Only for Guild Members » Bobby Beathard loathed first-round draft picks

Bobby Beathard loathed first-round draft picks and reveled in taking chances on players from out-of-the-way colleges.It was a formula that paid off with two victories in four trips to the Super Bowl as general manager of the Washington Redskins and San Diego Chargers.He also loathes dressing up Matthew Ioannidis Jersey , meaning the gold blazer he'll wear when he's inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame won't get much use after Saturday night's ceremony."I don't think I'll be wearing it many places except there," Beathard said. "I don't think I'll be going out to dinner with that coat on."That's Beathard, 81, who always was more comfortable dressed as a Southern California beach bum. In jobs ranging from scout to general manager, he helped build seven Super Bowl teams for four franchises, including four winners, during a career lasting nearly four decades.Beathard was so low-key that when Kevin Gilbride was hired as Chargers coach in 1997 and insisted that everyone wear a coat and tie on road trips, even the GM, Beathard reached into his pocket on one trip and found an NFL schedule from 1989. That had been the last time he wore a blazer, when he worked on NBC's pregame show.Beathard certainly didn't need a blazer for scouting trips to small colleges, or to bodysurf in his beloved Pacific Ocean, run the Boston Marathon or have a few beers once a week with his buddies in Franklin, Tennessee, where he's lived for several years.But he'll have to wear one Saturday night.His presenter will be Hall of Fame coach Joe Gibbs, hired by Beathard with Washington before the 1981 season."I would have had one of my sons but I think it was more appropriate to have Joe," Beathard said. "We spent a long time together."Gibbs, inducted in 1996, coached the Redskins to victory in two of the three Super Bowls the Redskins reached in the 1980s. Those are the teams Beathard is best-remembered for building.He also built the San Diego Chargers' only Super Bowl team Womens Shawn Lauvao Jersey , which was routed by San Francisco in the 1995 game.He began his career as a part-time scout for the Kansas City Chiefs in 1963 before leaving to scout in the AFL. He returned to the Chiefs in 1966, when they played in the first Super Bowl. In 1972, Beathard was hired as director of player personnel for the Miami Dolphins, who won consecutive Super Bowls.The Redskins hired him as GM in 1978 and he began doing things his way. He viewed first-round draft picks a commodity to be traded away to stockpile lower picks. He also worked the free agent market. In 1982, the Redskins team that won the Super Bowl included 27 free agents signed by Beathard since he was hired. In his 11 years in Washington, the Redskins used their first-round pick only three times.In 1988, Sports Illustrated called him "The Smartest Man in the NFL."Beathard didn't like the title."That was kind of embarrassing," Beathard said. "Whoever put that in there, I told them when it first came out, 'Well, you better go back and ask my high school and college teachers if that's true, and I don't think they'd agree with that.' "Taking Beathard's entire career as a whole, the label certainly fit."If I ever got into that position, I had a plan how I wanted to do it and it wasn't that the No. 1 draft pick was the most important thing," Beathard said about becoming a GM. "Every year we'd go out all year to all the colleges, scouting and looking at the players. And if it was a draft that was deep in talent I thought it was more valuable to get some of the later picks, because there were real good players down there, not only in the first round. If you had a high pick in the first round Womens Dustin Hopkins Jersey , trade that and get multiple picks where all the other players were. Fortunately it worked out for us. The only grief I got from it was from Darrell Green."Of all his draft picks and free agent signings, Beathard said his favorite was Green, the 5-foot-8 defensive back from Texas A&I who was taken with the 28th pick overall — the last pick in the first round — of the 1983 draft. Green went on to a Hall of Fame career."That doesn't mean the other guys, the Art Monks, the Russ Grimms and the Jeff Bostics, all those other guys, it doesn't mean those weren't just as important," Beathard said. "When we took Darrell Green, I'll never forget the phone call. When I called Darrell he was down at Texas A&I and I called Darrell and said, 'Hey Darrell, it's Bobby; we took you.' He got mad at me and said, 'Why did you wait until last pick to take me?' And I said, 'The way the draft works, we won the Super Bowl so we had the last pick, so blame the other (27) teams that didn't take you. Don't blame us.'"Beathard left the Redskins in May 1989 and was out of the NFL only one season before being hired by the Chargers. His first draft pick was Junior Seau and the Chargers reached the Super Bowl five seasons later. Seau was posthumously inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2015.When he scouted colleges, Beathard, who retired in April 2000, said he'd look beyond the players recommended by coaches."I traveled the whole country to every school that played football to look for players. I got to see the players personally Womens Mason Foster Jersey , besides the scouting staff. I just had a lot of confidence in my evaluation. I wasn't afraid to take players from small schools, or small players."I think of Darrell Green, we had a little receiver, Alvin Garrett, guys that some teams thought we were crazy to take them because they were so small, but they were great players. I guess I was lucky to have a feel for some of these guys and had coaches who were willing to coach them."His greatest influences were Don Shula and Al Davis.Beathard said his best memory is of the Dolphins' undefeated 1972 season, "but they were all memorable. Any time we made it to that last game, it meant that we were going to the Super Bowl. Those were always great memories."Follow Bernie Wilson on Twitter at ://berniewilson Hi, I’m John Gennaro, EP of SB Nation Team Brands Podcasts, and I’m looking for a few good Washington Redskins podcasters. To date, we’ve launched 28 NFL podcasts as a part of the Vox Media Podcast Network. Podcasts and podcasters that join our network enjoy a level of promotion that is generally unmatched and could only be provided by SB Nation, with our experience and expertise in giving a voice to the fan.Now, we’re looking to launch a podcast that represents the Hogs Haven community and we need your help. The same type of great coverage and entertainment that you’ve come to expect from this site is what we should expect from the podcast that we build.About SB Nation team podcasts鈥e’re building our Hogs Haven podcast in the model of our site: A place to go to every day for the latest news, opinions, and insight. A place with a diverse range of voices that each cover the team in their own, unique way. That means that we’re looking for more than one show for the Hogs Haven podcast (and more than one show for all of SB Nation’s team brand podcasts.) Keep reading to find out if this may be the right opportunity for you.What are we looking for?We’re looking for people who can help Hogs Haven take podcasting to the next level. That means people who want to bring their shows to Hogs Haven, or who can demonstrate their ability to build a show about the Redskins. And right now Womens Morgan Moses Jersey , the spots are open. Whether you want to do previews, recaps, deep analysis, or something weird and uniquely for the Hogs Haven community, it makes sense to get in on the ground floor. We don’t have room for an infinite number of shows.What skills and qualifications should you have?We’re looking for people who:Have a passion for the Washington Redskins.Ideally already enjoy reading, commenting, and participating in the Hogs Haven community.Have experience recording, editing, and producing podcasts.Are self-starters and comfortable meeting deadlines.Have a vision for how to carve out a special space in Hogs Haven’s podcast lineup. What do we pay?Podcasting contributors who join Hogs Haven will be paid monthly stipends related to their monthly downloads. How do you apply?Please send a cover letter and a podcast sample to SB Nation’s talent manager for team brands, Jeanna Thomas, at jeanna.thomas@sbnation.com. You will not be considered for this role unless you submit both items. If you have an idea for a new Redskins show you’d want to start as part of the Hogs Haven podcast, please include it in your cover letter. You can also hit Jeanna up with any questions about the position, Hogs Haven, or SB Nation in general.What if I’m interested but don’t have a podcasting sample?If you’re not sure if your background and experience align with what we’re asking for above, but you believe you have the potential to thrive in this role, we encourage you to apply. You don’t need a professional studio to record a podcasting sample--sometimes recording a few minutes on your phone can be enough. Custom New Orleans Saints Jerseys