The NFL is holding its annual front office accelerator program for diverse candidates and the Cowboys have no choice but to allow other clubs to mingle with their Director of Strategic Football Operations savant John Park.
The three-day meeting held in Irving, Texas allows the 34 candidates with the potential of becoming a general manager anytime within the next three years, to talk with former GMs about their experiences.
After a few years to adjust, the candidates will now be given 30 minutes in private rooms to speak with current front office members. Assistant GMs, scouts, plus two members of the league office will also be in attendance.
Dallas hired John Park as Director of Strategic Football Operations after holding the same position with Indianapolis since 2016.
New: The NFL will hold its latest front office accelerator program for diverse candidates this week in the Dallas area.
Here are the 2024 participants👇🏽 pic.twitter.com/LThWMM7ugg
— Jori Epstein (@JoriEpstein) December 9, 2024
Park holds a Master’s in Actuarial Science, which compiles and analyzes statistics to calculate insurance risks and premiums. After five years in that profession, he jumped to the NFL where he has fast-tracked his way through the football ranks.
Park was viewed as a big loss for Indianapolis and could be as equally damaging if he were to leave Dallas for the reigns of another NFL franchise.
Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy talked at length about analytics before he took the job in Dallas and Park’s hiring was a monumental shift in strategy.
Tom Robinson, the Cowboys former Director of Football Research, had been with the team since 2010 and took over the director’s role in 2014 before leaving to make room for Park.
After not making a move for almost a decade, Dallas could be searching for a new analytical mind if Park continues his rapid NFL ascension. With the spotlight now on him, chances are the Cowboys will be skimming the market soon.