“New” has been the buzz word in Cleveland, ever since Jimmy Haslam bought the team. (Along with, more recently, “alleged rebate fraud.”)
With a new owner, new CEO, new G.M., and a new coach comes all sort of new stuff. Now that the draft is over, it’s time for new scouts.
Mary Kay Cabot of the Cleveland Plain Dealer has the details on changes to the front office. Gone are Director of College Scouting John Spytek, scouts A.J. Durso and Tom Headlee, and Senior National Scout Pat Roberts. (Scout Bob Welton previously left to take a job at the University of Tennessee.)
Director of Player Personnel Jon Sandusky remains with the team; he has one year left on his contract.
Per Cabot, several of the scouts inherited by the new regime had no influence over the 2013 draft. Some weren’t even in the team’s draft room as the process unfolded.
It’s a common practice in the NFL. Scouts who have been privy to the team’s preparations for the draft remain in place until after the draft, in part to ensure that they won’t be in position to carry to a new team whatever scouting information they have compiled while getting paid by their soon-to-be-former employer.