Jaguars GM Dave Caldwell Adds 4 Personnel Pieces
By Luke Sims
Aug 26, 2011; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Indianapolis Colts president Bill Polian (right) sits next to his son and general manager Chris Polian before the game against the Green Bay Packers at Lucas Oil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports
Following the NFL Draft general manager Dave Caldwell cleared some space in his front office personnel to make room for his own guys. Those four guys are Kyle O’Brien, Paul Roell, Mark Ellenz, and Chris Polian. These four men are going to have an influence on the personnel moves Caldwell makes over his tenure and will likely contribute significantly to the molding of the roster. So, who are these four men? Let’s dive in.
O’Brien takes over as the Director of College Scouting. O’Brien has a 12 year history in scouting. He has spent extensive time with the New England Patriots, Kansas City Chiefs.
Roell joins O’Brien as his Assistant Director of College Scouting. Having spent over half a decade with the Minnesota Vikings, Roell gets most of his extensive 21-years of experience from the Indianpolis Colts before his time in Minnesota.
Ellenz will be the Eastern Regional Scout. Like Roell, Ellenz comes from the Colts. He has spent his entire 13 year scouting career with the team.
The pulls from the Colts make sense as Caldwell spent time under former Colts president Bill Polian. Polian’s son, Chris, who most recently served as General Manager and Vice President for the Colts. Polian comes to the Jaguars with extensive front office experience and will be filling the role of Director of Pro Personnel.
Personally, I like the moves. While the Jaguars have essentially brought in the team that saw the rise and fall of the Indianpolis Colts from 1998-2011, there is a lot of football experience from this staff and they will be looking to prove that it wasn’t all Peyton Manning in Indy. This team may be young but it has extensive experience in its front office. Polian especially figures to be a big part of Caldwell’s process, but having him beneath Caldwell in the organization structure should not be overlooked. In the end this is still Caldwell’s team.
Paul Kuharsky takes a look at the positives and negatives of bringing Polian in, here.
– Luke N. Sims
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