Report: Carolina Panthers Interviewing KC Chiefs' Brandt Tilis for GM Job
As the Kansas City Chiefs' postseason run continues, that isn't stopping some members of the front office from doing their due diligence in regard to other job openings. Vice president of football operations Brandt Tilis is one of those folks, set to take the Carolina Panthers up on their recent inquiry.
Per an afternoon report from Ian Rapoport of NFL Network, Tilis is interviewing with Carolina on Monday for their vacant general manager position.
A week ago to the day, Tom Pelissero of NFL Network reported that the Panthers requested permission to interview Tilis. Following Kansas City's Wild Card round win over the Miami Dolphins, that interview will now take place. This marks the second time in his career that Tilis will speak with Carolina.
The 2023-24 campaign is Tilis's 14th with the Chiefs, with his current job being the most prominent in a long line of duties in Kansas City. The executive also has experience as a director of football admin, a director of salary cap/football operations analytics and more. Known for his assistance on high-profile contracts with the team, Tilis is one of general manager Brett Veach's go-to men in the front office. While the Washington Commanders requested to interview assistant general manager Mike Borgonzi for one of their open positions, here's what I wrote recently about Tilis as a candidate for GM jobs around the league:
One of the contracts Tilis gets recognized for is the original mega-deal the team inked quarterback Patrick Mahomes to back in 2020. In August of that year, Conner Christopherson of Arrowhead Report wrote about the job Tilis did alongside Veach and company handling multiple high-level deals in the same offseason. The Chiefs describe Tilis as their "lead player contract negotiator" dating back to 2017.
Borgonzi may be a more popular name regarding general manager vacancies, but don't forget about Tilis. The fact that the Panthers are doubling back to him could indicate a significant level of interest. Such losses are impactful for an organization, but Kansas City would undoubtedly be happy for Tilis in the event he conducts another interview and ends up in Carolina.
Although the Chiefs have a Divisional Round matchup to prepare for, this is something to monitor moving forward. Tilis's value to the Kansas City staff can't really be understated, so his loss would certainly be a significant one. As he's currently in competition with Matteo for the job, Carolina will exhaust multiple avenues to try and ensure its next hire is the right one.
