Nine first-time attendees to know at fourth annual Ozzie Newsome General Manager Forum 

Adam Al-Khayyal, Cleveland Browns: Al-Khayyal is entering his third year as director of pro scouting. He joined the organization in 2015, initially in football administration and player personnel before being promoted to a college scout and then assistant director of pro scouting.

Donovan Cotton, Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Promoted in May, Cotton enters his 11th season with the Bucs and first as the team’s assistant director of pro scouting. Prior to joining Tampa Bay, he worked as a player personnel scouting intern with the Seattle Seahawks in 2013 and a training camp scouting intern with the Green Bay Packers in 2011.

Regis Eller, Jacksonville Jaguars: Eller enters his fourth season with the Jaguars and his second as the team’s director of player personnel. He previously worked for the Chargers as the assistant director of pro scouting (2016-2021), an area scout (2011-15) and an administrative assistant in the coaching department (2008-2010).

AJ Highsmith, Tennessee Titans: Highsmith was hired as the Titans’ director of scouting in May. He also spent time with the Bills (2019-2023) and 49ers for five years before that, where he worked with current Titans GM Ran Carthon.

John Park, Dallas Cowboys: Park enters his second season as the Cowboys’ director of strategic football operations. He spent seven years with the Indianapolis Colts in various positions: director of football research (2021-22), manager of football research and strategy (2017-2020) and football research/analytics (2016). Prior to making the jump to the NFL, Park worked in player development for the Rutgers football team for two years.

Roman Phifer, Denver Broncos: Phifer has more than two decades of NFL experience as a coach/scout/executive and a three-time Super Bowl-champion linebacker. I spent five seasons with Phifer when he was a player — one season with the New York Jets (1999) and four seasons in New England (2000-04), where he helped us change the culture and win three titles. He was a quiet leader, respected by the locker room because of the consistent way he went about his business. Phifer has held the role of senior personnel executive for the Broncos since 2021 and is heavily involved in both pro and college scouting. Throughout the years, he has held multiple positions, including area scout for the Detroit Lions (2018-2020), director of player development at UCLA (2016-17) and assistant linebackers coach for the Broncos (2009-2010).

Deon Randall, Denver Broncos: Randall is a southwest area scout for Denver, where he has been working in the player personnel department since 2017.

Cole Spencer, Carolina Panthers: Spencer enters his fourth season with the Panthers and second as director of player personnel after initially joining the team as the director of college scouting. Prior to that, Spencer spent 11 seasons (2010-2020) with Washington as a national scout, area scout and scouting assistant.

Ashton Washington, Chicago Bears: She joined the organization in 2021, becoming the Bears’ first full-time female scout. Prior to working in the NFL, she was the director of recruiting operations at Texas Tech and an assistant coach/director of high school relations at the University of Illinois, where she worked for coach Lovie Smith. I was first connected with Washington while she was at Illinois, and I quickly discovered why she is so widely respected, as she is organized, detail-oriented and very driven. Bears GM Ryan Poles echoed my thoughts when he recently told me, “She is able to handle a high volume of work while maintaining quality.”