Patriots’ Scouting Tree Resonates Throughout the NFL Landscape
We know Bill Belichick has sprouted quite a coaching tree. Well, it was really Bill Parcells, but Belichick accounts for a large section of the tree. Bill O'Brien, Matt Patricia, Brian Flores, Joe Judge, to name some of the recent ones. But as big as that tree - which has multiplied in recent years because of New England's sustained success over two decades - may seem, there may be another part of the Patriots organization that has branched out even more.
The scouting department.
The MMQB's Albert Breer broke it down during his MMQB column on Monday, showing how 15 ex-Patriots scouts now have a job in the NFL at the director level or higher. Here are the names of each of those people, and the respective jobs they now hold:
• Marvin Allen, Dolphins assistant GM
• Thomas Dimitroff, Falcons GM
• DuJuan Daniels, Raiders assistant director of player personnel
• Mike Disner, Lions VP of football administration
• Jason Licht, Buccaneers GM
• James Liipfert Texans college scouting director
• Jim Nagy, Senior Bowl executive director
• Kyle O’Brien, Lions VP of player personnel
• Monti Ossenfort, Titans director of player personnel
• Adam Peters, 49ers VP of player personnel
• Bob Quinn, Lions GM
• Jon Robinson, Titans GM
• Matt Russell, Broncos director of player personnel
• Pat Stewart, Panthers director of player personnel
• Lionel Vital, Cowboys college scouting director
The most recent one from the list to be with the six-time Super Bowl champions is Monti Ossenfort, who held a job until this past week as the Patriots college scouting director, before he took a job with the Titans as vice president of player personnel.
“I will tell you, hands down, what we all learned from Scott (Pioli) and Bill (Belichick), indisputably, is role understanding, and a really strong feeling of non-entitlement,” Dimitroff - who was New England's college scouting director from 2003-07 and is now the Falcons GM- told The MMQB. “You do your job to best of your ability, and we’re going to win and it’s gonna pay off. That’s what I believe. And yes, we would’ve all put our hands up about wanting to be a general manger, if we were asked then. But the people there knew the main focus was to master the job you were in, and that would open up opportunities for everyone.”
Now Titans GM Jon Robinson and former Patriots VP of player personnel Scott Pioli also weighed in on how a job in New England's scouting department set those men up for high executive roles with other organizations. To see this entire section from Breer's column on Monday, click here.
