Yahoo Sports Eagles promote Catherine Raîche to VP role, making her one of most powerful women in NFL
The Philadelphia Eagles made a plethora of changes to their personnel department, including promoting two women, in a diverse hiring announcement on Thursday.
The Eagles promoted Catherine Raîche to vice president of football operations, making her one of the most powerful women in football.
Most powerful women in football
Raîche joins Kelly Kleine in the company of most powerful women in the NFL. Kleine was named executive director of football operations/special advisor to the general manager by the Denver Broncos last month.
Raîche, 32, will work in all areas of football operation and player personnel. She'll work in scouting, contracts, player and staff development, and football research. Her previous role was as football operations/player personnel coordinator for the two seasons.
— Philadelphia Eagles (@Eagles) May 27, 2021
She transitioned from practicing corporate and tax law to professional sports in 2015 and previously worked for five years in the Canadian Football League, having grown up in Montreal, Quebec. In 2017, she became the first woman to serve as an assistant general manager in the CFL while working for the Montreal Alouettes.
The Eagles also promoted Ameena Soliman to pro scout. Soliman, who is Muslim, began with the Eagles in 2018 as a player personnel intern. She previously worked at the NFL League Office and with Temple University. She has a Master's degree in sports business from Temple.
— Philadelphia Eagles (@Eagles) May 27, 2021
Teams are increasingly hiring women into scouting roles as the sport begins to break the long-held norms of male-only coaching staffs and promotions. The NFL has worked to improve the pipeline of female coaches, scouts and front office personnel with its Women's Careers in Football Forum. It reached its fifth year in February.
Diverse promotions for Eagles front office
Overall, diversity is a focus for the NFL and its teams. The Eagles announcement on Thursday reflected a larger leap rather than the small steps that have taken place over the past few years.
The promotions consist of:
Phil Bhaya — college scout, southeast
Brandon Brown — director of player personnel
Ian Cunningham — director of player personnel
Matt Holland — college scout, northeast
Bryce Johnston — senior director of football transactions
Evan Pritt — scouting assistant
The Eagles hired Jeff Scott as its senior pro scout. Scott worked for nine seasons with the Washington Football Team in its personnel department. They also hired Dave Caldwell, the former Jacksonville Jaguars' general manager, as a personnel executive.
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