Mr. Scot

I saw an interview where he referred to himself as being "young and stupid" his first couple of years in college, apparently did some things he regretted. Being willing to admit that could be a good sign.

There's a difference between pre-draft sources and post-draft sources. Once there's no more need to bullsh-t anybody, you can generally get a pretty honest answer. There were indeed people within the building who liked Fields, David Tepper being one of them. Matt Rhule and Scott Fitterer? Not so much. And since they were the ones making the decision, here we are.

That varies by team. In some team structures (the Giants for example) the Assistant GM is a cap guy who oversees and negotiates contracts. We already have a guy who does that though. Morgan is a personnel guy, so my guess would be that his duties here would probably involve oversight of college and pro scouting, basically an extra level of management and an extra set of eyes.

Several sources have confirmed we weren't interested in Lance because they didn't feel like he fit Joe Brady's system.

Douglas himself has said they actually weren't, and even after the trade went down they were second-guessing themselves.

That was before the Darnold trade. Once they got Darnold, they were out of the quarterback market but they didn't want anybody to know that.

Not GM assistant, Assistant GM. Basically the second in command.

Pretty sure he was one of the sham interviews they did when they were installing Hurney for his second run. But yeah, he'd actually be a pretty good candidate. Heck, I'd take him at another executive position even if he didn't get the Assistant GM job.

Didn't see this coming, for sure. Still hoping the job goes to Morgan.

And another, with a familiar name...

Surprise! A new candidate... One thing: Raye is currently unemployed, so he could be hired for any role if they so desired.

Fitterer is definitely making this group his own.

This...we can agree on.

Person suggested in his Q&A today that might be a possibility.

Shocked me too.

FYI: Per Schefter, McCain and recently released Bears tackle Charles Leno are both visiting Washington in the next few days.

Very possible.

I suspect that has a lot to do with why he's now employed elsewhere.

They're the ones that keep banning you so you have to choose a new screen name.

Also on the former colleague front, the Lions fired three scouts today. Two of them are former colleagues of Pat Stewart from their time with the Patriots (though neither for very long).

Ehlinger was somebody I previously thought might be a potential candidate for Panthers quarterback, but he never quite rose to the elite level. He was good, just not necessarily great. I'll be rooting for him to succeed in Indy. He and his family have definitely been through it.

Speaking of Scots... Fitterer's former colleague Scot McCloughan was fired from his role as Washington GM in 2017 after reports of excessive drinking affecting his job performance. He hasn't worked directly for an NFL team since. These days, he's doing draft consulting for around a half dozen teams. When the Panthers named Fitterer GM, McCloughan praised it as a great hire. We don't currently have anyone with the title of college scouting director. Word is that Richardson holdover Jeff Morrow is actually working in that role, even though his title is Executive Director of Player Personnel (odd given that Pat Stewart's title is the same, minus the word "executive"). Can't help but wonder if an old friend might think of giving McCloughan a shot at working in the NFL again.

On that topic... Family should be celebrating right now, but this...

Found a little info on our new scout from the Patriots media guide... Jonathan Howard is in his seventh season with the Patriots and his fifth as a scout. He joined the Patriots organization in May 2013 as a scouting assistant. Howard came to the Patriots from the University of Massachusetts where he spent the 2012 season as a volunteer defensive & recruiting assistant. He played safety and linebacker at Washington University in St. Louis, where he graduated in 2012 with a degree in economics & strategy and marketing. He earned his master’s degree in sport management from the University of Massachusetts in August 2013. A native of Cincinnati, Ohio, Howard graduated from St. Xavier High School where he was a member of the 2007 Division I state title team. If St. Xavier High School in Cincinnati sounds familiar to you, it should. That's where our old buddy Luke Kuechly went to school. Kuechly and Howard were teammates on that 2007 state championship team.