There was a time when NFL teams would keep their most trustworthy and steadfast scouts around, basically, until they wanted to retire. Venerable NFL evaluator C.O. Brocato stayed on with the Titans well into his 80s, finishing up as a “scouting consultant.” Some teams still do this, handing out titles like “executive scout” or “senior scout” or something along those lines.

With a few exceptions, that stopped in 2018. That’s when two seasoned, experience National Scouts were let go. We didn’t see it happen in 2019, but since then, every year except one (2023), we’ve seen at least one National Scout with 10+ years in the league — in other words, a person with years of experience and a deep network of sources — let go. Last year, it happened to four National Scouts (Robert Haines, Panthers; Mike Derice, Giants; Jim Abrams, Dolphins; and Dujuan Daniels, Raiders). Two others — Michael Pierce (Rams) and Antwon Murray (Bucs) — left voluntarily, mostly due to reduced opportunities.

We can be almost certain that it will happen again this summer. Owners are looking for non-human sources of football intel (like analytics) while stocking their staffs with young (and cheaper) upstarts. Meanwhile, higher-salaried executives are being stockpiled as decisions are made at the highest levels. That means national scouts (who are usually making in the $200K-$300K range) are getting squeezed out.

So who are the best (?) candidates for seeing their scouting days come to an end this summer? We looked at 11 national scouts who were cut since 2018 to develop a profile. Here’s what we came up with.

They have lots of experience. On average, National Scouts let go over the last eight offseasons had 22 years in the business. So, basically, they were a little long in the tooth for national scout, the team decided they weren’t college director material, and they cut the cord. The least experienced had 13 years in. I’d say any National Scout with 15-plus years is vulnerable.

On average, they had been with their respective teams for a decade. I guess that’s plenty long enough for a team to know what it has. Actually, for most teams, it took a lot less than a decade. Of the 11, six had seven years or less with the team. So, lots of experience in scouting and 5-10 years with the team is pretty much the profile.

Most had been with at least one other team. On average, the 11 had been with at least one other team. Only two of the 11 were let go by the only team they had ever worked for. Again, that makes sense. These are veteran scouts that teams see, probably, as spare parts, hired guns, not people the team has developed. Eminently replaceable.

So who fits the profile? We counted 43 national (or regional) scouts in the league right now. Of the 43, we counted 15 with at least 22 years in the league. About a third of them have been with multiple teams.

Will the trend hold this year? We certainly hope not, and we’re not going to name them . . . it just doesn’t feel right. But we’ll be watching to see, and if any of those who profiled as job loss candidates do indeed get dismissed, we’ll let you know in this space. And if you’re one of those who fit the profile, we wish you the best of luck in the coming weeks.