While working for the Bears the last nine years as Director of College Scouting, I would receive more than 125 resumes a year from people wanting to become scouts. Most think it is a very glamorous job. But let me tell you, it isn’t.
Scouting can be a very rewarding experience, especially if the team you work for drafts a few players from your area. Then you know that the powers that be bought into your evaluation and recommendation. It can be even more rewarding if those players turn out to be good NFL players. The only real glamour is being part of the team in each year’s draft room helping to make decisions that can help shape the future of the franchise.
The work leading up to that weekend is hardly glamorous. It takes a very special person to become a top-notch scout in the NFL. I was surrounded by six of the best in Chicago. It was an extremely hardworking group and the scouts were very dedicated to the work they did.
Scouts sacrifice a lot. They have to be very self-motivated and independent thinkers. They have to have outstanding time-management skills because too often they have more work than can be done in an average day.
ICONAll the hard work pays off when one of your guys gets drafted at Radio City Music Hall during the NFL Draft.
They spend an inordinate amount of time on the road away from their families. Over the last 26 years, there were many times that I spent well over 200 nights a year on the road. Because of the dedication you have to have for your job, you end up missing a lot at home. You miss some of your kids’ sporting events or school plays. You might miss your baby’s first steps.
I missed the birth of my first child because I couldn’t get home fast enough to be there. I arrived at the hospital two hours after my daughter was born. That’s not something you can make up for. You have to be married to a very special and understanding person because all too often she is playing both mom and dad with the kids much of the year.
Being on the road can be both fun and lonely. In a typical week, you may visit three or four schools and see a game. A typical road trip can last 10–17 days during the fall. You are up early and at a school usually by 6:30 or 7:00 a.m. At some schools you may be the only scout there that day; there can also be days when 15–20 scouts are there. Those are the hard days, because the more scouts that are there, the harder it is to get your work done. I would usually try to get in a room by myself or with just a few scouts that I knew I could work with. There are many guys who like to sit and BS, and if you get caught in a room with one of them it’s extremely frustrating because the more noise there is the harder it is to concentrate.
Good scouts need to spend many days during the course of the season at their key schools. They need to develop strong relationships with the key people that can help them with their evaluations. Many of these key people are not on the coaching or training staff, but rather support people (academic advisors, secretaries, maintenance staff) who come in contact with the players on a daily basis. It is these people that really know the player.
You need to know as much about the player off the field as you do on the field.
After you get your work done at one school, it’s on to the next. That may mean a two to four hour drive. You get in late, and you still have to get your reports done. And that is the most important thing that a scout does — put into a report what he sees and hears at a school. When you’re done with your reports, you get a few hours of sleep and then the same thing the next day. That can often mean poor eating habits and not enough time to work out.
I have only begun to scratch the surface of what a scout does. So for those of you who want to try and make a career at this, think hard — because it isn’t easy. And one last thing: you better be right with your evaluations!
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Greg,
In your work with the Chicago Bears did you find yourself limited to the types of players you could scout at the collegiate level based on the defensive system the Bears run?
Were you limited to trying to find players that fit into the one-gap Tampa-2 scheme that Coach Lovie Smith preferred or did you have the freedom to evaluate players regardless of what type of system or profile they may have fit into?
I suppose an example would be finding a strong side linebacker that may fit the role of a pass rusher better than say a Lance Briggs or Hunter Hillenmeyer, but may still have the ability to operate in zone coverage like Briggs had success doing over the years.
Just based on my observations as a Bears fan over the last few years it seems the Bears have always been limited in the type of players that fit into their defense, where as a player such as PIttsburgh's James Harrison, or Baltimore's Terrell Suggs who are decidedly 3-4 LBs, but could fit into a 4-3 defense and give it more versatility given their athleticism and ability in zone coverage.
Thanks for any feedback.
What kind of money do scouts make???
What kind of money? Not enough.
Greg,
In your work with the Chicago Bears did you find yourself limited to the types of players you could scout at the collegiate level based on the defensive system the Bears run?
Were you limited to trying to find players that fit into the one-gap Tampa-2 scheme that Coach Lovie Smith preferred or did you have the freedom to evaluate players regardless of what type of system or profile they may have fit into?
I suppose an example would be finding a strong side linebacker that may fit the role of a pass rusher better than say a Lance Briggs or Hunter Hillenmeyer, but may still have the ability to operate in zone coverage like Briggs had success doing over the years.
Just based on my observations as a Bears fan over the last few years it seems the Bears have always been limited in the type of players that fit into their defense, where as a player such as PIttsburgh's James Harrison, or Baltimore's Terrell Suggs who are decidedly 3-4 LBs, but could fit into a 4-3 defense and give it more versatility given their athleticism and ability in zone coverage.
Thanks for any feedback.
Sorry for the duplicate post.
Midway, don't hit "refresh" to see your post. Leave the page and come back.
Why do teams even bother hiring scouts when they can simply read the insights of Wes Bunting? Dude took a course in how to be a GM, after all...
I would love to be one actually. I'm at that stage in my life where time spent on things there are spent by 20 or even 30 somethings just don't matter to me anymore. I guess my biggest challenge would be in making it work as a single dad of an 8 year old, but with the income most scouts I could make it worth family members time while I was away. But being around football at such a ground zero level intrigues me to no end. Of all the cons you've mentioned I'd bet you wouldn't have traded it for the world.
BTW I'm was very sad to see you go. Listening to some of the inside media guys especially from Hub Arkush, NFP's very own Biggsy, & Mike Mulligan on the score. They seem to have had a lot of respect for you & you're work & kind of let Angelo have it. I'm sure it was a money crunching move more than anything with the Bears ultimately consolidating Pro & College scouting together with Ruskell running it all than it was due to your performance.
So who's going to be the player make the biggest jump this season from your last three drafts? I'm looking at that 08' draft & I am expecting a lot of big things from that group. The first seven picks are pretty strong I feel.Depends if Harrison wants it badly enough & if Bowman can stay healthy. I liked 09' a lot too. I think Iggy will take big strides this year & DJ Moore intrigues me to no end with the way he dominated the SEC. I was shocked to see him as the 19th pick overall.
Bearhalla
No one ever says, "I wish I would have spent more time at the office."
Go Bear!!!
This was a well-written article. Thanks for the insight!
AS a life long Bears fan I was sad to see you leave, I always loved reading about the unknown players the Bears would bring in for a woek out, many of whom I am sure your hard work came into play on. I live for football, I watch as much as I can on TV both NFL and college, I also go to the local state playoff games when I can. I have thought about trying to be a scout, especially now that I am disabled and have so much time on my hands.
I want to thank you for all your hard work with the Bears, for the players you found that were drafted and for those who did not make it that far. I was saddened to see you leave the Bears, especially since the drafting has been so poor under Jerry Angelo, I do not know about you but I do not think much of his drafting skill. Once again thank you for all you have done for the team.
Come on Greg, ANSWER the questions asked!!! Yes, it's part of the job, just like doing the crap you had to do as a scout, you have to come back and look at the posts here.....
Cause if you don't have responses, that means no one is reading, and then you'll have to find another way to feed your Family, like selling cars!
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Jul 19, 2010
01:07 PM
Scouts - the unseen heroes of the team.
Thanks for the story, Greg, and thanks for all your hard work over the years for the Bears. It is appreciated.