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Bears GM candidate profile: Get to know Morocco Brown

Alyssa Barbieri
·3 min read
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The Chicago Bears fired general manager Ryan Pace after seven seasons, and they’ve wasted no time exploring candidates to replace him.

Chairman George McCaskey, President/CEO Ted Phillips and Hall of Fame executive Bill Polian will conduct the search for Chicago’s next GM, a process which McCaskey promised would be “thorough, diligent and exhausted.”

The Bears have cast a wide net of GM candidates that they’ve extended interviews to, including Indianapolis Colts director of college scouting Morocco Brown.

Let’s take an in-depth look at what Brown brings to the table in our Bears GM candidate profile:

Background

  • Current Job: Director of College Scouting, Indianapolis Colts (2016-Present)

  • Age: N/A

  • Hometown: Hampton, VA

  • College: North Carolina State University

Experience

  • Director of College Scouting, Indianapolis Colts (2016-Present)

  • VP Player Personnel, Cleveland Browns (2014-15)

  • Director of Pro Personnel, Washington Football team (2008-13)

  • Assistant Director of Pro Personnel, Chicago Bears (2001-07)

  • Scouting Intern, Indianapolis Colts (2000)

Analysis

Brown is considered to be a top GM candidate this offseason, which isn’t a big surprise considering he’s been Colts GM Chris Ballard’s right-hand man. Last year, Brown interviewed for the Atlanta Falcons’ GM opening, but nothing ever came of it. There’s a belief that Brown will draw plenty of interest this time around, and Ballard is said to be talking up Brown as a GM candidate to other teams.

Brown spent a good portion of his career in pro personnel with the Bears, Browns and Washington. But when he joined the Colts, he stepped he focused on the college side of things, where he’s really been able to develop an eye for talent. And it’s certainly no coincidence that Indianapolis has received rave reviews about their draft selections in recent history, which includes players like Quenton Nelson and Darius Leonard.

It’s hard to ignore the connections between Brown and the Bears. Brown spent seven years as Chicago’s assistant director of pro personnel from 2001-07, where he worked with the team during their Super Bowl appearance in 2006. Brown has also worked close with Colts GM Chris Ballard, who served as a Bears scout for a decade. Ballard interviewed for Chicago’s GM opening in 2015, but he was passed over for Pace.

He said it...

“I look forward to when the draft is over, and the player is on your team. He’s an Indianapolis Colt. Then, you get to see the process, starting with rookie minicamp and how this guy is going to mold in with the rest of the team and really help and impact your team now. Because, some of this can be a little bit of a show. Is he this guy? Is he fit for this team? Who’s going to pick this guy, here? But you always have to keep in mind the fact that once you select him, he’s one of ours then. So, you’ve got to project it out that way.”

— Brown on the NFL draft

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Bottom line

Brown is one of this cycle’s top GM candidates, and it’s hard not to assume he’s a top candidate for the Bears’ GM job. Brown has been instrumental in the Colts’ success in the NFL draft, where he’s developed an eye for scouting talent. But he’s also been Ballard’s right-hand man, which means he’s gotten a look at how to run the show.

There’s the obvious connections between Brown and the Bears organization, which includes a previous stop in Chicago and his first stop in Indianapolis when Bill Polian was in place. There’s also the fact that Brown is already considered a “strong” candidate for the Bears’ GM vacancy.

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