The Bengals introduced their most experienced player personnel staff ever when they elevated the three most experienced scouts in their building to assistant general manager.
Director of player personnel Duke Tobin is keeping his title, and former directors of scouting Steven Radicevic and Mike Potts, along with former senior personnel executive Trey Brown, are pretty much keeping their job descriptions intact.
It’s those job descriptions that got them the new titles. From pro work, college scouting, contract negotiations, and everything in between, Tobin says the trio’s versatility in all phases of the job make them valuable right-handed men.
“Steve, Mike and Trey work in all areas of the club and assist me in every aspect,” Tobin says. “They’re highly capable. They’re impactful in all areas of personnel. We felt like this title fit their role with us.”
Also getting a new title is long-time scout Andrew Johnson. Johnson, who has been with the club for a decade primarily scouting the Northeast, moves from scout to scouting executive. He remains in his area, but also has a diverse background in organizing day-to-day operations of the department.
The Bengals’ new scouts, Josh Hinch and Tyler Ramsey, bring nearly a combined 30 years of the mix of pro and college scouting Tobin covets.
Ramsey was a long-time West Coast scout for the Seahawks before becoming an assistant director of pro personnel with the Panthers. Hinch is coming off a four-year stretch in New England where he worked on the pro and college sides and, like Brown, has been the top football executive on teams in the XFL and AAF.
“I like to keep all of our guys fresh on both the college and the pro side because I think that gives them that breadth and it gives them the opportunity to know what a college player would be like in the NFL,” Tobin says. “You have to be current in both pro scouting and college scouting to be truly effective in either, and our guys do that.
“They’re seasoned guys who understand the NFL. They understand college talent, they know player value, and they know how to put a value to a player. Whether it’s in the draft or whether it’s in free agency, or whether it’s on our own team.”
Tobin also created a title when he hired Trey LaBounty as a scouting research analyst. LaBounty, who is in his second NFL season, spent last year doing a similar job in Buffalo after being a football analytics intern at his alma mater of Stanford.
A thumbnail look at the Bengals’ revamped personnel department.
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