Monthly Archives: May 2025

Three Reasons Why Drew Fabianich Will Be Good for the Senior Bowl (and Scouting)

28 Wednesday May 2025

Posted by in Getting started, NFL draft, Scouts

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In this week’s Friday Wrap (register for it here), we’ll have an extended interview with Drew Fabianich, the new executive director of the Senior Bowl. Drew’s a longtime friend, and while I’m excited that the biggest all-star game got a very capable replacement for Jim Nagy, but I’m also happy that he’s committed to making the game a real platform for player evaluation and development of people who hope to work in this field.

Here are three reasons why I think Drew will be a real positive for scouts, past, present and future.

Drew has done and seen it all: Not only is Drew a committed scout, but he’s also spent years in coaching and also two stints as a P4 GM (Auburn and West Virginia). That’s the kind of modern perspective that I think will really bring an added dimension to the game.

He’s 100 percent committed to the Senior Bowl’s scout school and wants to expand it: The game annually brings in former players to get a chance to explore scouting, and the league endorses this. Not only is Drew a big fan of the game’s scout school, but he’s got a plan to expand things and give them exposure to what’s happening in the college ranks. “The way it will be different for me is that the league wanted me to put together a collegiate side, to tell (aspiring scouts) exactly how the collegiate side is growing and evolving, and where they could fit in there,” he said. “I will also be putting together, not this summer, but next July, we’re going to open up a scout school to really help the college guys – the student assistants, the recruiting coordinators, the DPPs – to develop young guys to come into this business, and especially give us a pipeline for guys that we would hire as scouting assistants also.” There will be a cost to this new two-day school, but it won’t be excessive. “It’s going to have minimal costs,” he emphasized. “Minimal. Just something to operate, that’s all it’s gonna be. It’s really for us to develop young guys and to find a pipeline to where they’d be interested in coming to work for the Senior Bowl, too.”

He’ll continue to employ former NFL scouts to help in building the roster: One innovation started by Phil Savage and expanded by Nagy was establishing a regional scouting staff populated by former NFL scouts. Countless good evaluators got to stay in the game by helping scour different parts of the country for the game. Some were retired, but some were scouts who were trying to get back in, and working for the game helped keep them sharp and relevant. I’m glad Drew will keep this program going.

I’m pretty excited about Drew’s tenure, and you’ll want to check out the rest of his thoughts in this week’s Wrap. Once again, if you don’t already receive it, I recommend you do. You can register here.

A Word of Advice If You’re Interviewing to be an NFL Scout

23 Friday May 2025

Posted by in Getting started, Scouts

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With most of the executive-level hires done across NFL front offices and most area scout slots filled, as well, we’re mostly at the point where teams are interviewing scouting assistants. For that reason, I thought it was a good time to address something I saw on social media recently. It’s related to how you interview.

I saw a post from a well-intentioned and frustrated aspiring scout. It lamented those who were getting interviews despite lacking the stack of reports that he had done. He implied he had worked a lot harder than some of those who were getting opportunities he wasn’t getting.

I’m sympathetic to this, and it’s true that this is still a who-you-know business. At the same time, I think there’s an important point to make.

When we conduct our annual December Zoom session with GMs and executives and the people we work with who are aspiring scouting assistants, there’s one thing they all say: don’t say you want to be a GM someday. I know that sounds counterintuitive, but there’s a good reason for it.

Most of the scouts and executives I talk to have a regular complaint about the younger generation of scouts, and it’s that they maybe have too much ambition. Or maybe it’s that they lack patience. They tell me they are being constantly hounded about promotions, or getting behind, or what it’s gonna take to make the next step. It’s exhausting to them. They don’t see young scouts as focused on getting good at their jobs as they are on getting a new job. That’s a big problem. I think there are even scouts who have lost their jobs because of their overly persistent attitudes about climbing the ladder.

There’s one thing teams want to find out, generally speaking, about their scouting assistant hires: how hard they will work. How good their attitude will be. How willing they will be to work on the details of one job before they’re seeking the next one. Some teams will want to see your reports, sure, and some will ask you to break down film, but not nearly as many as you might expect. More often than not, they’re going to presume you know a little football, and they feel they can teach you what you need to know. It’s far more important to come in with the frame of mind that you’re there to learn and you want to be a sponge.

If you’re reading this, and you get an interview in the coming weeks, I hope you already know this stuff, but if you don’t, I strongly suggest you follow my advice. It might be the difference.

Here’s an Update on Where NFL Front Office Vacancies Are

16 Friday May 2025

Posted by in NFL draft, Scouts

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The one question I get this time of year is, where are there jobs open? So maybe I can save myself a couple texts by publishing this rundown of not only where the openings are but my guesses on how the jobs will be filled. I hope you find it helpful.

Executive level (Director of College/Pro Scouting and up)

  • I don’t think the Jaguars are done yet. I”m still in the dark on what’s next, but it seems like they have a long way to go to make their front office resemble the Rams.
  • Speaking of the Rams, they’re down a Senior Personnel Executive due to the loss of Brian Xanders to Jacksonville.
  • Most of the executive-level vacancies with the Jets have been filled. I haven’t heard of any big names getting ready to go to the Big Apple.
  • The Eagles are missing a Senior Director of College Scouting and a Senior Director of Scouting (Anthony Patch and Brandon Hunt, respectively, both gone to Las Vegas). My guess is that they stay in-house to replace them both. I’ve heard Assistant Director of College Scouting Ryan Myers is being elevated to director, for what it’s worth.
  • With the Patch and Hunt additions, in addition to the previous additions, I suspect the Raiders are done.
  • I expect movement on the pro side in Tennessee, but I don’t know what form that will take. I’m not sure if the team will have a pro director, or if the team’s pro scouts will work under someone at the executive level. New AGM Dave Ziegler has an extensive background on the pro side.
  • The Patriots lost their college director this week (Camren Williams).

Road level (National/College/Area/Pro Scout)

  • The Dolphins surprisingly said goodbye to Senior Scout Jim Abrams early in the post-draft process. He still hasn’t been replaced.
  • These are truly weird days because, based on what I’ve heard, the eternally frugal Bengals are replacing one loss (Christian Sarkisian to Northwestern) with not one, but two, hires.
  • I think the Giants are going to stay at two National Scouts since saying goodbye to Mike Derice.
  • If what happens in Jacksonville turns out to be what I expect to happen, there could be a lot of Jaguars scouts who could be on the way out. When/if that happens, I don’t expect them to be replaced. The only thing that could make this plan go awry is that the team has several area scouts with a year left on their respective contracts, and Jax has a reputation for preferring not to let scouts go if their respective contracts are not up.
  • On the pro side, the Rams tend to run pretty lean, so I don’t think either of the Pro Scouts no longer with the Jags (Geep Chryst and Chris Ash) will be replaced. Technically, they’ve already moved Rory Segrest into one of those slots (from the coaching side) already.
  • The sense I get is that former Rams National Scout Michael Pierce is “on the street” and doesn’t have an imminent new post. Between Michael, Derice and Abrams, there are some truly great scouts available right now. And those are just three names; there are many more whose reputation I don’t know as well.
  • Speaking of the Rams, though they do things a little differently, they did carry six area scouts last year. Right now, they have one (1), having either said goodbye to or promoted all six since mid-March. I don’t know exactly how they’ll address all of that, but I don’t think they have enough people in-house to find replacements around the office.
  • New England has a vacancy at Area Scout (Josh Hinch, though he’s soon to be announced as joining another team).
  • I could see movement with the Chargers, given second-year GM Joe Hortiz didn’t make a lot of changes a year ago. I’ve also heard many/most of the team’s scouts’ contracts are up. However, the team has had some pretty good drafts of late, so maybe Hortiz resists the impulse to bring in his own guys just for change’s sake.
  • I wouldn’t be surprised if the Packers or Falcons didn’t replace their recent losses. May be true of the Dolphins as well.
  • I think the Jets will replace Johnathon Stigall (Raiders) in-house. However, I know they’ve been interviewing aggressively and they’ll be bringing in at least one new Area Scout from the college ranks.

Scouting Assistant

  • This is where I expect the most change over the next month now that teams are filling in at higher levels.
  • The Eagles are pretty slim here (they have just two), which means, depending on how the dominoes fall, they may be aggressively looking for replacements soon. Typically, their model is to bring in 3-4 training camp interns and let them fight it out for the open scouting assistant positions, so we may not see clarity at that level in Philly for a while.
  • Looking at the Jaguars again, if GM James Gladstone wants to make his front office an exact duplicate of where he came from, I wouldn’t expect any hires, and maybe even some releases.
  • The Bucs just promoted two Scouting Assistants into more senior roles.
  • With Maya Ana Callender’s exit, the Patriots have a vacancy.
  • I’ve heard the Cardinals and Titans both recently made decisions on hires at this level.

For even more insider-level stuff on scouting, make sure to register for the Friday Wrap here.

A New Way to Network: Introducing OG1 Coaches

09 Friday May 2025

Posted by in Coaches

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This time of year, I get one question all the time — “what can I do to get a job in scouting?”

I have a standard email I send out, but this year, I may be adding something to it. My friend and longtime NFL agent Bruce Tollner told me this morning about a new website he’s created called OG1 Coaches. I tweeted about it this morning, but I thought it deserved a little more development, so I’m doing that here.

As I said in the tweet, it’s kind of like LinkedIn for football coaches, only you don’t have to be a coach. You could also be a scout or executive. Even an agent. Anyone who wants to market himself to teams, colleges, or anyone else who’s doing hiring.

“To every coach, scout, and personnel member who has committed their life to the game — this platform was built for you,” Bruce wrote in an email. “After 30-plus years working alongside athletes, coaches, and front office personnel — from high school programs to Super Bowl Sundays — we’ve seen firsthand how much they give. This network was created to pour back into coaches.”

The idea is that once a coach registers, he builds a profile, which is free. Bruce calls it a “digital portfolio handshake.” Successfully building a profile makes the participant come to life. This allows a coach to:

Tell His Story in The Best Light: Create a profile showcasing his experience, coaching philosophy, references, videos, and credentials. This allows him to create a strong digital impression with ADs, GMs, recruits and peers. Let’s say a coach used to work for a Nick Saban, a Tubby Smith or Bruce Bochy. He can’t expect those coaches to constantly field calls from his potential employers, but if one of them were to make a quick video testimonial on his phone, then send it to the coach, it just makes things more efficient and economical, but no less effective.

Connect With a Real Community: The site allows the user to join a network of coaches, scouts, and decision-makers across high school, college, and pro levels. Participants can share insights, grow together, and stay plugged in. There’s value in that.

Advance Your Career: Whether a coach is seeking his next role, recruiting, or mentoring others, OG1 Coaches provides tools, resources, and opportunities to support your journey.

In the past, getting hired has been almost all about who a coach knows. That’s one of the first thing I tell potential scouts. I could see that changing now. With the OG1 Coaches website, employers can sort through candidates anonymously. Everybody wins. Again, it’s a little like LinkedIn, but with greater automation.

If you’re looking for an edge and a way to get in on the ground floor with a service with really great potential, give OG1 Coaches a shot.

Do NFL Scouting Additions Really Mean Anything?

01 Thursday May 2025

Posted by in NFL draft, Scouts

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These days, there’s a lot of movement in NFL front offices. That’s just the nature of the post-draft period. Once the picks are in, teams tend to reshape their scouting staffs, especially if there’s a new GM in town.

Often, changes in a team’s scouting lineup are met with great fanfare, especially when a struggling team starts turning the page on some of its longer-serving officials. But is this warranted? And is there any link between the scouts a team might add and their success on following draft days? It’s hard to tell, but here are my thoughts on what to look for when you see faces change in NFL front offices.

Awards and accomplishments: There’s no PFF for scouts. It’s very hard to know which ones are good and which ones just happened to be with good organizations. What’s more, we’re seeing, time and again, that some of the scouts who are most respected by their peers get let go anyway. Despite this, we launched the BART List Awards in 2022 to give scouts a chance to recognize the best of their brethren. Though it’s only been four years, if you know a scout won a BART List Award (as I always try to include in my posts, when relevant), you know that other active NFL scouts think he’s good. I think that carries weight, whether or not his team recognizes it or not.

Their previous organizations: The Lions’ turnaround started when they brought in Brad Holmes from the Rams as the new GM. These days, the Lions and the Rams are perennial playoff teams with outstanding leadership. Last year, new Commanders GM Adam Peters arrived from the 49ers and rebuilt the team’s front office with executives from the Lions (Assistant GM Lance Newmark), Ravens (Director of Player Personnel David Blackburn) and Seahawks (Personnel Executive Scott Fitterer, by way of the Panthers). All four of those organizations (San Francisco, Detroit, Baltimore and Seattle) are NFL bluebloods. Though those new additions (who all arrived in May or later) didn’t draft for Washington in 2024, obviously, I”m confident Peters’ staff is going to bear fruit quickly.

Look at who they are: The Raiders announced Wednesday that they’d be bringing in Johnathon Stigall as the team’s new Assistant Director of College Scouting, and the move drew raspberries from some on Twitter. Really? Here’s what you need to know about Johnathon:

  • He actually played the game at the college level as a running back at DePauw in the late 90s. Scouts who are ex-college players is becoming rare.
  • He has almost 30 years in NFL player evaluation (he’s entering his 27th year).
  • He’s worked for the late Tom Heckert (Browns), Howie Roseman (Eagles), Rick Spielman (Dolphins) and the late Mark Hatley (Bears). Those might not all be household names, but they are all highly respected in NFL circles. Trust me.
  • He was part of a Jets staff that drafted the OROY (Ohio State WO Garrett Wilson) AND the DROY (Cincinnati DC Sauce Gardner) in the same year (2022).
  • We’ve presented the BART List Award four years. He’s won three of them. We hand out 20-30 each year, so it’s not like he’s the one award winner, but it’s still impressive.

That’s a resume. If you’re a Raiders fan, you should feel really good about landing Johnathon. I can assure you new Jets GM Darren Mougey wasn’t happy to see him go.

It’s important to recognize that no team bats 1.000 in the draft. Shoot, if you bat .800 on Day 1 and Day 2 and .500 on Day 3, you’re almost guaranteed to be a perennial playoff team. But there are signs that some teams do it better than others, and I feel strongly that these are the best metrics as you follow along with the new additions during “scout hiring season.”