Bear Digest

Bears Personnel Changes Include Hiring Pro Scouting Director

Former Seahawks pro scout D.J. Hord joins Bears personnel staff as GM Ryan Poles shuffles around his scouting department.

Gene Chamberlain

The wheels are turning behind the Halas Hall doors, as Ryan Poles announced personnel department changes.
The wheels are turning behind the Halas Hall doors, as Ryan Poles announced personnel department changes. / BearDigest Photo | Gene Chamberlain
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Bears GM Ryan Poles completed a shifting of his scouting staff and personnel department while also announcing several promotions.

The biggest change is DJ Hord being hired as the director of pro scouting. Hord was with Seattle for seven years and was a pro scout. He was a college receiver for Notre Dame.

Other key changes include former co-director of player personnel Jeff King becoming the senior director of player personnel, while co-director of player personnel Trey Koziol became the director of player personnel.

Breck Ackley was named director of college scouting after he was assistant director of college scouting last year. The Bears hadn't had a director of college scouting since Mark Sadowski was dimissed from this job by Poles in May of 2022, after he'd been with the organization since 2005.

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Francis St. Paul has been named assistant director of college scouting after he was a senior national scout last year.

Also:

  • Brendan Rehor moving to national scout from southeast area scout.
  • John Syty going to national scout after he was southwest area scout.
  • Ryan Cavanaugh becoming southeast area scout after he was midwest area scout.
  • Ryan Weese going to midwest area scout after he was was combine scout.
  • Keith Earle becoming midlands area scout after serving as a scouting assistant.
  • Jake Ponikvar becoming a pro scout after he was a scouting assistant.
  • David Dudeck becoming southwest area scout after he was with the player personnel staff last year as a scouting intern.
  • Nick Papagano becoming NFS Scout. He had been with the Raiders personnel department.

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Gene Chamberlain
GENE CHAMBERLAIN

BearDigest.com publisher Gene Chamberlain has covered the Chicago Bears full time as a beat writer since 1994 and prior to this on a part-time basis for 10 years. He covered the Bears as a beat writer for Suburban Chicago Newspapers, the Daily Southtown, Copley News Service and has been a contributor for the Daily Herald, the Associated Press, Bear Report, CBS Sports.com and The Sporting News. He also has worked a prep sports writer for Tribune Newspapers and Sun-Times newspapers.