Panthers interview 4 GM candidates a second time. Here’s who and their backgrounds
The Carolina Panthers have narrowed down the team’s general manager search.
The team has conducted second interviews with Tennessee Titans director of player personnel Monti Ossenfort, San Francisco 49ers vice president of player personnel Adam Peters, Kansas City Chiefs assistant director of player personnel Ryan Poles and Seattle Seahawks VP of football operations Scott Fitterer.
The final decision is expected to be made this week.
Since the end of the season, the team conducted 15 total interviews with candidates who have a variety of backgrounds, including two internal candidates Samir Suleiman, director of player negotiations and salary cap manager, and Pat Stewart, director of player personnel. One candidate, Nick Caserio, is now the general manager of the Houston Texans and Indianapolis Colts assistant general manager Ed Dodds withdrew from the search.
Ossenfort, Peters and Poles all had their second interviews Tuesday. Fitterer came in to interview with the team at the facility Wednesday, following the conclusion of the Seahawks’ season this past weekend, after being one of the final candidates to do an initial interview just two days prior.
All four candidates are under 50. Whoever is selected will work in collaboration with head coach Matt Rhule in making personnel decisions and fit into Rhule’s and owner David Tepper’s vision for the team.
They all have slightly different backgrounds. Tepper has always put an importance on hiring people who use analytics, while all of the remaining candidates have at least some sort of scouting background.
Get to know the finalists:
Scott Fitterer, Seattle Seahawks
Current role: Vice president of football operations
Age: 47
Background: Fitterer has been a general manager candidate for a variety of teams over the past few years and works alongside Seahawks GM John Schneider and head coach Pete Carroll, who is more involved in personnel decisions than many other NFL head coaches, serving as executive vice president of football operations.
Fitterer has been with the Seahawks in various roles since 2001, originally joining as an area scout. Fitterer has significant experience and expertise when it comes to college scouting, but only has experience with one organization. From 2011-14, he was the team’s director of college scouting and he recently also held the position of co-director of 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 time in the Toronto Blue Jays’ system.
Monti Ossenfort, Tennessee Titans
Current role: Director of player personnel.
Age: 42
Background: Ossenfort has been with the Titans for one season under general manager Jon Robinson. He previously spent 15 years with the Patriots, including six as director of college scouting, and started his career in personnel with the Texans. Other teams have requested him for general manager interviews in the past.
Ossenfort was a four-year letterman and two-year starting quarterback at the University of Minnesota-Morris, graduating in 2000 with a degree in economics and management. He earned master’s degrees in sports management and business administration from Ohio University.
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 after general manager John Lynch brought him in. 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 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. Panthers defensive coordinator Phil Snow was the DC at UCLA from 2001-02.
During his time with the 49ers, he has played a significant role in identifying the team’s future draft picks, including tight end George Kittle.
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. The former offensive lineman spent a year as a football recruiting graduate assistant at Boston College after graduating from the school. Poles is a former college teammate of Atlanta Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan. His father was a defensive lineman at Boston College from 1979-82.
He is the youngest of the four candidates and the least experienced.
This story was originally published January 13, 2021 at 11:33 AM with the headline "Panthers interview 4 GM candidates a second time. Here’s who and their backgrounds."
