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ATLANTA -- The Atlanta Falcons will interview a pair of Green Bay Packers scouting officials, director of pro personnel Reggie McKenzie and personnel analyst John Schneider, for the position of general manager.
Interviews with both Green Bay officials are expected to be conducted this week.
The Falcons are seeking a general manager and a new head coach and it is highly unlikely that one man will fill both positions. Head coach Bobby Petrino resigned with three games remaining in his first season to accept the job at the University of Arkansas. Shortly thereafter, owner Arthur Blank announced that current president/general manager Rich McKay would lose his oversight of the personnel department.
It is expected, at least for now, that McKay will remain as the team president, and Blank has offered him a contract extension to do so.
A 10th-round pick of the Raiders in the 1985 draft, McKenzie, 44, played seven years in the NFL as a linebacker, with stints at Oakland (1985-88), Arizona (1989-90) and San Francisco (1992). The former University of Tennessee star was forced into retirement by a knee injury. He joined the Green Bay personnel department as a pro scout in 1994 and is in his 10th season as director of pro personnel.
McKenzie has been a candidate for general manager positions in the past, most recently with the Tennessee Titans.
Schneider, 36, is in his second tenure with the Green Bay scouting department. He originally joined the Packers as an intern under then-general manager Ron Wolf in 1992 and subsequently served four seasons (1993-96) as a personnel assistant. After jobs in Kansas City (1997-99), Seattle (2000) and Washington (2001), Schneider rejoined the Packers' organization in 2002 and has served the last six seasons as a personnel analyst.
There are likely to be several other candidates for the general manager position in Atlanta, but they have not yet been identified.
As first reported by ESPN.com on Monday afternoon, Falcons officials will travel to Dallas on Friday to interview Cowboys' assistant head coach Tony Sparano for the Atlanta head coach position. The Falcons have also received permission to meet with Dallas offensive coordinator Jason Garrett, but as of Tuesday, he had not yet agreed to be interviewed for the job.
Senior writer Len Pasquarelli covers the NFL for ESPN.com.
Interviews with both Green Bay officials are expected to be conducted this week.
The Falcons are seeking a general manager and a new head coach and it is highly unlikely that one man will fill both positions. Head coach Bobby Petrino resigned with three games remaining in his first season to accept the job at the University of Arkansas. Shortly thereafter, owner Arthur Blank announced that current president/general manager Rich McKay would lose his oversight of the personnel department.
It is expected, at least for now, that McKay will remain as the team president, and Blank has offered him a contract extension to do so.
A 10th-round pick of the Raiders in the 1985 draft, McKenzie, 44, played seven years in the NFL as a linebacker, with stints at Oakland (1985-88), Arizona (1989-90) and San Francisco (1992). The former University of Tennessee star was forced into retirement by a knee injury. He joined the Green Bay personnel department as a pro scout in 1994 and is in his 10th season as director of pro personnel.
McKenzie has been a candidate for general manager positions in the past, most recently with the Tennessee Titans.
Schneider, 36, is in his second tenure with the Green Bay scouting department. He originally joined the Packers as an intern under then-general manager Ron Wolf in 1992 and subsequently served four seasons (1993-96) as a personnel assistant. After jobs in Kansas City (1997-99), Seattle (2000) and Washington (2001), Schneider rejoined the Packers' organization in 2002 and has served the last six seasons as a personnel analyst.
There are likely to be several other candidates for the general manager position in Atlanta, but they have not yet been identified.
As first reported by ESPN.com on Monday afternoon, Falcons officials will travel to Dallas on Friday to interview Cowboys' assistant head coach Tony Sparano for the Atlanta head coach position. The Falcons have also received permission to meet with Dallas offensive coordinator Jason Garrett, but as of Tuesday, he had not yet agreed to be interviewed for the job.
Senior writer Len Pasquarelli covers the NFL for ESPN.com.
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