Way back in 1999, Rock Hill native Steven Drummond was hired as a PR Intern for the Carolina Panthers. This afternoon, the team announced Drummond as the new Senior Advisor to the Chairman and Vice President of External Football Operations. While many, including myself, have no idea what those titles mean, it is a fantastic story of someone working their way up the team’s front office ladder. As Jonathan Jones points out, this was also a huge step for the diversity of NFL front offices:
Tepper Sports & Entertainment (which owns the Panthers) has named Steven Drummond the Senior Advisor to the Chairman & VP of External Football Operations. He's one of the highest ranking Black men among NFL team front offices.
— Jonathan Jones (@jjones9) February 10, 2021
The NFL is truly a small world, as Panthers writer Darin Gantt actually wrote a story about Drummond when he was first hired, when Gantt wrote for The Herald. There’s even a cool picture in that Twitter thread of Drummond as the guy who would pull the headset cords for Dom Capers on the sideline. Drummond most recently served as the Chief Communications Officer for the Panthers. Clearly Tepper and company trust Drummond: he served on the search committees that culminated in the hiring of both Matt Rhule and Scott Fitterer. It’s great to see a long time Panthers guy keep climbing that ladder. Here’s to continued success, Mr. Drummond!