Understand the Machine, To Beat the Machine

Lessons From the Other Side of the Game

When my playing career ended, I thought I knew the game of football. I’d been immersed in it since I was eight years old — ball boy, player, coach’s kid, film junkie, competitor. But stepping into the business side — first as an NFL college analytics scout, a recruiting coordinator, then in league operations — was like pulling back the curtain on a mach…