Gil Brandt was a longtime figure in the National Football League. After working as a scout for a pair of other NFL teams, he became a fixture with the Dallas Cowboys; for many years, he served as the team's vice president of player personnel.
In recent years, Brandt was a prominent analyst, including working for the NFL itself in print and radio for Sirius XM. He received several accolades and is now being memorialized.
Passed away on August 31, 2023
Gil Brandt has died. The cause of death was not immediately released to the public. But he was evidently in Dallas at the time of his passing.
He was 91.
Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones released a statement when Brandt's death became known. Jones called him "my friend and a mentor," among other things. He also spotlighted Brandt's contributions as an analyst. "Gil was as good a storyteller as it gets, with a memory sharp as a tack," Jones said.
Brandt began his career in the NFL as a part-time scout with the Los Angeles Rams. During his time with the Rams, the team won an NFL Western Conference Championship in 1955. He later was hired as a full-time scout by the San Francisco 49ers.
After Tex Schramm took control of what would be the Dallas Cowboys, one of his first hires was Brandt. The two had worked together in the past when Schramm was the general manager of the Rams.
Brandt would be a key figure in the franchise's success that followed.
Under Brandt's watch, the team won two Super Bowl Championships, seven conference championships, and 12 division championships. He also helped draft several future Hall of Fame players. Including quarterbacks Roger Staubach and Troy Aikman, running back Tony Dorsett, and defensive tackles Bob Lilly and Randy White.
Brandt is also considered the innovator of many scouting techniques that have become mainstays in the NFL, such as studying the psychology of a prospect. He was among the very first to utilize computers for his work.
In 1999, Brandt received the Walter Camp Man of the Year Award. Later, he was made a member of the Texas Sports Hall of Fame in 2015.
He would also be inducted into the Dallas Cowboys Ring of Honor in 2018. The following year, Brandt was inducted as a new member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Played multiple sports growing up
Gil Brandt was a native of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. As a student at North Division High School, he was a member of the football, basketball, and track teams. Afterward, he attended what is now the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
It was at the suggestion of Elroy Hirsch that Brandt got his start with the Rams. Hirsch was also a Wisconsinite and UW alum. He played for the Rams and later became the team's general manager. He later departed to become his alma mater's athletic director. Hirsch is also an inductee in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, as well as the College Football Hall of Fame.
