Author Archives: itlneil

It’s Agent Week 2018

17 Tuesday Jul 2018

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In the early days of Inside the League, July was pretty much a black hole. As we were focused on agents already in the business, we had a pretty big blind spot towards those trying to get in.

We rectified that in 2012 when we introduced our first practice exam. At the time, it was a 40-question, multiple choice proposition that grew to 52 questions last year. Since then, we’ve added a study guide and, this year, a second practice exam. Now both exercises offer 40 questions that are as close to what test-takers will see as you’ll find on the Internet.

Still it wouldn’t matter if we weren’t helping agents get results and hearing positive feedback. So far, we’re pretty encouraged about our latest service. Here are a few (unsolicited) comments on our materials:

  • “Your service is super helpful.”
  • “Wanted to thank you again for the prep material. I got through the latest test (Exam 2) in about 40 minutes time and scored 38/40. Obviously, I will use my whole time allotment for the regular exam, but I am having to look up very few things now. I’m feeling very confident about next week and ready to attack it.”
  • “Thank you for all the work you put into your content and with the review guide/practice exams. It for sure helped give me a better structure to memorize what I need to and go over what I still needed to work on.”
  • “I am really finding the site and exam prep materials to be useful.”
  • “Did you all turn up the Heat (extra hot🔥🔥🔥) in Exam 2 on purpose?  It was abnormally hard. I missed around 10 on my first run through.”
  • “These (practice exams) have been a life saver.”
  • “Thank you! I received it and  I’m already feeling better. I appreciate this resource!”

We’re not publishing this to toot our own horn. Instead, the idea is to let those people know more about what we do and how our clients feel about it. Believe it or not, dozens of people just found out from the NFLPA they are approved for the exam, and we want those people to know we’re here.

We’ll be doing more this week to get prospective agents ready for Friday. More tomorrow.

Advice for New NFL Agents: Shane Costa

11 Wednesday Jul 2018

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We’re about a week and change away from the 2018 NFLPA Exam for new agents in Washington, D.C. For the past month, we’ve been talking to some of the fastest-rising young agents in the business for a fresh take on what new contract advisors can do to achieve success.

Today we talk to Shane Costa of Buffalo, NY-based Pillar Sports. Shane comes from the team side, having worked for the Bills from a young age before pursuing his law license and moving back into the game. Like the other agents I’ve spoken to in this space over the past four weeks, Casey Muir and Greg ‘Tripp’ Linton, I could see Shane as a future GM, or as a mega-agent some day.

Here are Shane’s thoughts on what steps a young player rep can do to achieve lasting success.

  • “First thing I would say is, become an expert. It’s not enough to just have a passing knowledge of the CBA and the relevant rules and bylaws to pass the exam, but you really have to become an expert at it. Read the CBA, take notes, try to become an expert even before you have clients. You want to study it and become more knowledgeable to increase your chances of success. The more you know, the more you’re gonna be prepared to educate your player, and that’s gonna be apparent when you talk to players. If you don’t come from a football background, you really need to get a full grasp of the intricacies of the CBA. You’ll be better able to communicate that knowledge to your client so you can sign him. I’d also recommend you sign up for Inside the League. It’s so valuable when it comes to learning about the league and understanding the profession. It’s crucial to use that service.
  • “Second, communicating and setting expectations is critical to keeping and retaining your clients. In this job, you have to be an excellent communicator, not just with the client and his parents, but with teams, scouts, executives and media when necessary. You have to be able to understand and effectively communicate what you’re trying to extract or to provide. You’ve got to know when to talk to scouts and what you can ask, and that allows you to understand where your player fits. Once you understand that, you have to be able to create reasonable expectations. As an agent, you always want to be honest with hour client with where they stand with teams. You have to understand what teams think about your client, and that’s not always an easy thing to say when recruiting, but it’s so important. You can tell potential clients, ‘if you have a plan and do XYZ, there’s a good chance you get drafted.’ It allows you to build a plan with a player and also have him get his expectations straight. If you always communicate with teams effectively and with players effectively and set their expectations, you’ll have a much better grasp and understanding and relationship with your client.”
  • “My last point, and I think this is really important, is to balance your emotions. When you start out, you’re gonna have a lot of setbacks and good things happen, but in your first year, you’ll probably have more setbacks and rejection and players cut than players achieving success. You work so hard for them and become so attached to their outcome that it’s hard not to feel that. Don’t get too high or too low. Just be ready with a plan, and don’t get down on yourself, and at the same time, when you have success, enjoy it briefly but understand that there’s more work to be done.” 

 

Ask The Agents: Is Jameis Winston Headed For A Big Second Deal?

05 Thursday Jul 2018

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About two years ago (June 2016), Colts QB Andrew Luck signed a six-year, $140 million contract in his first post-rookie deal. Three months ago, Kirk Cousins signed with the Vikings for three years and $84 million.

There’s another passer who’s nearing the end of his rookie deal: Jameis Winston, who was drafted No. 1 overall in 2015. You may have heard that he recently left his agency, and is a ‘free agent’ for contract purposes, even having his representatives call around in the last week, shopping for a new firm. But what kind of guarantee does a QB like Winston offer to a contract advisor? Does he have any shot at Luck or Cousins money?

We asked several agents this question, most of them with the kind of top firms that a player of Winston’s station would demand. Their answers indicate there’s interest in the Bucs signal-caller, and an expectation that there are dollars to be made, but very little certainty regarding his prospects.

Here are the responses we got when we asked, ‘do you think Jameis Winston gets a second deal, based on where he is now?’

  • “He hasn’t been very good so if he gets another deal it’s a Teddy Bridgewater-type deal as of today.”
  • “If he plays well this year he’ll definitely get paid, in my opinion. This issue was two years ago, not new news.”
  • “I think he’ll get paid. Needs to play better, settle his life down. Teams have to trust his people will be there with him. (There’s a) shortage of QBs. But he’ll have women’s groups after him so he needs to chill out and clean up image. I think it will blow over (but) poor play doesn’t help.”
  • “He gets one.”
  • “Great question. Depends on a whole lot.”
  • “It really is a roll of the dice with that kid.”
  • “Depends on how well he plays this year I think. Tampa isn’t letting him go, so If he stays out of trouble, I think he gets paid.”
  • “100%…It may not be a blockbuster, but if Geno Smith gets a second chance, he will.”
  • “He’s a QB. A former 1st-rounder. And has won. I would say absolutely, if he has the right people around him going forward. But he hasn’t started with anything off the field to solidify it.”
  • “Simple. If he plays well, yes, but structured to protect the the team (financially) if he screws up off the field/gets suspended/etc. If he doesn’t play well, then he will be shunned like (The Scarlet Letter’s) Hester Prynne. Good QB’s are not easy to find.  If he plays like one, he’ll get a deal.”
  • “He gets a second contract if he behaves. I’d say there’s a 60-40 chance he gets one, with 60 percent chance he does.” 

Post-Draft Stories of Success and Spirit in the ’17 NFL Agent Class

25 Monday Jun 2018

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This year was special for us at ITL because I got to see another former intern, Jared Leigh, not only get certified and pass the exam on his first try, but also land a player on a 90-man roster in his first year certified. I know that sounds like a no-big-deal proposition, but it’s actually quite a big deal. After tracking this annually, I’d estimate that only about 20 percent of independent rookie agents get a player drafted or signed as an undrafted free agent in their first year in the business.

Jared worked for us for two years, proving to be reliable, talented and capable. He even went to the Senior Bowl the year before getting certified just to get the lay of the land and make contacts. It’s no surprise to me that he’s well on his way to making it big.

Here are two other great stories I’ve heard from talking to the 19 first-year agents in the ITL family that already have players in the league. I found them inspirational and I hope you do, too.

1.In 2014, Sam Spina was new to South Florida, but knew he wanted to be involved in pro football. So he called poured all his efforts into volunteering with former Dolphins DE Jason Taylor’s foundation, which happened to share an office with Neostar Sports, a marketing agency that represents former Dolphins great Dan Marino. Sam volunteered at Marino’s appearances before finally telling Neostar owner Ralph Stringer that he wanted to work for him. This is where the story gets good.

When told there were no vacancies, Sam was undaunted. Instead of shrugging his shoulders and shuffling off to salve his wounded ego, he returned early the next day and moved all his stuff into Neostar’s offices anyway. When Stringer arrived, Sam was answering phones and taking messages. That led to a job with Neostar that opened enough doors that, after completing law school at St. Thomas, he took the NFLPA exam, passing on the first try last summer. This is the kind of confidence mixed with audacity that you must have to succeed in this industry.

2. Sometimes the difference between having a client in the NFL and not having one is hustle. West Coast-based agent Chris Chapman didn’t have anyone drafted, but he felt like one of his clients, Houston DE Nick Thurman, was a legitimate UDFA. So he called around for a rookie minicamp tryout on the first weekend and landed one with the Raiders, but he still wasn’t satisfied.

That’s when he called the Texans near the end of Saturday of draft weekend and was fortunate enough to get a scout on the phone. After hearing Chris make his case for Thurman, the scout promised Chris he’d add him to Houston’s tryout list on Sunday. But that’s not where the story ends.

The next day, Chris sees our tweet that the scout is one of four the Texans let go the day after the draft. Chris scrambled to find a phone number for the Texans’ offices, and after tracking down a team exec, pleads his case on Thurman’s behalf. That official actually calls the fired scout, who confirms that Thurman was to be added, though only on a tryout basis.

Thurman, after not winning a spot with Oakland, comes to Houston the following weekend and beats the odds by landing a coveted UDFA slot. Had Chris not followed ITL on Twitter, he’d not have known that the scout who promised Thurman a tryout was no longer in the building. Had he not reached out to the team immediately, Thurman would probably be on the street now instead of preparing to go to Houston for training camp in July.

These stories just scratch the surface of the amazing feats of 19 rookie agents we worked with in 2017-18, their first year in the business. If you’re getting ready to take the exam next month, make sure to let us know and we’ll add you to the list.

Advice for New NFL Agents: Greg ‘Tripp’ Linton

22 Friday Jun 2018

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Last week, I asked Casey Muir of Octagon Football to give me three points for new agents, three big things the people taking the NFLPA exam next month need to know in their first year as a contract advisor. If you missed it, stop and read it now. It was full of good advice and things you probably didn’t learn in sport management class.

It was so good that I decided to make it a series. This week, I asked Greg Linton of HOF Player Representatives to do the same thing. I’m always being asked by major firms to give me 5-10 names of young, rising agents who represent the next wave, and Greg is always one that I recommend (Casey used to be one, as well, in his pre-Octagon days). That made Greg a natural for advice.

Here’s what Greg, known as ‘Tripp’ to his friends, told me.

  • “First thing I tell new agents, and they often don’t understand what I’m saying, is that you have to learn the things you don’t know that you don’t know. For instance, a lot of people say, I live in Texas, so I have all these schools where I can recruit, but they don’t know that at Texas and Texas A&M, the coaches there may be advising their top players to sign with their own agents. (Players at) certain schools are going to do certain things based on who their head coaches are. A lot of (new agents) go after guys and go bankrupt because (the schools or coaches) aren’t honest. They need to talk to people like (Inside the League), other agents willing to give them help, and things like that. It just saves you time and money.
  • “Second thing, I don’t spend other people’s money and I don’t spend money that I don’t have. A lot of guys will get investors and get loans, and they think a guy is gonna go in the third round, and then he goes undrafted. Now (the agent’s) in debt, and their investors are like, ‘you told me we’d make this money and now we aren’t,’ and (the investors) pull out. (Many agents) who had investors are now out of the business. I guess that’s where my economics background comes in. I’m not overspending. My bachelor’s is in economics, with a dual major in finance and marketing, and I have my MBA. That’s an issue. Everything we do at (HOF Player Representatives), I’m the one that’s saying ‘no’ when it doesn’t make sense financially. Most people will pay to sign a draft pick and think they’re gonna keep the guy and make big money, and it does not work that way. Don’t assume that A is going to lead to B. Don’t assume you sign a player and he’s drafted in third round, so it means you’re gonna get the (tackle) next year who’s a first- or second-rounder. (Agents) overspend and get guys because they think they’re gonna get the guy from next year. That doesn’t work either.
  • “Other thing I would say is, I did a four-year study on the draft grades (provided by the two combines, BLESTO and National Football Scouting), but outside of the top 100-150 guys, those grades don’t mean anything. People swear by them, but I’m to the point now where I let (other) people do it. I guess I could say trust your eye, but most agents don’t know football. You have to take into account medicals and workouts, and those are the kinds of things you don’t have in June.

“That’s a start. Those are the three things that would help, in my opinion.”

If you want more advice on the business, and what agents say some important Year 1 lessons are, make sure you’re reading our Friday Wrap. It comes out Friday evenings every week, it’s free, it’s read by thousands of people in the NFL business community, and you can register for it here.

Touching A Nerve in the NFL Agent Community

15 Friday Jun 2018

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NFL contract advisors are pretty independent-minded, and it’s not easy to get all 830 of them to agree on anything. However, we found out this week that the NFLPA managed to do just that when, for the first time ever, it asked agents to pass a 25-question ‘continuing education’ exam this month.

In three seminars held at the combine, in New Orleans, and in Baltimore this spring, respectively, agents expressed their frustration toward NFLPA officials. Specifically, they were upset that the players association was asking its dues-paying members to pass a test that could determine their hard-earned professional standing in a high-visibility profession. Some even threatened lawsuits.

Agents complained that the content they’d be tested on was undefined; that failure to pass the first time could jeopardize clients cut in September; and that the NFLPA hadn’t even told them how many of the 25 questions they must answer correctly to pass. Still, the NFLPA held the line, and contract advisors submitted their answers to the web-based exam by midnight on Tuesday of this week. And though they complied, it didn’t mean participants were happy about it. But just how unhappy were they? We decided to find out.

On Thursday, we sent out a brief, four-question survey to all 830 contract advisors. In it, we asked the following:

  • Having attended one of the three NFLPA seminars this year, how would you describe the Players Association’s explanation of and reasoning for the continuing education exam?
  • Having taken the continuing education exam, which best describes it?
  • How would you characterize taking a test without knowing how many answers you must get right to pass?
  • In the event, remote as it is, you are told you didn’t pass the exam, what do you plan to do?

We gave 3-4 options on each question, trying our best to avoid leading the responses and working to be even-handed. It was something we hoped would at least earn the attention of a pretty critical segment of the NFL business population. Given that it’s summer, there was no fanfare, and our window was pretty tight (we sent it out before noon CT on Thursday and asked for responses before 11 p.m. CT), we’d hoped to get about 30 responses.

We got a lot more than that, with more than 10 percent of the agent class (95) responding despite work schedules, summer vacations and spam filters. We also solicited comments, and we got plenty of those, too. Some were quite fiery.

We’ll have a complete breakdown of the responses today in the Friday Wrap. Most of our respondents were united in their answers to each of the questions, with a clear majority selecting one option on three of the four questions. Based on the feedback from our highly un-scientific poll, agents are angry; they question the NFLPA’s motives; and they are uncertain about what the future holds.

Make sure to get the full rundown on the results by checking out today’s Friday Wrap, which will be out at 6:30 p.m. CT. You can register for it here.

Octagon’s Casey Muir on How to Achieve NFL Agent Success

12 Tuesday Jun 2018

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Earlier this week, Philadelphia-based Casey Muir of Octagon Football texted me this: “Btw, if you ever need an agent to give advice to new agents on Succeed in Football, just lmk.” If this was just a throwaway line that he expected me to forget, big mistake. I immediately commissioned a blog post from him on how to succeed in football as an independent contract advisor.

There are few people more qualified to write this. Casey is with Octagon now, but he wasn’t always with a big firm. I remember the early years with Casey. He became an ITL client in his first year as a contract advisor, and there are so many stories of his long-ago trials that I can remember.

Now we can laugh about them. In an incredibly short period (he was certified in 2012), he’s gone from eager but youthful to seasoned and respected. I’ve recommended him to multiple big-name firms in the past 3-4 years before, ironically, he finally did land with an established agency with no help from me. In his first year as Director of Football at Octagon, the firm got back into the first round (UCLA OT Kolton Miller went 1/15 to the Raiders) for the first time since 2014, and had four draftees. The firm had just one draftee, a third-rounder, in 2017.

This time of year, with so many aspiring contract advisors prepping for next month’s NFLPA exam in Washington, D.C. – many of them using our study guide and/or practice test – I thought it would be a great time to get some sage advice from a person who’s made it where they hope to be. With that said, I’ll turn it over to Casey.

_____________________________________________________________________

So, you want to succeed in football as a NFL agent? Get ready for an uphill battle.

Like the overwhelming majority of new agents, I wasn’t fortunate enough to start my career at a major agency. I think most people enter this business simply because it seems like a fun way to make a living and they jump right in, with zero contacts, no clue what it really takes and, worst of all, no plan.

So what does it really take to succeed? I think it’s important to point out that everyone’s definition of success is different. My personal definition of success is always evolving and I am constantly pushing that bar higher and higher, so if I ever finally get there, I’ll let you know. For now, the best I can do is tell you what I’ve experienced and give you a few thoughts on what it may take you to achieve your definition of success in this business.

  • First, have a plan. My plan was always longevity. I’ve seen countless agents who started at the same time as me, and many who started after, leave the business because they made too many bad business decisions. My thought was always, ‘live to fight another day.’ In my mind, the longer you stay in this business, the more time you have to work on your craft and the greater chance you have of finally breaking through. With that in mind, never forget this is a business. There are only so many hours in the day and so much money in your bank account. You have to make sound business decisions on which players you spend time recruiting and which players you spend your training budget on. If you don’t truly believe a player has a legitimate shot at the next level, don’t waste significant time/money on the player just so you can “play” agent. Live to fight another day.
  • Second, remember that like most things in life, this business is ‘Relationship and Sales 101.’ How can you connect with each individual player? What can you do to differentiate yourself from every other agent a player meets with? Additional legal services? Marketing expertise? Tax services? Personal attention? Whatever it may be that helps you connect and sets you apart, figure it out, package it and drive that point home.
  • The best and final piece of advice I can give you is this: You have to want it. I mean really WANT it. The road to success in this business is a long and winding one, and it will not happen overnight. In the beginning, there will be an overwhelming amount of failure and rejection. So much so that you may begin to hear the word ‘no’ in your sleep. You also likely won’t make much money in this business for at least a few years. You will question yourself. Your family and friends will wonder aloud if you’re wasting your time. There will be plenty of times when you want to quit. Do you want it bad enough to fight through the rejection? Are you self-aware enough to learn from the many mistakes you will inevitably make? Do you want it bad enough to work a full-time job, while also spending full-time hours as an agent? Are you willing to put in the early mornings and late nights? Are you willing to give up weekend fun with friends and family? Do you want it bad enough to not quit, despite all the signs clearly pointing you toward the exit?

I can’t give you the exact roadmap to success because there isn’t one. Success in the agent business takes patience, passion, perseverance, mental toughness, self-confidence and a work ethic that won’t quit. Based on my experience, if you can handle everything I mentioned above, then you can find a way to make it. Above all else, always remember, recruit, recruit, recruit,  because when you aren’t, I am. Good luck.

NFL Scouts’ Thoughts For People Taking the ’18 NFLPA Exam

08 Friday Jun 2018

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We’re about six weeks from the 2018 NFLPA Contract Advisor exam, which means everyone headed to D.C. in July is (or should be) studying like a busy bee and doing everything possible to learn the CBA. And they should be. Many of them are already using the ITL practice agent exam to get ready; by the way, in about 10 days, we’ll have a second exam for aspiring agents to use.

Anyway, once we get past the test, there are a few things to know. For example, scouts are a big part of the game and always play a role in an agent’s success.

With that in mind, we reached out to several active NFL scouts (18, to be exact) and asked them this question: With a new agent class getting ready to take the exam next month, what’s one thing about new agents that makes your job harder? Is it a belief that their client is entitled to a workout/place on an NFL team? Is it the bombarding emails? Is it continually having to explain basic aspects of the draft process? Is it handling their intrusions at pro days? Is it their general lack of understanding of your job?

We got 15 responses, an incredibly high return on such a question. Obviously, we touched a nerve, though not all scouts had a negative reaction. Here are a few of their responses:

  • “The toughest aspects are (that) guys not adjusting to the fact we have access to much more information, much earlier than in times past (so, yes, emails with fabricated or exaggerated 40 times, shuttles, etc. are annoying); integrity (and) doing what you say you’re going to in all areas (this ties in with their lack of ability to educate and manage their clients’ careers); and transparency (this likely can be an issue on the personnel side as well). Just being upfront about one, what the client wants or needs, and two, divulging information on the front end before things get out of hand, (is important).”
  • “Surprisingly, the new agents are easier to work with than the old agents. The old agents think they know everything and they tend to push boundaries. The new agents generally are nervous and tend to ask more questions about the process and are willing to listen when they ask about one of their clients. They tend to be a little more passive at first so they can build relationships. . . that has been my experience with them.”
  • “It would be the emails and the inability to understand that sometimes their guy just isn’t good and there’s no place on the roster for him. Sometimes they pound the table for the same guys for months and they’ll lose the scout.”
  • “I deal with agents on the pro side. The guys I like dealing with the most are the ones who don’t bombard you with emails (I actually got an email from an agent the other day with a follow-up email stating he used the wrong template on the previous email and sent the wrong info on the wrong player). Accessibility and quick responses to phone calls are always appreciated, but don’t blow me up with texts and emails. I know they are working on behalf of their guys but I think there is a fine line between providing info and going too far and becoming annoying.  I respect what they do but I don’t need to be on an auto email list that sends me your available clients every day!”

This is just the tip of the iceberg. Besides their general unhappiness with the volume of emails new (really, most) agents send, there are other good points scouts made about what to do and not do to in dealing with teams, especially if you’re a new agent. Some even had positive things to say about new contract advisors, which I found refreshing.

You can check it out in our Friday Wrap, which comes out in about three hours. It’s totally free, and you can register for it here. If you’re getting ready for this summer’s big exam, it’s must reading. But really, if you are in any part of the football business, we recommend you register for our weekly newsletter. We don’t think you’ll be sorry.

 

Rounding Up the ’18 NFL Scouting Changes

01 Friday Jun 2018

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Welcome to June, and the unofficial end of NFL scout and executive hiring (and firing) season. Though it started a little slow, it was an exciting month of May, filled with intrigue and projection, much like the month of April.

As of the latest move we reported today, we’ve tracked 112 moves (promotions, reassignments, hirings and firings). About a hundred is the over/under for most springs.

Now that the National Football Scouting and BLESTO meetings are over, we can take a fuller look at the teams that reconfigured their scouting departments and make a few observations (most of them prompted by recent GM hires). Hopefully you joined Orlando Alzugaray and myself on SiriusXM’s Mad Dog Radio last weekend as we ran everything down. But if you didn’t, here’s a quick overview.

Team Changes GM movement
Browns Hired Alonzo Highsmith & Eliot Wolf (Packers); used Scot McCloughan (Redskins) as consultant; hired Steve Malin (Saints); hired 4 from Chiefs Hired John Dorsey as GM Dec. 2017
Chiefs Hired Michael Bradway (Eagles); lost 4 to Browns; hired new scouting coordinator (Saints); promoted 6 Fired Dorsey as GM, hired Brett Veach summer of ’17
Eagles Hired Shawn Heinlen (Bills), Patrick Stewart (Patriots); lost Bradway (Chiefs) and Tom Hayden (Texans); promoted 5 Restored Howie Roseman as GM Jan. 2016
Jets Hired Jon Carr (Texans); lost Matt Bazirgan (Texans); hired 1 from Packers, 1 from Bills, promoted 1; fired 2 Hired Mike Maccagnan as GM Jan ’15
Packers Hired Patrick Moore (Browns); promoted 9 Hired Brian Gutekunst as GM Jan. ’18
Texans Hired Matt Bazirgan as DPP (Jets); hired James Liipfert as college director (Patriots); also hired scouts from Cardinals, Saints, Vikings; promoted 2; fired 4 Hired Brian Gaine as GM Jan. ’18
Titans Promoted Ryan Cowden to VP personnel; promoted 4 Hired Jon Robinson as GM Jan. ’16

A few things to add:

  • The biggest story-that-turned-out-to-be-a-non-story was in Oakland, where we heard since before the draft that the arrival of Jon Gruden meant a lot of rancor and unrest in the front office. A month later, however, everyone is still in place. It’s possible this is because all scouts are still under contract and owner Mark Davis didn’t want to write a bunch of checks. We’ll continue to monitor things there.
  • Also, as ESPN’s Jordan Raanan pointed out on Twitter Thursday, the Giants have a few assignment shifts and moves they’ll be announcing soon, maybe today. New GM Dave Gettleman mostly went status quo in Year 1 back in New York, though several scouts were given one-year, prove-it deals, and may not be back to see the 2020 draft.
  • There are still a few teams making lesser moves, mainly replacing combine scouts and scouting assistants. They include the Chargers and 49ers, though there may be a couple more (here’s one of the Chargers moves, announced today). However, we don’t anticipate any true headline-grabbing hires.

To check out the most comprehensive listing of who went where on the Internet, including moves (sometimes) still to be reported, check out the 2018 ITL Scouting Changes Grid. To check out the movement every year since 2014, the first year we started tracking things comprehensively, click here.

Also, for a look at how quickly some teams turned things around after a GM change or a major front office hire, take a look at today’s report on ITL. We’ll also analyze this year’s moves further and put them in the context of recent turnover in today’s Friday Wrap. It will be out this evening, and you can register for it here.

Who’s the Master of the Mock Draft? Talking to Drew Boylhart of The Huddle Report

25 Friday May 2018

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Today in our Friday Wrap (you can register for it here), we talk to Drew Boylhart of The Huddle Report. Drew and the site’s founder, Rob Esch, do an incredible job of tracking the accuracy of mock drafts and Top 100 lists across the web every year.

In our newsletter, which will be out in less than three hours, we talk to Drew about how the site got started, how the rankings are set up, and who really rocks at predicting who’s going where. As for the Top 100 lists, Boylhart said Bob McGinn, a veteran of Wisconsin newspapers who launched his own site in 2017, excels.

“This year, Bob McGinn got 86,” Boylhart said. “He’s won it three times, and has an 82.8 average. He was in the 13th spot this year with his five-year average, and was in the top five with his board this year. He’s won it the most, three times. He’s able to call contacts and get names. McGinn has a tremendous amount of contacts and he can call them up and get into, just like Gosselin.

“Rob has had lunch a couple times with (Rick Gosselin of the Dallas Morning News, who also excels at predicting picks and players), and McGinn is the same way. They really are interested in what they’re doing and they interact with scouts and GMs, and they keep secrets so they can interact with them.”

Though some are better than others, Boylhart said there’s a fair amount of randomness to the mock draft process.

“Rob himself won it one year,” he said. “It’s like the lottery. Anyone can win. You don’t have to be in the system to win. My 94-year-old mother could win.

“Evan Silva (of Rotoworld) did the best this year. 10 matches, which is highly unusual. He got 28 of 32 players in the first round. He did a really good job this year. But many, many times, you’ll do great one year and bottom of the barrel next year. It’s a real crapshoot.”

Tracking consistency has become difficult because so many sites don’t last long.

“The funny thing about them is, these sites go in and out so fast,” said Boylhart, 66. “These guys are dropping off like crazy. Seems like every 3-5 years, they’ll start a site, and most of these guys are kids, and they think an NFL team is gonna notice them, and their friend who went to college with them is an intern someplace, but they get discouraged after five years.

“It’s a lot of work. Most of them have jobs and want to be successful at their jobs, and after three years, its’ not fun.”

He said it’s also hard dealing with the abuse, particularly on Twitter.

“I can’t tell you the stuff they say to me,” said Boylhart of the controversy his profiles have generated. “I had one person tell me I should have been pulled from the womb of my mother because he didn’t like the profile I did. I had a parent call me at midnight, drunk as a skunk. Twitter is a beast. The stuff they say on Twitter, it’s incredible.”

Boylhart said the key to The Huddle Report’s longevity is that he and his partner take things in stride.

“We’re entertainment,” he said. “I have no agenda, I don’t think I’m gonna be hired by a team. I don’t break down film, and I’m not gonna suggest I’m a scout. I’m probably the furthest thing from a scout. I’m a profiler. I try to profile players on whether they’re gonna be successful or not.”

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