/ Football GM & Scouting Certificate Course

Train to Become a Football Scout

In eight weeks online, with live interactive zoom chats with NFL Scouts, you can learn the scouting and skills needed to launch your career in Professional and Collegiate football. Our graduates are currently working in the NFL, CFL, UFL, NCAA. Proof that this program works!

Our 8-week online Football GM and Scouting Certificate Course will help you develop the skills that NFL, CFL, and UFL, look for in a new hire.

You will gain an edge by learning insider scouting methods directly from NFL legends like John Wooten and former Tampa Bay GM Mark Dominik, and NFL Scouts, Dane Vandernat & Russ Lande. (Yes, "live" via zoom!)

You will leave with a comprehensive understanding of all parts of the NFL's talent acquisition process, from initial college scouting to roster and salary cap management. Plus, you'll get experience using the same scouting guidelines the pro teams use.

By the time you graduate, your skill set will be exactly what is needed to launch your scouting career in the NFL, CFL, and UFL.
Our 8-week course will set you up with "the what you know" and "the who you know" to advance your football career!

NEXT START DATE: February 10

NEXT START DATE:
February 10

Weekly Live Interactive Zoom Chats With Russ Lande
TUESDAYS 6 pm PT 9 pm ET WEDNESDAYS 2 am GMT
Weekly Live Interactive Zoom Chats With Dane Vandernat & John Wooten
WEDNESDAYS 6 pm PT 9 pm ET THURSDAYS 2 am GMT
8-week online course
Access to SMWW network
Resume enhancement
Ongoing career advice
Class size limited to 25 students

Mentors

Chania

TAKE THE FIRST STEP

Learn More About Becoming a Football GM and Scouting Student

We want to help you find the right course for your career. Fill out the form below and an SMWW Career Counselor will follow up directly with you.

CONNECT WITH A CAREER COUNSELOR

The SMWW Team will contact you
within two business days.

 

This course is for jobs in the NFL, CFL, UFL, D1:

  • Scouting 
  • Player Personnel
  • Football Operations
  • College Recruitment
  • GM
  • Management
  • Agent
  • Salary Cap Analytics
  • Media & Journalism
  • Community Relations & Outreach
  • League Offices
  • Coaching
  • Bowl Game

 

   
   
 

The Football GM & Scouting course gave me the tools I need to start a career in scouting, and probably most important, the resources and contacts to get started. Thanks to this course I've become an analyst with ProFootballFocus.com. I really can't say enough about the opportunities SMWW has given me! - Josh Liskiewitz, ProFootballFocus.com Analyst

You will learn these techniques & skills from pro football scouts:

  • Responsibilities of a general manager
  • Running the front office of a professional team
  • Player evaluation including body type, mental makeup, playing ability, and physical tools
  • NFL War Room Strategies
  • Identification of players who will succeed in the NFL
  • Traditional scouting vs. new high-tech scouting
  • Rating college talent as it translates to the NFL
  • Techniques to evaluate college All-Star games
  • Crafting a football scouting report
  • NFL Draft preparation
  • NFL Combine evaluation: Shuttle Run, Vertical Jump, L-Cone, 40-yd dash, Broad Jump
  • Negotiating with players and agents
  • Identifying and landing quality players through free agency and trades
  • Football franchise and stadium operations
  • In-depth analysis of the draft and free agency trends
  • Relationships between the NFL, UFL, CFL, NCAA


*In addition to weekly live interactive Zoom video chats with your Mentors, former NFL GM's and Scouts, you will receive textbooks and access to the online classroom.

Are you excited yet? We get rave reviews! If you love football, you will love this course!

Take a peek at what your 8-week course will look like:

    WEEK ONE - Introduction to SMWW Classroom & Intro to Football Scouting
    WEEK TWO- NFLPA & Collective Bargaining Agreement. Scheduling your Informational Interviews.
    WEEK THREE- Scouting Offensive Skill Positions - (Scouting Reports Graded)
    WEEK FOUR-Scouting Offensive Line Positions - (Scouting Reports Graded)
    WEEK FIVE- Defensive Schemes - (Scouting Reports Graded)
    WEEK SIX- Scouting Defensive Line Positions - (Scouting Reports Graded)
    WEEK SEVEN- Scouting Defensive Skill Positions - (Scouting Reports Graded)
    WEEK EIGHT- GM Best Practices & Advancing your Career

Meet Your Course Mentors:

Mark Dominik - based on availability

Mark Dominik joined the Tampa Bay Buccaneers staff at just 24 years old as a Pro Personnel Assistant and worked his way up the ladder to GM while contributing to seven playoff teams and a Super Bowl championship. He developed the right skills to be hired and advance to the highest operations position, and now he’s teaching them to people like you.

“In the weekly zoom chats, we are going to talk about all the little steps you can take to become a scout or a GM in the National Football League,” says Dominik. “My mindset is to give you anything I can to help you find a way to distinguish yourself from everybody else. ”I’ve seen a lot of ways people try to get openings or opportunities, I know what teams are looking for and I know what works and what doesn’t. The Football GM and Scouting course offered by SMWW, helps you learn how to get ahead, the right way.  We help people break through a barrier that they weren’t able to get through before.”
 

John Wooten

John WootenWhen the Godfather of the NFL speaks, people listen, people learn, and people change.

“Respectfully, professionally, and affectionately, John Wooten is known as the Godfather, because of the breadth and depth of his service and what he has meant to the NFL as a player, scout, agent, and front office executive,” acknowledges Ray Anderson, former NFL Executive Vice-President.
Wooten has long fought for diversity and inclusion in the sport, helping to establish the “Rooney Rule” requiring teams to interview minority candidates for head coaching and senior football operations positions in the league. As chairman of the Fritz Pollard Alliance, Wooten has helped establish processes to develop talented minority candidates for NFL positions. A longtime mentor in our Football GM and Scouting course, John Wooten brings a perspective that not many in the business of sports can replicate. His name on your resume will last for decades to come. The opportunity to chat with him each week for 8 weeks is priceless.

Dane Vandernat

Dane Vandernat privately scouts for NFL teams. Dane spent many years as the NFLPA Collegiate Bowl’s Director of Player Personnel. Vandernat first joined the Raiders in 2008, serving as a training camp intern prior to completing a salary cap and agent administration internship with the NFLPA. He then re-joined the Raiders as a Player Personnel Assistant before becoming a Pro Scout. In 2015, Vandernat was promoted to Oakland’s Director of Pro Personnel, where he oversaw daily operations, worked closely with Raiders GM, and evaluated prospective players. Dane is excited to train you in what you need to know to be eligible for jobs on the scouting side of football.

Russ Lande

With over 30 years of scouting experience in the NFL, CFL, and XFL, Russ Lande provides a great perspective on the ins and outs of professional scouting. Russ began his scouting career as a part-time unpaid recruiting intern with the UCLA Bruins at just 22 years old. Lande eventually got paid for his hard work, becoming a scouting administrator with the Los Angeles Rams. After four years with the Rams, Lande began delving into the publishing and media side of scouting, founding GM Jr. Scouting, crafting an annual NFL draft guide, consulting with CBS Sports, and eventually writing for the Sporting News, National Football Post, and Sports on Earth and host of several scouting shows. Lande spent four years as the Midwest Blesto scout with the Cleveland Browns and has worked in a variety of scouting positions for CFL teams. When you take the Football GM and Scouting Certificate Course, Lande will personally assist you with your scouting reports to ensure you are properly trained to meet the standards and qualifications of the NFL, CFL, and UFL.

At SMWW, we’ll teach you how to scout AND how to manage a team.

A vast majority of NFL GM's began their careers in the scouting and player personnel department before running an entire team operation. While managing the salary cap, negotiating contracts, and hiring staff are essential parts of becoming a general manager, the crux of the job is in identifying the talent that can change your team’s future.

Unlike most online classes, we focus our program on interactive zoom video chats directly with your course mentors, allowing you the opportunity to build personal relationships and rapport with veteran NFL executives Mark Dominik, John Wooten, and Russ Lande, and Dane Vandernat. 

After completing our Football GM and Scouting course, we will help you redesign your resume to highlight your new skills and include that you have been taught first-hand by Dominik, Vandernat, Wooten, and Lande.

NFL teams need talented individuals schooled in the intricacies of scouting and managing a team operation. Our Football GM and Scouting course is the best way to gain the skills needed to work in professional football.

 

Course Details

Weekly Interactive Zoom Video Chats: A unique aspect of each 8-week course is the opportunity for students to participate in weekly, live interactive Zoom video chats with fellow students, Mark Dominik, John Wooten, Russ Lande, Dane Vandernat, Dr. Lashbrook, and occasional guests. Get to know your Mentors and fellow students personally.

Online Education: You will enjoy the online discussion boards, weekly readings, weekly quizzes, course projects. All course materials and textbooks are included in the course fee.

Global Participation:  SMWW students participate from over 163 countries. Courses have an international influence and instructors will cater assignments to specific countries or leagues. Countries with economic challenges are eligible for economic discounts.

University Credit Available: For additional fees to Fort Hays State University in Kansas, you may receive graduate or undergraduate university credit for Sports Management Worldwide's courses. Click here for more information.

Optional Yearly NFL Combine Career Conference: All SMWW students and faculty are invited to attend the yearly Sports Career Conference at the NFL Combine in Indianapolis, Indiana. All SMWW Students receive a huge discount and are encouraged to attend to utilize their skills and network within the industry and meet their mentors in person!

Advanced Certificates: Our Advanced Certificates have been hand-selected by our team of sports industry experts to put you on a path to success. These bundles of courses allow you to take advantage of our biggest discount and ensure you become an expert in that field. Learn more about our Advanced Certificates here.

Military Discount: For those individuals who represent their country in military service, (active, reserve, or retired) we offer a discount. Thank you for serving your country! For more information on the Military Discount Click Here.

Tax Write Off - (For USA Citizens): SMWW course tuition, books, and supplies can be used for education tax credits. Save your receipts and consult with your tax advisor on how this applies to you.

What Happens After You Graduate?

  • You will have qualifications, references, resume, acumen, and terminology to work for a professional or collegiate football team.
  • You will be invited to join SMWWscouts.com, a matchmaking service for football scouts & teams. Highlight your best scouting reports, professional headshot, and bio. Get recognized by professional teams.
  • You can post your new Football GM & Scouting Certificate Badge on LinkedIn. Badges make it easy for employers to verify your credentials. By clicking on a badge, they can access detailed information about your certifications or skills, ensuring an efficient and reliable verification process. This transparency builds trust by backing your skills with reputable sources.
  • Share your SMWW Course Certificate on your business and social platforms. This certificate represents not only your achievements in the course but also demonstrates your personal commitment to self-improvement and the ability to "self-train" yourself for higher positions within the football industry.
  • Stamp of approval by SMWW. This approval includes a personal reference you may add to your resume with contact information for Dr. Lynn Lashbrook and your course mentors.
  • SMWW Resume Redesign Service - we include one professionally redesign your resume for optimal impact in the sports industry. This resume includes your new Football Scouting skills in Football Scouting and a reference to Mark Dominik, Russ Lande, Dane Vandernat, and John Wooten. We optimize your resume to reach hiring managers searching online. 
  • You join the SMWW Alumni and receive Alumni discounted pricing for life in courses, degrees and conferences.
  • You become a life long member of the SMWW Family and our extensive network of alumni working all over the globe.
  • Simply put, we want you to become the next SMWW success story and will go to great lengths to help you get there! 

I took the Football General Manager and Scouting class for a possible change of career opportunities. I am a former Division I football player and am contemplating a second career. It was a great experience. I learned more than I could have imagined, made great contacts, gained tremendous insight into professional football front office practices, and obtained invaluable information on potential employment opportunities. It was time well spent and well worth the money. - Dan Moody

 

 

THREE MONTHLY PAYMENTS OF $650

Or a single payment of $1,950

Includes all course textbooks and access to a web-based classroom. Shipping is additional.

PRICE IN  
APPROXIMATELY $1950

If we offer an economic discount in your country, it is included in the estimate above. Exact pricing including the discount is shown before you complete checkout. Payment plan options are provided during checkout.

PAYMENT METHODS:
Prerequisites: Must be 18 or older to participate and have a passion for sports.
CALL TODAY: 1-877-SMWW-NOW
(In the UK: 087 12884799)

SMWW’s Industry Leading Courses Featured In:

8-Week Courses & Certificates (Alphabetical):