May 06--In a post-draft shake-up the Bears will replace their college scouting director after Marty Barrett was informed his contract will not be renewed.
General manager Ryan Pace said Saturday that he would begin an evaluation of the scouting departments and that process is ongoing but wholesale changes are not expected even though one source said the vast majority of scouts are coming out of contract. Area scouts Jay Muraco and Zach Truty will not be back. Truty is believed to be close to landing a job with the Jets.
It would not be surprising if Pace seeks to replace with someone he and director of player personnel Josh Lucas are familiar with from their time with the Saints.
Barrett worked for the Bears for 18 seasons, the last three in the college director role. Barrett originally joined the Bears in 1997 as a West region scout after working for the Saints for three years. In his second year, the Bears drafted center Olin Kreutz and safety Tony Parrish from Washington. He is well regarded in the scouting community and is expected to land elsewhere soon.
This marks the second major change Pace has made. Shortly after he was hired, director of pro personnel Kevin Turks was fired and Lucas was hired from the Saints as the director of player personnel, a job that oversees the pro and college scouting levels. Additionally, Pace released national scout Rex Hogan from his contract, allowing him to leave for the Jets as their director of college scouting.
