Gold Jacket Spotlight: Gil Brandt, NFL Scout and Innovator

Want to know what high school an undrafted rookie NFL free agent attended?

Well, there’s the internet.

And there’s Gil Brandt.

In the 1960s, Gil brought the National Football League into the computer age. At age 87, he still appears regularly on SiriusXM Radio and other media outlets as a living, breathing database of football knowledge.

Today, the man who put player evaluations in the spotlight – first for the Dallas Cowboys and later for the entire League – steps into the Gold Jacket Spotlight.

Gil joined the Dallas Cowboys in 1960, teaming with Tex Schramm and Tom Landry to form a brain trust that soon would turn the expansion franchise into “America’s Team.” He pioneered the use of computers for scouting and talent evaluations in the mid-1960s, helping Dallas find talented players other teams were overlooking. Gil and the Cowboys also were the first team to use psychological testing to evaluate and predict a player’s mental composure under pressure.

The results: 20 consecutive winning seasons (1966-1985) and appearances in five Super Bowls, with victories in two (Super Bowls VI and XII) during his tenure.

Gil’s first and last first-round draft picks, Bob Lilly and Troy Aikman, are members of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, as are eight other Cowboys from his time with the team – from high-round choices Michael Irvin, Randy White, Tony Dorsett and Mel Renfro, to late-round picks Rayfield Wright, Bob Hayes and Roger Staubach, to undrafted free agent Cliff Harris. Drew Pearson, the Senior Finalist for the Class of 2021, is another success story for Gil; he went undrafted out of Tulsa before an 11-year career in Dallas.

While some of Gil’s greatest “finds” didn’t make it to Canton, they contributed mightily to the Cowboys’ success. He scoured HBCUs for players like future All-Pros Nate Newton, Jethro Pugh and Everson Walls, and even college basketball courts, where he found Cornell Green. The three-time All-Pro never played a down of football at Utah State.

In 1995, Gil joined NFL.com, where he remains a senior analyst, draft expert and contributor. Fans who are glued to their TVs for three days in February can thank him for helping make the NFL Combine into a huge and important event on the NFL’s annual calendar.   

Anyone who wants to keep up with the NFL for the other 362 days of the year need only follow Gil on Twitter. He posts frequently for his audience of nearly 155,000.

Gil continues to shine a light on the League he has loved since cutting his teeth with the Los Angeles Rams in the 1950s. This week, the Class of 2019 member takes his turn in the Gold Jacket Spotlight.