Patriots make franchise history with new scouting department hire originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston
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The New England Patriots recently hired an entry-level scouting assistant, a transaction that normally wouldn't make headlines.
But their hiring of Maya Ana Callender is worth noting, because Callender is believed to be the first full-time female scout in New England franchise history, per ESPN's Mike Reiss.
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Callender comes to Foxboro after also breaking barriers at Princeton, where she spent four years as the Tigers' director of football operations and was the first Black woman in school history to hold that title. In addition to being responsible for team travel logistics, recruiting and player engagement, Callender also assumed responsibilities as Princeton's liaison for NFL scouts, providing them with detailed reports on Tigers players.
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"She talked about the players, their injury histories, how she had evaluated their performances. Then, by the time the scouts got to me, they didn’t have a lot of questions," Princeton head football coach Bob Surace told Reiss. "I was kind of irrelevant on that, which was a new thing for me. She was terrific
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A 2016 graduate of Utica University, Callender worked with the Philadelphia Eagles during a 2021 training camp fellowship program and most recently spent time with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as part of the NFL's Nunn Wooten scouting fellowship in August 2022. She joins director of scouting administration Nancy Meier -- who joined the Patriots in 1975 and is the organization's longest tenured-full-time employee -- as the second woman to work in New England's scouting department.
Callender will hit the ground running with the Patriots, who kick off organized team activities Monday.