Nebraska football is plucking away a front office executive from the New England Patriots. And this newcomer to the Cornhuskers and Matt Rhule is taking on an intriguing new role in Lincoln.
The university is bringing in former Patriots front office executive Pat Stewart, per ESPN college football insider Pete Thamel Wednesday. Stewart will be handed general manager duties — a new growing popular gig across college football programs.
Stewart’s hire also brings forth some shuffling within Rule’s staff. Nebraska previously tabbed Sean Padden as GM. Padden will now move into a brand new job on campus: Assistant athletic director for strategic initiatives. What will Padden’s new job entail?
“This role will include ties to the salary cap, contract negotiations and analytics,” Thamel shared.
But these moves are getting made to keep up with the times in college football.
Background on Patriots exec before coming to Nebraska
Stewart has witnessed his personnel rise since 2007.
He started out as a scout under former Patriots head coach Bill Belichick in ’07 — the same Belichick now set to lead North Carolina football. Stewart completed a decade long run with the Pats. He went on to win two Super Bowls during his time in Foxborough.
Stewart then jumped to the Philadelphia Eagles for the 2018 season. He lasted two seasons in Philly before joining the Carolina Panthers. He handled vice president of pro personnel duties in Charlotte.
Carolina was where Stewart and Rhule previously crossed paths. Rhule coached the Panthers from 2020 to 2022. Both, though, also collaborated together at Western Carolina and Temple.
Luring in Stewart, again, adds to the new era of the CFB landscape as more programs shift toward an NFL-like personnel room. Most power conference schools have pivoted toward creating a general manager position to assist head coaches. Even Belichick hired longtime NFL executive Michael Lombardi to spearhead the Tar Heels’ GM duties. Now, Nebraska and Rhule have a past Patriot on board for Big Red.
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