The San Francisco 49ers today announced that Chip Flanagan, RJ Gillen,Jacob Nierob, John Stevenson and Josh Williams have each been promoted to new roles in the team’s personnel department.
“We are very excited about the current state of our personnel department and how it will continue to progress in the coming years,” said 49ers General Manager John Lynch. “Every member of our personnel team has demonstrated a tireless work ethic and an ability to selflessly support each other – attributes we believe are integral to our success as an organization. We congratulate these gentlemen on their new roles with the team and look forward to watching their careers continue to develop.”
Flanagan has been promoted from regional scout to national scout. In 2017, he enters his 14th NFL season and sixth with the 49ers, and will now be in charge of the eastern half of the country. Prior to joining the team, Flanagan spent eight seasons with the Washington Redskins. He served as an area scout in Washington from 2007-11, where he was responsible for evaluating college prospects at schools located in the southwest region (2007-10) and southeast region (2011). Prior to working as an area scout, Flanagan served as a college scouting assistant with the Redskins for two seasons (2005-06). He originally entered the NFL in 2004 as an intern in the Redskins’ personnel department.
Gillen moves from scouting assistant to pro scout. The 2017 season is his third with the 49ers. Prior to joining the team, Gillen was a college football scout with the National Collegiate Scouting Association where he managed a recruiting list of potential college prospects to help college coaches identify those who might have the ability to play collegiately. Gillen also has previous experience in the NBA in the front office of the San Antonio Spurs where he assisted in preparation of player reports for the NBA draft and free agency.
Nierob has been promoted from scouting assistant to player personnel assistant. The 2017 season is his third with the 49ers. Before his time with the 49ers, Nierob interned in the recruiting operations department for the University of Michigan from 2014-15. He primarily focused on organizing recruiting visits as well as creating highlight tapes for the coaching staff to evaluate prospective recruits.
Stevenson has been promoted from scouting assistant to regional scout. He enters his third NFL season with the 49ers in 2017 and will work primarily in the southwest region. Prior to joining the 49ers, Stevenson played for the Bemidji Axemen of the Indoor Football League and went to training camp with the Ottawa Redblacks of the Canadian Football League, in 2015. In 2013, he signed with the New York Giants as an undrafted free agent.
Williams has been promoted from NFS scout to regional scout. The 2017 season is his seventh season with the 49ers and he will primarily work in the southeast region. Williams spent three seasons (2013-15) as a pro personnel scout and two seasons (2011-12) as an assistant in the 49ers scouting department, prior to his one season (2016) as a NFS scout.