Bears GM Emery finalizes his scouting personnel

Longtime Bears scouts Marty Barrett and Chris Ballard have been promoted by general manager Phil Emery, who was a colleague of both men when he served as a Bears area scout from 1998-2004.

Barrett, has spent the last 15 seasons as the club’s West area scout, becomes the team’s director of college scouting.

Ballard, who spent the previous 11 seasons as the team’s Southwest area scout, will be the director of pro scouting.

Tim Ruskell oversaw both departments last season as the director of player personnel under general manager Jerry Angelo, who was fired at the end of the 2011 season. Emery replaced Angelo in January.

“The focus during the selection process for the directors’ position was not whether the scout came from a pro or college background — rather it was their level of skill as communicators and evaluators,” Emery said. “We were also looking for people with a successful background in coaching, organizational and administrative experience.

“Chris and Marty’s abilities in these important areas really stand out. Their high level of skill in these areas is why we placed them in these leadership roles.”

Barrett spent three years as a scout with the New Orleans Saints (1995-97) before joining the Bears. Before then, he was an assistant to the athletic director for football operations at Rutgers from 1991-95 after serving as a graduate assistant/defensive backs for the Scarlet Knights for one season. From 1986-89, Barrett coached at his alma mater, the University of Buffalo, and handled the duties of recruiting coordinator during his entire tenure with the Bulls.

Before joining the Bears, Ballard spent seven seasons (1994-2000) as a coach at Texas A&M-Kingsville under 2012 College Football Hall of Fame inductee Ron Harms, including his final season as defensive coordinator.

During his time with the Javelinas, Ballard helped to develop future NFL players Al Harris, Richard Jones, Karl Williams and Floyd Young, while also being a part of a coaching staff that developed first-rounder Jermaine Mayberry and Bears center Roberto Garza.

“Our personnel department is a team of evaluators with a wide and diverse background,” Emery said. “Our scouts, coaches and support personnel will work together to shape a roster in an effort to win championships. This diversity of backgrounds greatly enhances our collective efforts in the evaluation of perspective players’ football abilities, as well as the players’ fit for our scheme, locker room, team and community.”

Kevin Turks, assistant director of pro personnel the past five seasons for the Bears, will be an assistant director of pro scouting along with Dwayne Joseph, a former Bears safety (1995-96).

Joseph has 14 years of experience in scouting and football operations, spending the last eight seasons with the Miami Dolphins serving as a pro scout and adding the title of assistant director of pro personnel for one season in 2007. Turks is in his 11th season with the Bears. He has worked as a pro scout for the Bears since 2002 after serving as an intern in Chicago’s scouting department in 2001.

Jeff Shiver will serve as the Bears executive scout/assistant director of college scouting with a focus on the Big Ten Conference. He has 28 years of NFL scouting experience and is in his 26th year with the team. Shiver previously worked as an area scout for the Bears, focusing on the Midwest region.

Two other longtime Bears college scouts remain in the organization. Rex Hogan and Mark Sadowski will both work as national scouts, working the West and East regions, respectively.

Hogan joined the Bears as a college scout in 2003 after working five years in college football at Utah and Notre Dame in the areas of recruiting and football operations. Sadowski has 15 years of scouting experience with the New Orleans Saints (1998-2005) and the Bears (2005-12).

Ted Monago, who is in his 12th season in the Bears’ scouting department, will serve as an executive scout with a focus on the Southeastern Conference. Monago has worked as an area scout for the Bears since 2003 after working as the team’s BLESTO scout for two seasons.

Robyn Wilkey will serve as the executive assistant/scouting coordinator in her 15th season with the Bears.

Kent Kahl, James Kirkland, Francis Saint-Paul and Sam Summerville have been added as area scouts, and Breck Ackley, Bobby Macedo, Zach Truty and David Williams as scouting assistants.