Two weeks of interviews and one surprising rejection later, the Jacksonville Jaguars have settled on their new No. 1 football man in the front office, reaching an agreement with Baltimore Ravens pro personnel director James Harris.

A longtime talent evaluator, and 12-year NFL quarterback, Harris was announced Thursday as the club's vice president of player personnel.

The addition of Harris comes on the heels of a botched deal with Baltimore college scouting director Phil Savage, who had been the first choice of Jags owner Wayne Weaver. But Savage removed himself from consideration last Saturday, when he could not reach a contract agreement.

Weaver and team vice president Paul Vance also interviewed Buffalo Bills assistant general manager Tom Modrak and Rick Reiprish, who had been their own personnel director. The Jaguars subsequently fired Reiprish.

Harris, 55, was set to interview for the Seattle Seahawks general manager job on Friday. He had also interviewed for the Chicago general manager job two years ago. The move to the Jaguars will reunite him with new coach Jack Del Rio, with whom he previously worked in Baltimore. Del Rio was the Ravens' linebackers coach for four seasons.

With the hiring of Harris, the NFL's initiative to promote more minorities into head coaching and key front office positions takes a step forward.

Harris has been the Ravens' pro personnel director since 1997. Before that he was the assistant general manger of the New York Jets (1993-96) and he also was a Tampa Bay scout for six seasons.

One of the league's first black quarterbacks, Harris played for the Buffalo Bills (1969-71), Los Angeles Rams (1972-76) and the San Diego Chargers (1977-81). He passed for 8,136 yards and 45 touchdowns and was named as the most valuable player in the 1975 Pro Bowl game.

Len Pasquarelli is a senior writer for ESPN.com.