IRVING, Texas -- As a kid, Jeff Ireland often sat in a dark
room with his grandfather, staring at images of football players
projected on a wall. Former NFL running back-turned-scout Jim
Parmer spent countless hours explaining what they were watching and
shared some insights on how to tell the good ones from the great
ones.
Ireland is 34 now, and he's been getting paid to make those
evaluations for more than a decade. Next weekend, he'll be in the
Dallas Cowboys' draft room, sharing his thoughts with Jerry Jones
and Bill Parcells while carrying the title of vice president of
college and pro scouting.
Ireland was being groomed for the job practically since joining
the organization four years ago. The promotion was so widely
understood since predecessor Larry Lacewell retired in January that
Jones called the formal announcement Thursday "probably the
worst-kept secret in the organization."
"It's no accident that Jeff has the best part of his career
ahead of him in terms of his age and his experience," Jones said.
"It's very important to me and this organization that we select
someone that we could look to work with for a long time. His skills
in evaluating football players is beyond any question as far as I'm
concerned."
Ireland has been around football most of his life, spending most
of his adolescent summers as a ball boy during training camp for
the Chicago Bears, the team Parmer scouted for. His stepfather is
E.J. Holub, a former star at Texas Tech with the Kansas City
Chiefs.
"I've got a football family," Ireland said. "What I know is
football."
Ireland was a kicker for Baylor, then spent two years as the
special teams coach at North Texas before getting into scouting
with the NFL combine from 1994-96. That led to four seasons as an
area scout for the Chiefs, the Cowboys hired him in 2001 to be a
national scout.
Lacewell was the one who lured Ireland to the organization,
telling Jones he was "someone who could someday run this whole
show." Jones and Parcells -- who arrived in 2003, about the time
Lacewell began planning his retirement -- grew comfortable enough
with him to share Lacewell's opinion.
So, what does he look for?
"Big, fast, strong, smart players," he said, adding that he
stresses character, too. "I want guys smart enough to not just
handle the football side of it, but the pressures of being a
professional athlete."
The Cowboys have the 11th and 20th picks in the draft and
they're without a third-rounder. They're also coming off a 6-10
season and are considering changing defenses from a 4-3 to a 3-4.
That leaves plenty of room for debate as the front office sets its
draft board.
"We toss things around and sometimes it might be more than
tossing," he said. "We debate things pretty strongly. It's a good
situation for everybody to have all their feelings out on the
table. Obviously it's an objective atmosphere out there and no
feelings are being hurt.
"But the opportunity to get the information on the table is a
key working for Bill and for Jerry. It's a great opportunity."