Chicago Bears Make Interesting Tweak To Their Scouting Department
The Chicago Bears didn’t make sweeping changes to their scouting department this year. That is to be expected. GM Ryan Poles made big adjustments last season as he looked to establish himself, bringing in people he knows and dismissing those he didn’t see as part of his vision. This time around, the changes were more subtle. However, one notable promotion was worth mentioning after the team delivered a press release on the changes. It appears Combine Scout Drew Raucina will join the ranks of the team’s area scouts going into the 2024 off-season.
It isn’t yet clear which area he is taking over. Ryan Weese will fill his old spot as a combine scout. Raucina joined the Bears in 2018 as a scouting assistant after outperforming five others for the job. He’d done solid work as a recruiting scout for both Northwestern and Mississippi State. Over the past two years, Raucina was responsible for scouting the schools of Iowa, Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Illinois. Since then, the Bears have added Jack Sanborn, Doug Kramer, and Terell Smith from those programs.
It’s also worth noting guys like Kerby Joseph and Tyler Linderbaum were immediate starters for other teams. If Raucina turned in strong scouting reports for them, it would explain his promotion.
The Chicago Bears continue a policy of rewarding from within.
Poles’ changes in 2022 weren’t as sweeping as one would think for a new GM. He evaluated the scouting department and came away impressed with their dedicated and thorough approach. As a result, he even promoted certain guys to higher positions in the organization. Raucina is the latest example. He put in the necessary work, and the higher-ups took notice. They feel he can do far more good for the franchise by having his eyes on a greater volume of players.
For his part, Raucina made his commitment clear in an interview with Kenosha News two years ago.
“It’s really nice to know you’re working for one of the premier franchises in the world,” he said. “That’s how they run it, and it’s everything you would expect it to be. They’re a top-notch organization. Everything that you experience there replicates that.”
Raucina had a chance to be one of the great stories in the Chicago Bears’ history. He started at the literal bottom of the organization as a scout. Now he’s one step closer to joining the front office. If this trajectory continues, he may end up becoming a general manager one day. That would continue a long tradition of this organization producing quality executives.