The latest episode of the Bears' behind-the-scenes docuseries, 1920 Football Drive, takes a look at the team's preparations for the 2025 NFL Draft and highlights the role of the scouting department. This piece from senior writer Larry Mayer dives even deeper into the role of Bears scouts.
They work anonymously in the shadows and spend nearly half a calendar year on the road away from their families. But scouts play a vital role in the success of NFL teams.
"There's a lot that goes into it," said Bears director of pro scouting DJ Hord. "But I would say the two biggest factors of being a scout is you're an information gatherer and you're an evaluator."
Hord was hired by the Bears in 2024 after spending the previous seven seasons with the Seahawks as a pro scouting intern (2017), pro scout (2019-22) and assistant director of pro personnel (2023). Before entering the NFL, he played wide receiver at Notre Dame and Northern Iowa.
"The job of a scout is to know everything you can about a player, from the character side and also from the player on the field," said Bears director of college scouting Breck Ackley.
"Your job is to dig and ask questions and find out who the person is, where they're from, what they're made of, if they fit what we want in our organization as a person. And then you watch the film, watch the movement, watch the workouts and find out if the player is good enough. In essence, the job of a scout is to know everything A-to-Z on a player to present it to the higher ups in the meeting setting so we can decide if we want to draft that player."
Ackley served as a Bears area scout from 2012 until 2022 when he was promoted to his current position. A few months before his promotion, he won an inaugural BART Award as one of the NFL's top scouts as voted by his peers.
As a player, Ackley was an accomplished kicker and punter at Southern University from 2003-06, leaving as the school's all-time leading scorer. As a senior, he was named first-team I-AA All-American as a punter and first-team All-Southwest Athletic Conference as a kicker.
Before joining the Bears, Ackley worked as a graduate assistant coach at Southern, his alma mater, in 2010 and Southeastern Louisiana in 2011. He changed his career path in 2012, transitioning from coaching to scouting.
Bears general manager Ryan Poles and assistant general manager Ian Cunningham rely heavily on the team's personnel department to prepare for the draft. It's led by senior director of player personnel Jeff King, director of player personnel Trey Koziol and player personnel coordinator Ashton Washington.
On the college side, Ackley heads a group that includes assistant director of college scouting Francis Saint Paul, executive scout Jeff Shiver, two national scouts and seven regional scouts.
Ackley feels that there are two main traits required to be a successful scout.
"I would say No. 1 [is being] detail oriented," he said. "There's a lot of making your own schedule, making sure you have the right times, making sure you're going to the right place and you have the right players. And then No. 2, I would say just [having] a general sense of curiosity and a want to; a want to find out about this player, how he's wired, does he love football, find out about the player on the field."
Life as a scout does come with a price.
"There's a lot of travel," Hord said. "You'll do a lot of solo road trips. You're living in hotels. I would say you're almost an independent contractor. You're out doing your thing. You're trusted to get your job done yourself; not really going to get your hand held or babysat. It's just a matter of you having the self-motivation and ambition to get it done. There are some lonely nights traveling solo that might get to some. But to others, like for myself, I don't mind it. I like going to different campuses, different stadiums, finding the hot spot to eat, so I enjoy it personally."
Saint Paul joined the Bears as an area scout in 2012 before being elevated to senior national scout in 2022 and assistant director of college scouting in 2024.
As a player, he was a wide receiver who was chosen by the St. Louis Rams in the sixth round of the 2001 draft out of Arizona. He also had stints with the Steelers, Panthers and Jaguars.
In his current role with the Bears, Saint Paul estimates that he spends 160-175 days on the road away from his family. Nevertheless, his passion for the job keeps him motivated.
"I absolutely love what I'm doing," he said. "Every year brings a new challenge. You're constantly getting better, always learning something new. Every season is a fresh start. It really never gets old.
"When you're surrounded by a good group of people, it makes the experience much better. Having teammates you can engage in constructive disagreements with only adds to the challenge and excitement. At the end of the day, we're all working towards the same goal, which is helping the Bears win a Super Bowl."
