Although longtime Broncos executive Matt Russell was previously headed toward stepping away from football, the Eagles are luring him back. Russell will join Howie Roseman‘s front office staff, Bo Wulf of The Athletic reports (subscription required).
Philadelphia’s Russell addition comes shortly after Tom Donahoe‘s exit, and Wulf notes Russell will serve in the same senior personnel exec-type role Donahoe had. The Eagles have lost a host of high-ranking front office staffers this offseason — from Donahoe to Brandon Brown to Ian Cunningham to Catherine Raiche, with the latter trio each moving into second-in-command roles elsewhere — but will add Russell, who spent several years as a right-hand man in Denver.
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Elway promoted Russell to director of player personnel in 2012. Elway and Russell rebuilt a Broncos team that had drifted off the contention radar for a while, adding a host of free agents, productive late-round picks and UDFAs to supplement their Peyton Manning-led squad. This resulted in the team earning four straight playoff byes during Manning’s tenure, voyaging to two Super Bowls and winning Super Bowl 50.
When Elway vacated his role atop Denver’s front office after the 2020 season, Russell left as well. He spent 2021 out of football. Roseman is still filling out his staff but will turn to Russell, 48, as a key personnel man going forward. This will be Russell’s second stint with the Eagles. He worked in Philly as a scout from 2006-08, when Roseman was rising through the team’s front office to his eventual GM role. Russell became the Broncos’ college scouting director in 2009.
The Eagles also have Colts scouting director Morocco Brown on their radar. They are set to interview Brown this week, according to InsidetheBirds.com’s Geoff Mosher and Adam Caplan (via Twitter). Brown interviewed for the Steelers’ GM job earlier this offseason but has not received a second interview yet. The Eagles will interview Brown for a “high-ranking position” and are considering Steelers scouting director Brandon Hunt and Senior Bowl director Jim Nagy. The team interviewed Hunt over the weekend, per Caplan and Mosher.