Advertisement

Sources: Browns have hired former private investigator Kathleen Wood to scouting staff

The Cleveland Browns have hired Kathleen Wood as a pro and college scouting fellow, two sources tell Yahoo Sports.

Wood became the first female scout ever for the Senior Bowl last year, where she covered the southeast territory for the pre-draft all-star game.

After starting her own practice as a private investigator, which she did for 16 years, Wood left the business five years ago, wanting to break into football scouting. She spent time as a scouting fellow and intern with the Buffalo Bills and Philadelphia Eagles before her Senior Bowl stint.

“I just want to marry my investigative skills with my evaluation skills,” Wood said last year when she was announced to Jim Nagy’s Senior Bowl staff. “I spent a lifetime of fact-finding and sourcing information as a career, and I'm trying to bridge that into my evaluations on backgrounds and character.”

Although Wood wouldn’t comment for this story, it’s believed she was hired earlier this month.

In January, the Browns named Callie Brownson the first female coach in the team’s history. Brownson is new head coach Kevin Stefanski’s chief of staff.

General manager Andrew Berry overhauled his staff this offseason, including announcing former Colts GM Ryan Grigson as the Browns’ senior football advisor along with hiring former NFL wide receiver Rod Streater, who played with the Browns in 2018, as a scouting assistant.

Female scouts are still relatively rare around the NFL, although that has started to change in recent seasons. The 49ers made Salli Clavelle the only full-time female scout in the league, and Clavelle has said she wants to be a GM one day.

More from Yahoo Sports: