Matt Birch, Michael Schottey are B/R’s new Associate NFL Editors

Bleacher Report’s NFL Featured Columnists will have some strong help starting today as Michael Schottey and Matt Birch begin work as Associate NFL Editors.

Schottey is a two-year veteran at B/R. He’s been working with the Writing Internship program since hiring on in 2009. Birch makes the jump from SBNation.

Here is a short note of introduction from each of them to the NFL Featured Columnists. First up, Matt Birch, who’ll be overseeing AFC Featured Columnists this season:

I graduated in May with a print journalism degree from Virginia Commonwealth University. My most recent position was vice editor-in-chief of SB Nation’s Gang Green Nation blog, producing content as well as managing a team of staff writers.

Residing in Northern Virginia, I take pride in sitting in traffic and dodging earthquakes as they strike! I’m a fan of the New York Jets first and foremost, and my favorite athlete over the years was RB Curtis Martin.

Matt Birch

For me, this position is extremely important because we have the (sometimes thankless) task of delivering engaging opinions to sports fans across the globe.

We have the power of aggregation on our side—allowing us to report the news as well as apply our personal voice along with it. We are telling fans what the impact/ramifications of the specific event or topic at hand could be.

As the market for online content grows, the consumption of our work will continue to grow. It is our job to produce quality content and ensure that it does.

I am a down-to-earth person and easy to work with. All I ask is for you all to adhere to deadlines and communicate effectively with our team of editors. The digital sports media world thrives on real-time content, which makes meeting deadlines a necessity.

I always strive to make myself available for contact during normal business hours (and afterwards in the evening). My personal contact information is an email being sent to Featured Columnists, and you can follow me on Twitter at @NYJetsMatt.

Next up is Michael Schottey, who’ll be overseeing NFC Featured columnists:

Many of you may know me from around the site. If you don’t, allow me to introduce myself and tell you a little bit about your new NFL Associate Editor.

Michael Schottey

I joined Bleacher Report in 2009 after seeing an advertisement on Facebook. I was in college and had done some writing for NFL Draft websites and had been working in sports radio for a couple of years. When I saw Bleacher Report, I had never heard of it, but it seemed like the perfect place to build my brand and get my work seen.

Later, I finished college and decided sports was going to be my career choice and worked two jobs to pay the bills while I continued writing for B/R and hosting my weekly radio show.

My dreams came true a little while later when I was offered a position to become part of the staff for the Bleacher Report Writing Internship program. Since starting in that position, I’ve had the opportunity to train young writers and watch this company grow by leaps and bounds.

During that time, I also remained in an NFL FC position and covered events like the Senior Bowl and the NFL Combine.

Now, I’ve made the jump to NFL Associate Editor in order to bring a lot of the same skills I used in my former position—working with writers on the editorial/assignment process, teaching, mentoring and helping each of you be as successful as possible in your varied roles.

Feel free to contact me any time (contact info via email), or follow me on Twitter at @Schottey.

Thank you and let’s make this a great NFL Season!