Brandon Brown – director of pro scouting – Philadelphia Eagles
- Quote 1: “Really detailed, a great person and has that “it” factor where he just gets the whole business. Does it the right way too by letting his work show, very humble”
- Quote 2: “Law degree, very sharp, impressive to talk to…understands how to look at things from a different perspective, not afraid to put himself on the line for things he believes in and will think outside the box…testimony to his work and time he puts into his craft.”
- The former Fordham University DB graduated with a Bachelor’s in Business Administration before earning his Juris Doctor at Barry University Law School. While in law school, Brown worked in athletic compliance for Central Florida. He earned his first opportunity in the NFL as a summer intern with the New York Jets before entering the CFB ranks at Boston College, first as a recruiting specialist before being promoted to Assistant Director of Player Personnel. The Colts then hired Brown as a Scouting Assistant where he spent 1 year before immediately being promoted to Advance Scout. Again, after only 1 year, the Philadelphia Eagles hired him away as their Assistant Director of Pro Scouting. After only 2 years in the role, Brown was promoted to Director of Pro Scouting. The fast riser has consistently impressed with his acumen, attention to detail, and his ability to see the bigger picture.
- TLDR synopsis: CFB Player, Law Degree, CFB Compliance, CFB Recruiting, Pro Scouting (2 NFL teams)
Trey Brown – director of player personnel – St. Louis BattleHawks (XFL)
- Quote 1: “Versatile. Grew up around the game, played in the NFL, has a coaching and scouting background. Went to Super Bowls with NE and PHL (won). But maybe most compelling is the last 3 years where he’s managed two franchises in the AAF and XFL. He’s already had reps hiring coaching & medical staff, installing analytics, working with owners/commissioners to establish rules, dealing with municipalities for space/times/etc. I think those are reps that are almost impossible to come by if you’ve never sat in the big chair.”
- Quote 2: “Young, high energy, smart, experienced scout/director, analytically inclined and familiar with sports science. He took the road less traveled to expand his perspective and be more prepared to be a successful GM”
- The former UCLA player who graduated with a Bachelors in Political Science, went to training camp with the Chicago Bears and played in the United Football League. Son of former 2nd round running back Theotis Brown (grew up in the NFL) and has been mentored by Carl Peterson (his Dad played for Carl at UCLA and KC). Began his NFL scouting career with the New England Patriots before being hired as the Assistant Director of College Scouting by the Philadelphia Eagles and eventually rising to Director of College Scouting in Philadelphia (the Eagles won a Super Bowl in 2018).
- One of 10 future NFL general managers to participate in an NFL leadership summit in the summer of 2019. Interviewed for GM jobs in Buffalo (at age 32) and Oakland/Las Vegas (at age 33). Owners suggested he only needed to gain broader experience running an entire operation, so he went to the AAF and the XFL as Director of Player Personnel, building those programs from scratch with involvement in every aspect of Football Ops (scouting, medical, equipment, travel, facilities, legal, media, etc.). These experiences allow Trey to see the entire picture and not just the personnel aspects of a General Manager’s job description.
- TLDR Synopsis: CFB Player, Professional Player, Son of NFL Player, College Scouting (2 NFL Teams), NFL Executive, Built AAF and XFL teams from scratch.
Champ Kelly – assistant director of player personnel – Chicago Bears
- “Really sharp and organized. He thinks outside of the box and also has uncanny awareness of his own strengths and weaknesses. I also like his ability to lead people. He commands respect and inspires hope”
- “High character man with genuine positive energy and charisma which results in an effective leadership presence. He is convicted in his beliefs on both process and players, yet is open minded and a great listener. I think he is a champ!”
- The former University of Kentucky WR/DB has one of the most unique and diverse backgrounds with experience as a player, coach, agent, pro and college scout, and software engineer. Prior to entering the NFL, Kelly, who graduated with a degree in Computer Science and Masters in Business Administration, spent nearly 3 years as a software/quality engineer for IBM. In addition, while at IBM, Kelly was a high school coach and played WR/DB for the Lexington Horsemen. After his playing career, Kelly became a coach and ultimately the General Manager for the Lexington Horsemen of the United Indoor Football League. Following a brief stint as a certified NFLPA contract advisor, Kelly was hired by the Denver Broncos as their Northeast college scout. Kelly was then promoted after one year to Assistant Coordinator of Pro and College Scouting.
- After two years in that role, Kelly ascended to the role of Assistant Director of Pro Personnel. During Kelly’s five seasons as the Broncos’ Assistant Director of Pro Personnel, the Broncos won four division titles thanks in large part to the eight veteran free agents signed during this time who went on to make the Pro Bowl. Kelly was then hired by the Chicago Bears to direct their Pro Scouting department. After serving as Director of Pro Scouting for two years, Kelly was promoted to Assistant Director of Player Personnel. During his tenure, the Bears clinched their first playoff berth and division title since 2010. Few executives can match Kelly’s wide array of experiences. Not only does Kelly have a playing, coaching and scouting background, but his business acumen and experiences with analytics as a software engineer, makes Kelly an ideal candidate to lead a football operations department in the current football landscape.
- Founder of Heart Power Inc. a charitable foundation that is focused on delivering positive and encouraging influences to the lives of children and their families.
- TLDR synopsis: CFB Player, Computer Science Bachelors, MBA, Engineering Experience at IBM, Coach, UIFL Executive, NFLPA Certified Contract Advisor, Pro Scouting, College Scouting, and NFL Executive (2 NFL Teams)
Louis Riddick – Analyst – ESPN Monday Night Football
- “Good communication skills and ability to articulate his thoughts. He embraces analytics and game theory as an integral part of the team building/decision matrix and understands it has to be properly married with the football side to make decisions. From his current role, he has the unique opportunity to see many different ways of doing things by interviewing and talking to people throughout the league, the type of broad spectrum polling and collection of ideas that you wouldn’t have access to while working for 1 team”
- “Highly intelligent, economics background, has a strong leadership presence and excellent communication skills. Can have an equally effective conversation with an owner, coach, player, scout, trainer, media member, or corporate sponsor. His football knowledge is outstanding, not only scheme and player evaluation, but he has a passion for the entire player development and team building process, he is a big thinker, and his drive to succeed is unmatched.”
- The former University of Pittsburgh DB graduated with a Bachelor’s in Economics before spending 7 years in the NFL as a DB with San Francisco, Atlanta, Cleveland, and the Oakland Raiders. In his time with the Cleveland Browns, he was coached by Nick Saban (Defensive Coordinator) and Bill Belichick (Head Coach). After his playing career, Riddick entered into the NFL scouting ranks as a Pro Scout for the Washington Football Team before being promoted to Director of Pro Personnel. Which is a title he held for the Philadelphia Eagles as well. Renowned for his Advance scouting work, discussed by those on those Eagles coaching staffs as the most robust they had seen. Riddick transitioned from the front office to a front office insider for ESPN, His execution led to his current role on Monday Night Football.
- The production process for MNF provides Riddick a unique opportunity to sit with coaching staffs each week, exploring what they are dealing with, concerned with, excited about, and even to assess potential future head coach candidates. These experiences have served John Lynch and Mike Mayock well in their current roles as General Manager. Riddick’s lifelong relationship with the NFL, its players, schemes, and coaches, paired with his ability to study markets/trends via his econ background, aids his perspective on the team building process.
- TLDR Synopsis: Economics Background, NFL Player, Versed in Scheme, Advance Scouting, College Scouting, NFL Executive (2 NFL Teams) Broad Picture Analysis, Behind the Scenes Access to NFL Coaches
Chris Shea – football operations counsel and personnel executive – Kansas City Chiefs
- “No one better qualified or more versed. Scout, cap, lawyer. I think he coached a bit. Most qualified candidate I’ve ever seen”
- “His background and experience spreads so wide from player negotiations, staff negotiations, understanding the cap, figuring how to use data, both pro and college evaluations, even legal aspects with the college process”
- Operations, Equipment, Coaching, Scouting, Management Council, Instant Replay, College Scouting, Pro Scouting, Salary Cap, Roster Building, Football Administration, Analytics, Technology, CBA Compliance. These are the duties overseen by Shea in his time with six NFL teams, the NFL Management Council, two CFB programs, and a law firm. The 22 year NFL veteran has literally done a bit of everything in football operations and currently sits as the General Counsel and Personnel Executive for the World Champion Kansas City Chiefs. The 17 year scouting veteran has extensive experience in both college and pro scouting, including being the Dolphins lead advance scout and coordinating the 2008-11 drafts for MIA and the 2016 draft for PHI. He has also managed the salary cap for multiple clubs and the League.
- Shea’s role expanded in the past few seasons for Kansas City and he advises owner Clark Hunt, Head Coach Andy Reid, and General Manager Brett Veach on roster-building strategy, salary cap management, football administration, analytics, enhancement of player personnel related technology, and football operations staffing matters. Shea was part of the two man team that constructed the 12-year, $477M contract extension for QB Patrick Mahomes this past July and is involved in all trades for the Chiefs. His legal duties include NFL CBA compliance, drafting all the language contained in player, coaching, and staff contracts, negotiating medical service provider agreements, and serving as the club’s liaison to the NFL or outside counsel on all legal matters. Hard to imagine someone having more experience executing in all the various aspects of an organization than Shea.
- TLDR Synopsis: Operations, Equipment, Coaching, Scouting (5 NFL Teams), Management Council, Instant Replay, College Scouting, Pro Scouting, Salary Cap, Roster Building, Football Administration, Analytics, Technology, CBA Compliance.
Jim Nagy – executive director – Reese’s Senior Bowl
- “Jim has experience contributing to Super Bowl Championships with three different teams. He is very intelligent, and a great man. He leads a staff and runs the Senior Bowl as if he was drafting for two expansion teams, every season, he is very invested in the quality of talent selected for the game. Jim succeeded another highly respected football executive, and has significantly improved the game from a talent perspective and essentially every other aspect of it.
- “Who else in scouting has to deal with sponsors and the corporate side, dealing with the community and the demands there as well as interfacing with the league office, every team and GM, and all the agents? He has to deal with things none of us do and he hears from everyone in the league. He has the pulse on what everyone cares about. That’s unique.”
- The University of Michigan graduate entered the NFL as an intern for the Green Bay Packers, during their Super Bowl winning season in 1996. After spending one season as the West Coast Area Scout for the Washington Football Team, Nagy joined the New England Patriots as an area scout in 2002, spending 7 years with the team. He was hired by Scott Pioli in Kansas City as a National Scout before spending 5 years as the Southeast Area Scout for the Seattle Seahawks. Nagy was a part of six Super Bowl teams and four Lombardi Trophy winning clubs (Green Bay Packers XXXI, New England Patriots XXXVIII and XXXIX and Seattle Seahawks XLVIII) before taking over as Executive Director of the Senior Bowl in June 2018. One of Nagy’s first moves was to build the game’s first-ever scouting department composed of former NFL scouts and implement a formal scouting system. The 186 players drafted (and 80 in the first three rounds) is the best two-year draft record in the Senior Bowl’s 72-year history.
- Nagy has also worked as an on-air draft analyst for ESPN in the leadup to the 2019 and 2020 NFL drafts. In his role with the Senior Bowl, Nagy is responsible for the identification, evaluation, and selection of those invited to the game. In addition, he interfaces with the NFL league office as well as the Mobile Arts and Sports Association and the community of Mobile at large to support them and in turn, to draw from the community to aid the game and NFL community. He oversees the game’s corporate sponsorships and works with their business partners. He works with GMs and personnel directors to manage his board and selections, extracting from the teams what they care about and making sure their needs are met. Nagy is a liaison to the agent community who are representing those players. He functions as a team builder in his current role, which gives him an advantage moving forward.
Special mention also needs to be made of the following scouts, who have come up in the scouting pipeline and received tremendous reviews from their peers in the survey process:
- Marvin Allen – assistant general manager – Miami Dolphins
- Matt Berry – director of college scouting – Seattle Seahawks
- Terrance Gray – director of college scouting – Buffalo Bills
- James Liipfert – director of college scouting – Houston Texans
- Matt Winston – assistant director of college scouting – Miami Dolphins
- JoJo Wooden – director of player personnel – Los Angeles Chargers
Last but not least, here are the remaining names that received at least 2 nomination in the voting process and has not been mentioned in any category above:
- Malik Boyd – director of pro personnel – Buffalo Bills
- Mike Bradway – assistant director of player personnel – Kansas City Chiefs
- Ran Carthon – director of pro personnel – San Francisco 49ers
- Glenn Cook – vice president of player personnel – Cleveland Browns
- Ian Cunningham – assistant director of player personnel – Philadelphia Eagles
- Dujuan Daniels – assistant director of player personnel – Las Vegas Raiders
- Brian Decker – director of player development – Indianapolis Colts
- Alonzo Highsmith – personnel executive – Seattle Seahawks
- Kevin Kelly – director of college scouting – Los Angeles Chargers
- Ryan Monnens – director of pro scouting – Minnesota Vikings
- Chisom Opara – national scout – Minnesota Vikings
- Ryan Poles – assistant director of player personnel – Kansas City Chiefs
- Anthony Robinson – director of college scouting – Atlanta Falcons
- Kevin Rogers – director of pro personnel – Indianapolis Colts
- Andy Weidl – vice president of player personnel
- Dave Ziegler – director of pro scouting – New England Patriots
A former college coach and NFL scout, Dan Hatman is dedicated to the professional development of the evaluation community. Drawing from lessons from each of the three NFL teams he worked with as well as each of the college programs he has coached at or consulted with, Hatman has blended best practices from the core of the evaluation process. Those have been combined with techniques leverage by the military, business, data science, exercise physiology, psychology, and other disciplines to reduce opportunities for human error and to maximize the objective assessment of subjectively collected information. These processes have trained 34 NFL scouts as well as dozens of coaches and recruiting staff across the college football landscape. Hatman graduated with a bachelor’s degree in psychology and two masters; one in Business Administration and one in Sports Administration.