A lot of Princeton grads find good jobs. Some find jobs they really like. Marc Ross '95 was lucky enough to find both.
The sociology major and former All-Ivy wide receiver has spent the last 12 years working as an NFL scout, traveling the country in search of new talent.
"There are so many things I love about my job — working for a first-class organization, working with great people," Ross said. "I love just being a part of the NFL experience."
In May, New York Giants General Manager Jerry Reese named Ross the organization's new director of college scouting.
"We liked Marc's skill set," Reese told giants.com. "Marc is an outstanding scout himself. We like that about him. All of the references that we called were very high on him. We think he is going to be a perfect fit for us."
Ross' rapid climb through the NFL ranks began almost immediately after he graduated from Princeton, when he took a summer internship in the Giants' personnel department. He then left the NFL for a year to take a job in Columbia's department of athletics before returning to the league in 1996, this time with his hometown team — the Philadelphia Eagles. The Eagles quickly promoted Ross from a low-level position in the personnel department to a much more sought-after one — Eastern regional scout.
Ross' big break came after Philadelphia's director of college scouting died unexpectedly. To Ross' surprise, the Eagles' general manager named him to fill the vacated position, making the then 27-year-old the NFL's youngest director of college scouting.
The promotion created its own set of challenges for Ross: With only three years of experience as a scout, he was expected to manage and lead a legion of mostly much older scouts, some of whom had been with the Eagles for decades. Though the task initially worried Ross, he soon found his concerns unwarranted.
"Age isn't really an issue," Ross said. "It's about efficiency and how well you get the job done."
During his four years as Philadelphia's director of college scouting, the Sharon Hill, Pa., native helped draft an impressive array of talented rookies, including Brian Westbrook, now one of the league's most prolific running backs, and Lito Sheppard, the Eagles' star cornerback. After that job ended in 2004, Ross headed north to Buffalo, N.Y., where he polished his skills as a national scout with the Bills until May, when he accepted Reese's job offer with the Giants.
As New York's director of college scouting, Ross is charged with both overseeing his department and the organization's draft.
That job description translates into a lot of traveling.
Typically, Ross spends three or four days a week on the road, visiting a different school each day. Once on campus, Ross watches tapes of potential recruits, goes to practice, talks to coaches and writes up reports on each promising player.
Despite all the hard work he puts in during the scouting season, which lasts from late August until mid-April, Ross' job ultimately comes down to a two-day event in late April, the NFL Draft, where he has to synthesize a year's worth of accumulated scouting knowledge and decide who to draft, and who not to draft.
The Draft puts an extraordinary amount of pressure on Ross, but if his college football career is any indication, he can handle pressure situations. At the university, Ross was a standout during one of the Tigers' winningest eras — the early '90s — and helped lead the Orange and Black to the 1992 Ivy League Championship. As a kick returner and wide receiver, he set five Princeton records, including the one for most yards in a game (161). Ross' success earned him All-Ivy honors twice, as well as the esteemed Class of 1952 Award, given annually to the Tigers' top special teams player.
Ross says that, though he couldn't apply his sociology degree to the NFL, his Princeton diploma definitely helped open some doors after he graduated.
"I don't think anything I studied [at the University] specifically helped me, but I think the networking, the contacts, did."
Ross looks to one day become an NFL team's general manager, but in the meantime, he's happy just being part of the NFL experience.
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