Dear Mr. Commissioner,

Thank you for taking the time to read this letter. I have three particularly important things to discuss with you today, but first I want to say I think you have done a more then commendable job of dealing with many of the pressing social issues that have plagued the NFL while you were in just your second year on the job.

As for Michael Vick, I couldn’t have said it any better myself. Adam “Pacman” Jones? I like your style Mr. Commissioner, and as a footnote, let me say one thing to Mr. Jones -- young man, you’re darn lucky you’re currently not doing some serious time in the slammer. In regards to Odell Thurman and Chris Henry, again you exercised excellent judgment in dealing with these two undesirables. The loyal fans in the “Queen City” and the dedicated hard-working teammates that they let down by their actions deserve a good deal more. 

Looking back at Bill Belichick and the Spygate episode, I’m afraid, Mr. Commissioner, that’s a far different story. I actually think you initially did a fairly good job of handling that particular issue, although I believe that the forfeited first-round draft selection by the Patriots should have been awarded to the Jets.

Today, I’m urging you to revisit the circumstances involving Super Bowl XXXVI in New Orleans between the Patriots and Rams, specifically as it concerns the activities of Patriots video assistant Matt Walsh and the parameters of which I’m sure you are quite familiar with. I would think that the potential of a possible scandal surrounding the Super Bowl would be of tremendous concern in your office; enough, in fact, that there would be a necessity — indeed an urgency — to investigate the charge in such a way that the NFL would leave no stone unturned in its search for a resolution to this matter.   Yet there is still an air of uncertainty over actions taken by Mr. Walsh, who has since admitted to violating NFL policy; actions that may very well have affected the outcome of Super Bowl and tipped the scales to the New England Patriots.

If the long-term integrity of the league, and/or the perception of it in the public eyes, is of paramount importance to the league, then your overall ruling in this matter is, quite frankly, unsatisfactory. The appearance of any impropriety surrounding an NFL game is a major affront to the game, but for such a question to loom over the NFL's biggest showcase, played on the largest stage for any one-day sporting event in the world, is absolutely unacceptable. It is simply too offensive to the sensibilities of fair-minded individuals, and justifiably leaves the NFL open to a great deal of criticism from its skeptics.

I urge you to continue to exhaust all avenues at your disposal, to uncover the facts that need to be known about this incident and to be resolute in taking the action necessary to restore the kind of credibility that will leave no doubt forever in the mind of the public that anything less than fairness and equity will not be tolerated in the NFL.  

Back in 2004, long before the “Spygate” incident, a player related a story to me one evening after a workout at the Rams complex that I will never forget.
At the last practice in St Louis prior to leaving for the Super Bowl, Mike Martz installed a “red zone” play that the Rams had not used once during the pre-season, regular season or during our playoff run. When the team arrived in New Orleans, even with the beefed up security, Mike once again did not run that particular play (a wheel route to Marshall Faulk) until the club’s final walk-through on the Saturday prior to the game.

“I think Mike had been saving this particular play for this one situation. And to tell you the truth, Tom, the play was unstoppable," said the now former player. "But when Mike inserted the corresponding personnel package, formation and made the call during the first half, the Patriots defensive players and virtually the entire Patriots sidelines were screaming to watch the wheel to Marshall. If was as if they knew what was coming.”  

I’m never going to be entirely sure that our loss (we were clearly the better team) wasn’t directly related to their apparent covert actions prior to the absolutely most important game in my professional career. But a very long time ago I resolved myself to the fact that we ultimately fell short of our goal on that “Black Sunday" and that’s the way it has to remain.

That being said, Mr. Commissioner, let me now get to my second reason for writing to you today. My next request is to ask you to strongly consider allowing professional scouts the opportunity to have their own wing at the Professional Football League Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio. It is long overdue, and should be acted upon immediately. 

As you know, the baseball HOF in Cooperstown, NY includes players, managers, executives, commissioners’, owners and also has a writers' wing. Basketball has its players, coaches, referees, owners and contributors, while the hockey hall includes players, coaches, referees, linesmen and builders (owners, GM’s writers, and league officials).  

The football HOF has virtually all of the above, plus an additional wing dedicated to athletic trainers and the contribution they have made to the sport. But for some unknown reason, the people most responsible for recommending virtually all of the players inducted into the hall in Canton, have never been recognized by the leagues’ hierarchy.  

Stars like Dan Marino, Paul Warfield, Brett Favre, Barry Sanders, John Elway, Orlando Pace, or the aforementioned Marshall Faulk, all future or current Hall of Fame members, were superstars at every level of play and hardly required a trained eye to decide their placement in football history.

But without the keen eye of the professional scout, how many of the late-round, free agent, and current HOF members such as Bart Starr, John Unitas, Willie Brown, Don Maynard, Larry Little, Deacon Jones, Emmitt Thomas, Kenny Houston, Larry Wilson and Willie Wood, would have had the opportunity to make it to Canton? Some certainly would have, while others would likely have become just footnotes in time had it not been for the critical evaluations of the backbone of professional football — the talent scout.

Coaching giants with names like Landry, Lombardi, Brown, Shula, Noll and Walsh rightfully share a prominent position in the main hall in Canton, but I again wonder, what would have been their fate had they not had excellent players provided to them by their respective scouting departments?

Over the years, I’ve also found one distinct, common denominator that every successful coach at the professional level shared; when they had good players they won football games, when they had great players they won championships and when the cupboard was empty, they — like many of their colleagues in the coaching community — soon realized that they were no longer a valued commodity.

Mr. Commissioner, you can take full credit for this undertaking and also for the new football draft that I introduced earlier this month (my ego is not that big). I also want to let you know that I don’t consider the suggestion of a scouting wing to the hall to be self-serving in any way, because even with thirty-four years of loyal service to the game, I would not be as presumptuous or arrogant as to include myself into any discussion for entrance into these hallowed halls, without the vote of my peers.  

Enough talk, let’s get to the hall itself. The wing I propose should include all the implements used through the ages to evaluate individual players: stop watches, tape recorders, T-square, scales, the famed Kodak Analyst, film clips on a continuous loop of the many college players before they attained greatness and who, in some cases, entered the main building in the hall. It would include the history of the draft, its major hits and misses, as well as the many outstanding collegiate players now identified as members of the exclusive Heisman Trophy Jinx Club.

I personally would love to view you and the previous commissioners announcing the first selections. Living scouting legends like Bobby Beathard, Upton Bell, Norm Pollom and Gil Brandt — along with other veteran scouts — could share their thought on scouting for the ages while also sharing interesting and humorous scouting stories that they experienced during their travels down life’s highways. 

 The numerous scouting organizations — National, Blesto, United, Galaxy, CEPO, Quadra — along with the combines organized by both the WFL and USFL should be recognized for the contributions they have made to the profession.  

Finally, the enormous contribution from the many outstanding individual talent scouts, many of whom I can humbly refer to as friends, need to be recognized.  
I would first propose the league automatically enter the names of the deserving scouts on a wall of fame. The names of the fifty pioneers to the scouting profession would be entered in the first year, followed by the induction of a second fifty-person grouping to the hall in year two. In year number three, ten additional members would be inducted into the hall, including four outstanding scouts and quality people (Mark Hatley, John Goeller, Glenn Cumby, and Mike Pollom), who left this world far too soon. 

Beyond this three year period, I would ask you, Mr. Commissioner, to appoint a committee of ten current and former scouts to annually nominate and vote on individuals for entrance into the hall. For induction into the hall, an individual would have to have at least fifteen years of personnel experience and must be inactive for a period of three full seasons before he could become eligible. A maximum of five individuals can be nominated in any season and a maximum of two selected in any given year.  

It makes a great deal of sense, Mr. Commissioner, particularly when you consider how popular the draft has become over the last decade.  
The charter members to the proposed scouting wing of the Professional Football Hall of Fame were truly an extraordinary group of individuals who — by their unselfish dedication, attention to detail and instincts for the game — paved the way for all of us who followed and had a profound impact on the game that we have all come to love.  

More then half of the personnel scouts that I compiled for entrance into the hall are no longer with us, and only Jerry Reichow and Jack Faulkner, from the first grouping, have any involvement in personnel today. But the contributions that these pioneers made, although often overlooked, is the principle reason the game has evolved to its current status. 

I proudly submit to you, Mr. Commissioner, the first of my three groups for entrance into the Professional Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio.  

 My second season selections are as follows:  

The third special selections into the hall are as follows: 

Over the last ten days, I have tried to come up with a composite list of all personnel scouts who worked at least one season in the professional game. I called numerous scouts, perused media guides and surfed the internet, but in spite of the research, I’m fairly certain that I likely omitted a number of quality scouts. I apologize to every one of these individuals and hope that they, their families, friends, league officials, media, or fellow scouts would contact me so that I could correct and update my files.  

Many of the names on this list of former scouts may surprise you. Some are household names, while others, like the position that they held, were anonymous figures on the football landscape. Some transitioned from player to scout to coaching or to an upper-management position, while still others, after working briefly, decided to pursue careers outside of the game.

As is the case in every walk of life, over the years I have met some true characters and a number of individuals I will never forget. By the same token, there were more than a few I neither liked and/or respected during my career. But through it all, each of us shared one common goal during our careers, and that was doing our part to help bring a championship to our respective clubs. 

Mr. Commissioner, I submit to you my total list of former personnel scouts for consideration.  

Dwight	Adams	Buffalo Bills
Billy	Adkins	San Francisco 49ers
J.I.	Albrecht	New England Patriots
Marvin	Allen	New England Patriots
Dom	Anile	Indianapolis Colts
Charley	Armey	St Louis Rams
Hal	Athon	New Orleans Saints
Duke	Babb	National Scouting
Charles	Bailey	Jacksonville Jaguars
Bill	Baker	Philadelphia Eagles
Bill	Baker Jr.	New Orleans Saints
Bobby	Baldwin	New Orleans Saints
Chuck	Banker	Houston Texans
George	Barnhardt	United Scouting
Gene	Bates	Washington Redskins
Mike	Baugh	Miami Dolphins
Jeff	Beathard	San Diego Chargers
Lou	Blumling	Philadelphia Eagles
Tom	Boisture	New York Giants
Bucky	Brooks	Carolina Panthers
John	Brunner	San Francisco 49ers
Rick	Buffington	New England Patriots
John	Butler	San Diego Chargers
Sil	Carnicione	Miami Dolphins
Mike	Cartright	Miami Dolphins
Charlie	Casserlie	Washington Redskins
Robert “Bo Bo”	Cegelski	Atlanta Falcons
Dwight	Clark	Cleveland Browns
Jim	Clark	Dallas Cowboys
Danny	Conners	Oakland Raiders
Chuck	Connor	Miami Dolphins
Bill	Danenhauer	National Scouting
Hugh	Davidson	Denver Broncos
Don	Deisch	Minnesota Vikings
Clarence	Dierking	Detroit Lions
Tom	Dimitroff	Cleveland Browns
Rick	Donahoe	New York Giants
Tom	Donahoe	Pittsburgh Steelers
Whitey	Dovell	Kansas City Chiefs
Boyd	Dowler	Atlanta Falcons
Lloyd	Eaton	Green Bay Packers
Herman	Edwards	Kansas City Chiefs
Jack	Elway	Denver Broncos
Mike	Faulkiner	San Francisco
Jerry	Fauls	Washington Redskins
Ricky	Feacher	Cleveland Browns
Dub	Fesperman	Tennessee Titans
John	Fitzpatrick	Minnesota Vikings
Fran	Foley	San Diego Chargers
Greg	Gaines	San Diego Chargers
Hokie	Gajan	New Orleans Saints
Jim	Garrett	Dallas Cowboys
Bob	Gates	Buffalo Bills
Abe	Gibron	Seattle Seahawks
Bobby	Gill	Kansas City Chiefs
Ralph	Goldston	Seattle Seahawks
Cornell	Green	Denver Broncos
Jeremy	Green	Cleveland Browns
Tommy	Grimes	Oakland Raiders
Jim	Gruden	T.B. Buccaneers
Burt	Gustafson	Green Bay Packers
Doug	Haffner	Green Bay Packers
Jack	Hall	New York Jets
Sid	Hall	New York Jets
Dave	Hanner	Green Bay Packers
Carroll	Hardy	Denver Broncos
Warren	Harper	Seattle Seahawks
Tommy	Hart	Dallas Cowboys
Ralph	Hawkins	Seattle Seahawks
Mike	Hickey	New York Jets
Bob	Hill	New Orleans Saints
Ronnie	Hill	Atlanta Falcons
Gary	Horton	Cleveland Browns
Lide	Huggins	Denver Broncos
Harry	Hulmes	New York Giants
Hal	Hunter	Carolina Panthers
Carroll	Huntress	New York Jets
Jon	Jelacic	Atlanta Falcons
Ray	Jenkins	Denver Broncos
Reid	Johnson	Denver Broncos
Sean	Jones	Oakland Raiders
George	Karras	Oakland Raiders
Pete	Katella	Green Bay Packers
Jesse	Kaye	New York Jets
Mike	Keller	Dallas Cowboys
Keith	Kidd	Arizona Cardinals
Doug	Kretz	Seattle Seahawks
Frank	Lauterbur	National Scouting
Chuck	Lester	Buffalo Bills
Oscar	Lofton	San Francisco 49ers
Mike	Lombardi	Oakland Raiders
Bob	Lord	Green Bay Packers
Mike	Maccagnan	Houston Texans
Joe	Mack	Cleveland Browns
Charlie	Mackey	Dallas Cowboys
Joe	Madro	Oakland Raiders
Carl	Marasco	Chicago Bears
Pete	Marasco	New York Jets
Ron	Marciniak	Dallas Cowboys
Joe	Marconi	Chicago Bears
Tom	Marino	St Louis Rams
Miller	McCalmon	Houston Texans
Joe	Mendes	Washington Redskins
Les	Miller	Kansas City Chiefs
Bob	Mischak	Oakland Raiders
Ken	Moll	Cleveland Browns
Dick	Monroe	National Scouting
Rick	Mueller	New Orleans Saints
Ron	Nay	Washington Redskins
Buddy	Nix	San Diego Chargers
Jerry	Norton	Chicago Bears
Tommy	O'Boyle Jr.	Kansas City Chiefs
Jim	Owens	Detroit Lions
Henry Lee	Parker	New Orleans Saints
Paul	Patterson	Chicago Bears
John	Polonchek	Oakland Raiders
Dan	Rambo	Denver Broncos
Floyd	Reece	Tennessee Titans
Bill	Rees	Cleveland Browns
Joe	Robb	Chicago Bears
Dean	Rossi	T.B. Buccaneers
Jim	Royer	New York Jets
Ed	Rutledge	New York Giants
Bob	Ryan	Buffalo Bills
Charlie	Sanders	Detroit Lions
Neil	Schmidt	San Francisco 49ers
Bob	Schmitz	Pittsburgh Steelers
Art	Shell	Oakland Raiders
Jim	Shoftner	Cleveland Browns
Dan	Shonka	Philadelphia Eagles
Bill	Shunkwiler	New York Giants
David G.	Smith	Buffalo Bills
David W.	Smith	Buffalo Bills
Jeff	Smith	Denver Broncos
Stan	Springer	United Scouting
Jim	Stanley	Arizona Cardinals
Bill	Striegel	Atlanta Falcons
Otis	Taylor	Kansas City Chiefs
Bob	Teehan	New England Patriots
Rick	Thompson	Miami Dolphins
Frank	Trump	LA Rams
Randy	Tyson	LA Rams
Bob	Ward	National Scouting
Barry	Warner	Chicago Bears
Dan	Werner	Dallas Cowboys
Dixie	White	New Orleans Saints
Eric	Whitmark	Arizona Cardinals
Bob	Whittmen	New Orleans Saints
Ray	Wietecha	Green Bay Packers
Bobby	Williams	Buffalo Bills
Billy	Wilson	San Francisco 49ers
Lamonte	Winston	Kansas City Chiefs
Joe	Woolley	Houston Oilers
John	Wooten	Dallas Cowboys
Tommy	Yewcic	Boston Patriots

Finally, Mr. Commissioner, on the biggest stage of the NFL season, the Commissioner address on the Friday prior to the Super Bowl, along with the Player of the Year, Executive of The Year, Comeback Player of the Year and all other outstanding awards. I would like for you to consider the following new awards. 

The Bell-Graves Award – Given annually to personnel scouts or scouting administrators with twenty years of service to the game.   Alex Bell, the former head football coach at Villanova and Jackie Graves, the father of current Arizona Cardinals GM Rod Graves, were two outstanding football scouts — and more importantly great people. I can’t tell you how much I learned about evaluating football players from these two individuals. Both were knowledgeable, compassionate, thorough, highly-organized, quick-witted and always willing to offer advice or point a young scouting colleague in the right direction.

The Gil Brandt Achievement Award – Given annually to the college scouting director, who over the past year has exhibited leadership, ingenuity and vision.   To the young personnel scout, Gil Brandt, the former vice president of player personnel for the Dallas Cowboys, is looked upon as the Jim Brown of our profession. Like all successful people, Gil has his share of detractors, but from a scouting perspective over the course of my thirty-four years in the business, I have never met a more organized, innovative, thorough, instinctive and intelligent person. Even at the age of 75, his recall and ability to remember the people and places is second to none.  

With the demise of the World Football League, and before joining the Giants, I had the chance to work briefly with Gil and the Cowboys. The Cowboys were at the top of their game, with top players and an outstanding coaching staff. But believe me when I say that no one person was more responsible for maintaining on-the-field success (top homegrown personnel) then Gil Brandt.  

The Bobby Beathard Award – Given annually to the “College Scout of The Year” in the NFL.   Bobby Beathard is as easy-going and personable of an individual as I ever had the opportunity to meet in scouting. But don’t let that California surfer, laid back personality fool you; Bobby is highly intelligent, a fierce competitor and had a great knowledge of the game of football.   During his administrative career, seven Beathard-led clubs appeared in Super Bowls (four championships). A composite list of the “Pro Bowl” caliber players would extend this letter an additional two pages, and Mr. Commissioner, since you have been so kind to read this letter in entirety, I think it is best that I let you get on to other pressing matters. 

Thanks again,

Tom Marino
Scout.com

P.S. — A resolution to the NFL Network – Cable TV issue my well be in order.