Philadelphia Union hire new Chief Business Officer

The Philadelphia Union's Front Office overhaul continued today, as the club announced the hire of a new Chief Business Officer. Tim McDermott will be responsible "for overseeing the team’s business operations, including working closely with their USL team, Bethlehem Steel FC, and the Philadelphia Union Academy," according to a Union press release.

McDermott has an MBA from Harvard, and has an extensive background in professional sports. He started his career in 1995 as a Senior Account Executive with the NFL's Jacksonville Jaguars for three years before going to the San Diego Chargers as the Assistant Director of Sales and Marketing. After a stint with Comcast as their Director of New Media Development, he joined the Philadelphia Eagles in 2004 as their Senior Director of Marketing. In 2006, he moved to the Washington Capitals as their Chief Marketing Officer - a position he held for four years before returning to the Eagles in 2010 as their Chief Marketing Officer.

In 2013 McDermott joined the Philadelphia 76ers as their Chief Marketing and Innovation Officer, overseeing a focus "on increasing the brand strength, growing the fan base and supporting revenue growth." While with the Sixers, the brand has grown to become the third most influential NBA team on Twitter and has lead a team who is dreadful on the court with few fans to become a team that's still dreadful on the court but with a lot of fans.

All of this though may come at a price. CBS3's Kevin Kinkead tweeted out the following:

Sources: Union Executive Vice President and CRO Dave Rowan is out

— Kevin Kinkead (@KevinKCBS3) January 27, 2016

Rowan has been the Union's Chief Revenue Officer since 2010, and assumed responsibility for the club's day-to-day operations after former CEO Nick Sakiewicz was fired. Rowan has been an asset to the club - and its fans - even in the darkest hours of the club's history, and it will be a real loss if he decides not to continue his career with the Union.