Ep. 31 - Bobby Merritt - Assessing Value & Defining Roles in Personnel

Joined by my good friend and mentor, Bob Merritt - Assistant GM for the Edmonton Eskimos, this week's edition of Up Close In Personnel is basically a tutorial on how to successfully assemble a recruiting department and construct a roster in college football!

  

Having coached, scouted, and recruited at all levels of football, Bobby details his career path and lessons he's learned along the way.

 

We really dialed in on the roster management and construction aspect of personnel, so this week I decided to drop all of the notes I took away from the conversation in bullet form below!

 

Topics Covered:

Bobby's Current Role in the CFLAssistant General Manager
Evaluating US College, Canadian College, CFL and NFL players

 

Diverse Experiences in FootballSuccess comes down to the ability to communicate and collaborate at a high level with the various personalities involved in the profession
Must be able to connect with people around you and work effectively; a more diverse background helps with the ability to relate and connect

 

The Impact of the Air Force and Military

 

Making the move from Coaching to Personnel

 

Roster Construction 101Identifying MUSTS, NEEDS and WANTS
Assessing the value of your roster and incoming players
Defining a clear role and vision for new players

 

The Head Coach-General Manager Relationship

 

Advice for Interviewing and Hiring Interns

 

Building and Growing a pro-styled Personnel Department3 Core ValuesBe a great teammate
Compete to be your best
Build relationships

Developing as an evaluatorCannot be afraid of being wrong
Say what you see with conviction
Be a great listener and hear the traits
Understand what your team values

Parameter vs Skill SetDepends on level of ball
Certain positions require parametersEx: Perimeter players must have length and speed

Some positions don't require as stringent parametersEx: Height doesn't matter as much for linebackers

 

Evaluating speed without verified timesAssess the player's play speed on game film3 key components to look for:Stride length (gait)
Stride frequency (turnover)
Hip mobility (fluidity and knee drive)

 

Predicting the draft vs projecting the playerRemember to always define the role a player will play on your team prior to him joining the program; if you don't, then there's no way of reviewing the success or failure of the acquisition.

 

Let me know what you took away from the show and be sure to give Bobby a follow on Twitter at @BobbyMerritt8!

 

For listening links and notes from previous shows, please visit the show's official website UpCloseInPersonnel.com and comment with whatever notes and takeaways you had from our conversation! Thanks again and see you all next week!