Dallas Cowboys’ Gil Brandt, Hall of Fame Scout, Dies at 91

“We are so deeply saddened by the passing of Gil Brandt – a true icon and pioneer of our sport. Gil was at the very core of the early success of the Dallas Cowboys.” - Jerry Jones.

FRISCO - Gil Brandt, the innovative Dallas Cowboys legend often referred to as “The Godfather of Modern Scouting,” died Thursday at the age of 91.

“We are so deeply saddened by the passing of Gil Brandt – a true icon and pioneer of our sport,” said Cowboys owner Jerry Jones. “Gil was at the very core of the early success of the Dallas Cowboys … His contributions cemented his spot in the Ring of Honor. … (and) in the Pro Football Hall of Fame where his legacy will be celebrated forever.”

Brandt was a keen talent evaluator in the building of “America’s Team,” but also was at the forefront of using computers and data to help gauge football players.

Additionally - and maybe most key - was Brandt's computer-like mind and memory, which he utilized after leaving Jones’ Cowboys to serve as an NFL ambassador and media figure.

Brandt worked for the Cowboys from their inception in 1960 to 1989, when Jones bought the team and made front-office moves that did not include the retention of Brandt. But while head coach Tom Landry and team president  Tex Schramm found themselves at odds with Jones over their dismissal, Brandt carried on his association with the Cowboys, still offering insight, as he always had, into small-school prospects and other-sport athletes worth a chance and and even psychological evaluations, which he championed decades before that became the norm.

Brandt’s legacy also lives on in the NFL Scouting Combine … all part of an incredible professional life that included his start as a baby photographer in Milwaukee and ends with him as a legend in Dallas and in Canton.