Education
He attended college at the University of Wisconsin. A native of Milwaukee, he attended North Division High School where he was a 150 pound starting defensive back.
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Gil Brandt
Edit Profileplayer Photographer pioneer vice president
Career
He also lettered in basketball and track. He enrolled at the University of Wisconsin, but left after two years. He worked as a photographer that specialized in new-born babies and was employed as a part-time scout for the Los Angeles Rams based on a recommendation by Elroy Hirsch.
Brandt served as the Dallas Cowboys" chief talent scout since the club"s birth in 1960.
He had served as a part-time scout for the Los Angeles Rams under General Manager Tex Schramm in the 1950s. When Schramm took command of the newly formed Dallas franchise in 1960, Brandt was one of the first people he hired.
Schramm, Brandt and Coach Tom Landry formed the triumvirate which guided the Cowboys for their first 29 years. He helped pioneer many of the scouting techniques used by NFL clubs today, such as:
Creating a new scouting and evaluation system for prospects, which would later spread throughout the NFL. In the NFL Films" documentary series Finding Giants, Ernie Accorsi mentioned how then-general manager George Young built the New York Giants scouting process based on the Cowboys system.
Using computers for scouting and talent evaluations.
Finding potential prospects in other sports like: Bob Hayes, Cornell Green, Peter Gent, Toni Fritsch, Percy Howard, Ken Johnson, Ron Howard, Wade Manning and Manny Hendrix. The Cowboys also set up hospitality suites for coaches at the National Collegiate Athletic Association basketball tournaments. Brandt was one of the first talent scouts to look outside of the United States and Canada for potential players.
Kicker Toni Fritsch was discovered during a European tour.
The use of psychology tests to identify the mental and personality make-up of prospects. Finding players in the undrafted free agent and small college talent pool, such as Drew Pearson, Cliff Harris, and Everson Walls.
Helped to create the NFL Scouting Combine as a centralization of the scouting evaluation process. Brandt left the Cowboys after new owner Jerry Jones bought the team
After a few years out of football, he returned as a print analyst and draft expert.
He currently contributes to NFL.com as a senior analyst. He is their main personnel guru, offering insight and commentary on all aspects of players and teams. Brandt is a major contributor in selecting the Playboy All-American Football Team along with sports editor Gary Cole.
Brandt has also been responsible for inviting collegiate players to the NFL Draft every year.
He is a regular on Sirius NFL Radio Network as a commentator on "Late Hits", "The Red Zone", and the SIRIUS NFL Tailgate Show. On April 9, 2015, he was inducted into the Texas Sports Hall of Fame.
