interviewed with Panthers: Yes, on Thursday.
Other interest: The Broncos may look at him for their open general manager job.
Scott Fitterer, Seattle Seahawks
Current role: Vice president of football operations
Background: Fitterer has been a GM candidates for a variety of teams over the past few years and works alongside Seahawks GM John Schneider. He has been with the Seahawks in various roles since 2001, originally joining as an area scout. From 2011-14, he was the team’s director of college scouting and he recently also held the position of co-director player personnel. He started his career as a part-time scout for the New York Giants from 1998-2000. In college, he was a two-sport athlete playing quarterback in football and pitcher in baseball at UCLA (1992-94) and LSU (1994-95). He then spent a period of time in the Toronto Blue Jays system.
Interviewed with Panthers: Yes, on Monday, January 11.
Omar Khan, Pittsburgh Steelers
Current role: Vice president of football and business administration
Background: Khan, who attended Tulane, first started with the Saints in football operations. He has been with the Steelers since 2001. He was promoted to his current role in 2016. Khan plays a major role in managing Pittsburgh’s salary cap.
Like Suleiman, he got to know Tepper during his time as a Steelers minority owner.
Interviewed with Panthers: Yes, on Monday, January 11.
Other interest: The Texans interviewed Khan for their opening, but they ended up hiring Nick Caserio, one of the Panthers’ candidates.
Other interviews
The Panthers also interviewed Patriots director of player personnel Caserio, 45, on Tuesday, but he is expected to become the new general manager of the Texans.
Colts assistant general manager Ed Dodds also interviewed for the opening, however, he has withdrawn from consideration.
This story was originally published January 4, 2021 at 5:15 PM with the headline "Here is the latest on the Carolina Panthers GM search: Who interviewed? Who’s out?."
