Nebraska is making a significant change to its football personnel hierarchy.
ESPN's Pete Thamel first reported Wednesday night that New England Patriots pro personnel director Pat Stewart is joining the program as General Manager, replacing Sean Padden, who is moving to a new role.
Stewart had been with the Patriots since 2023 in his current role, but had spent time with the organization in multiple roles between 2007 and 2017, winning two Super Bowls. He worked for the Philadelphia Eagles as a national scout for two years following the 2017 season before he was hired to join the Carolina Panthers alongside Matt Rhule as director of player personnel in 2020.
In total, Stewart spent 17 years as an NFL scout to pair with front office experience. Besides his time with Rhule in Carolina, he worked with Nebraska's head coach at Western Carolina and Temple early in their careers.
As for Nebraska's current general manager, Sean Padden, he's moving to a new role as assistant athletic director for strategic initiatives. Per Thamel, this role will include ties to the salary cap, contract negotiations and analytics.
Background on Padden's time as GM
Padden has been Rhule's GM since he started in 2023.
"No matter what we've done over the years, no matter what program we've been to, whenever there's sort of something new, he kind of throws me at it and says, 'Alright, figure this out,'" said Padden, who's worked under Rhule at Temple, Baylor, Carolina and now Nebraska.
On the practice field, Padden, a former D-III football player, is a defensive line coach at heart and often found himself near Terrance Knighton’s unit during practice. During the season Padden helps Nebraska’s young coaches prepare the scout team.
And Padden has a name for that scout team — the Lancaster County Raiders. One thing about the scout team at Nebraska, the players aren’t just looking at flash cards that tell them where to go and what to do. It goes deeper than that, and with more detail meant to develop that Lancaster Raider crew.
“It's really just a fun way to stay on top of the young guys,” Padden said. “I grade every one of their days so that I get a sense of how they're developing, how they're coming along. And it also allows me to engage the younger players on the team with regard to their development. Sometimes guys end up on scout team and feel like they're lost. Well, I lived on scout team for three seasons of college football, and so I know what it's like.”
More on Padden
>> Nebraska GM Sean Padden on his role, NIL, the transfer portal and more
>> Nebraska staffers Sean Padden, Dr. Susan Elza talk new Husker facility
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