It doesn’t happen often, but a member of the Ravens scouting department is moving on.
National Scout Joe Douglas has accepted a promotion with the Chicago Bears to become their college scouting director.
Douglas has been with the team since 2000 and was a graduate of the team's "20/20 club," which refers to 20-year-olds hired for $20,000.
He originally joined the franchise as a player personnel assistant, and even made an appearance on HBO’s Hard Knocks as “The Turk” – the person responsible for letting training camp players know they were going to be cut.
Douglas was promoted to national scout after the 2012 draft, following three years as a Southeast area scout (2009-2011). He evaluated cornerback Lardarius Webb (Nicholls State), defensive end Pernell McPhee (Mississippi State) among others. As an East Coast scout in 2008, Douglas played a key role in scouting quarterback Joe Flacco and running back Ray Rice.
Douglas also organized and coordinated the undrafted free-agent signing process, which has been extremely successful in signing rookie free agents such as linebacker Jameel McClain (2008), linebacker Dannell Ellerbe (2009), linebacker Albert McClellan (2010), kicker Justin Tucker (2012), wide receiver Marlon Brown (2013) and tackle James Hurst (2014).
The Ravens have been known for maintaining continuity within their scouting department. Douglas was one of the group's longest-tenured members. He gained a reputation for liking tough, physical, grinding players.
"Everybody loves and respects the guy," said Ravens Senior Personnel Assistant George Kokinis before this year's draft. "You never hear a bad word about Joe even though he's under the radar. He never puts himself out there for as good a scout as he is."
