Legendary NFL executive Gil Brandt dies

Gil Brandt, thought of as the ‘Godfather of modern scouting’ within NFL circles has passed away aged 91.

Brandt died on 31st August, 2023.

Brandt was instrumental in the Dallas Cowboys’ rise to prominence, spending well over two decades working for the organization.

Throughout his time as an NFL executive, Brandt changed the way players were scouted in the professional game.

During his time as an executive with the Dallas Cowboys, Brandt’s draft strategies were key in them winning Super Bowls VI and XII.

Brandt was recognized for his efforts in football with a berth in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio. He was inducted in 2019.

There are many innovations in NFL scouting that can be attributed to Brandt but one the biggest was his role in creating the annual scouting combine.

Using computers for scouting wasn’t an option in the early years of the NFL but when the became available, Brandt was one of the first to make use of data and analytics.

Most evaluators in the NFL will tell you talent is only half of what they are looking for in a player, the rest is mentality. Again, Brandt was ahead of the curve here as he developed psychological tests to evaluate players.

The list of notable draft picks by Brandt would be too long to write out but some of his most notable picks came in the late rounds. He was able to draft Roger Staubach in the tenth round and Herschel Walker in the fifth.

For Brandt, the aim was to draft players with potential, using his own evaluation process to try and understand what a player could become rather than what he is right now.

Brandt was known for his incredible knowledge of players in the draft process, studying the film but also learning about where they come from and who they are.

One anecdote comes from Greg Aiello who worked with Brandt in Dallas, “One of the stories they liked to tell from the Cowboys days was that some fairly obscure player name came up, and Gil said, 'His father sells eggs in Albuquerque,' " from NFL.com

After leaving Dallas, Brandt took some time away from football before returning as an analyst for NFL.com using his incredible understanding of the pre-draft process to add his opinions to NFL.com’s draft analysis.

Jones, the owner of the Dallas Cowboys, and the person who fired Brandt from his position with the team released a statement saying, “We are so deeply saddened by the passing of Gil Brandt – a true icon and pioneer of our sport”

Jones continues by saying, “Gil was at the very core of the early success of the Dallas Cowboys and continued to serve as a great ambassador for the organization for decades beyond that. His contributions cemented his spot in the Ring of Honor”.