Trey Brown, Bengals Senior Personnel Executive, breaks down how Bengals approached the offseason

Trey Brown is the hottest name for GM jobs in the Bengals' front office, fielding requests from the Patriots and Raiders over the last few years. He joins the guys to talk about the how offseason came together, how the Bengals do things differently and what he likes about their approach, and his experience leading to Cincinnati. Join the Locked On Bengals Insider Community! https://joinsubtext.com/lockedonbengalsFind and follow Locked On Bengals on your favorite podcast platforms:Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/locked-on-bengals-daily-podcast-on-the-cincinnati-bengals/id1159723162Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7AObc0lh0WmQl5fJVgtajsGoogle Podcasts: https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5tZWdhcGhvbmUuZm0vbG9ja2Vkb25iZW5nYWxz?sa=X&ved=0CAYQrrcFahcKEwio_sXtj8nuAhUAAAAAHQAAAAAQAgStitcher: https://www.stitcher.com/show/locked-on-bengals
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Episode Transcript

(00:02):
It's the Lockdown podcast network, Yourteam every Day. The Bengals have made
a ton of moves this offseason,including adding ten draft picks a bunch of
free agents. Senior executive Trey Brownis here to break it all down right
now un Locked On Bengals. Youare Locked On Bengals, your daily Cincinnati

(00:31):
Bengals podcast, part of the LockedOn podcast network, Your team every Day.
Hi again, everyone, and welcomeinto the Locked On Bengals podcast.
I'm James Erpen. I'll be joinedby Jake Lisco and Bengals senior executive Trey
Brown. In just a second.Thank you so much for making us your
first listen here on Locked On Bengals, and a quick reminder to subscribe on

(00:53):
YouTube, follow wherever you get yourpodcasts, and shout out to all of
the everydayers that listen, watch andsupport the podcast. Trey Brown, Well,
he's been a big part of theBengals offseason, from what they did
in free agency to their moves inthe draft, and so without further ado,
let's get to our interview with Bengalssenior executive Trey Brown. Well,

(01:15):
please to welcome Trey Brown to theLocked On Bengals podcast for the first time.
Trey has been with the Bengals frontoffice for a while, but new
to this podcast. Tray and appreciateyou carving out the time to lend your
perspective on the off season. Beforewe get into that off season conversation,
can you talk a little bit aboutwhere exactly you fit in to this Bengals

(01:38):
front office for folks who might behearing from you at least on our podcast
for the first time. Well,Jake James, good to be here,
locked on, ready to go,excited. Thank you for having me on
here. Who day to everybody that'sout there, no great question I mean
in terms of how I fit in. You know, one of the guys

(02:00):
that are just trying to find isfind the best players possible for our organization
and our roster. So you know, we have great ownership and a great
scouting department, you know, ledby Duke Tobin, and Duke allows us
to do a lot of things inthe scouting community and we love it.
Dive, you know, dive rightinto it, and you know, get

(02:23):
an opportunity each and every year toupgrade our team and we're we're in lockstep
with our coaching staff with what ZachTaylor and those guys do. And so
I think in terms of what Ido is just trying to find us to
find the best players that we can. When you were entering this offseason,
obviously wanted to evaluate the roster.You take the big picture of you with

(02:47):
the draft, small picture, allof those things, and the front office
puts together a plan both for freeagency and the draft. If on January
tenth, let's say I would havetold you that you added the free agents
you added, that you had thedraft that you had, would you have
been happy with the result? Doesthis line up with the plan that I

(03:08):
know wasn't fully put together on Januarytenth, but just time machine wise?
Did this line up with your guys'vision going into March and going into free
agency? Yes, it definitely did, And that's very exciting. And anytime
you go through the offseason you haveto be flexible, you have to be

(03:29):
prepared. The preparation that we putin was key because you got to evaluate
and study a lot of guys andyou don't know who's going to come available
to you. You know, you'redoing work on guys that might end up
ultimately re signing back with their team. Some guys might ultimately get franchise tagged
and remained on their current clubs,and you just kind of got to go

(03:50):
through the process and be prepared forany guy that comes available. And I
think that's what we did starting infree agency, kind of targeted, targeting
some potential guys that might we mighthave access to, and ultimately we're very
fortunate that we that they did comeavailable for us, And so that was
a big, you know, excitingexciting the free agency for us. When

(04:13):
guys that you study evaluate you lockin on in terms of, hey,
how they fit in terms of youroffensive scheme, defensive scheme, or even
on special teams. And the guysthat we kind of targeted thought that would
be great fits for us ultimately werethere. And then you got to then
have the conversations with their representation interms of their agents and communications through the

(04:35):
negotiation process. So you might haveguys that fit your scheme, fit your
fit your your culture, fit yourlocker room in terms of what you want
to bring in. But you ultimatelywork some things out and that falls through
and a guy goes to another team. We were very fortunate to have guys
that we locked in on and guysthat we went through the process in terms

(04:57):
of the negotiations, we were ableto get them into to the Cincinnati Bengals
organization and really set us up goinginto the draft. Yeah. Something we've
heard from the scouting department, fromthe coaching staff over the years, the
past few years, picking towards theback of the draft in particular, is
this term pivot and needing to belight on your feet in free agency and
in the draft when things don't goexactly according to plan. I haven't heard

(05:21):
a whole lot of the word pivotthis year from the scouts we've talked to,
from really anyone that I've talked toinvolved with the Bengals. Do you
feel like there was less of thatpivoting this year? Just to keep with
the whole you know, NFL NBAtrend this week and using a pivot foot
and whether or not basketball players canplay in the NFL and vice versa,

(05:43):
But was there less pivoting this year? No? I think that's fair.
I think you know, we werevery fortunate to, like I said,
have the guys that were available availablefor us to be able to talk to
and work with to try to gethere and you never know, each and
every year is different and you justgot to be prepared for whatever's thrown at

(06:06):
you. And I do in termsof your questioning on you know, getting
on the block and pivoting and dropstepping and finishing at the cup, I
think we did all that. Youknow, maybe less pivoting or maneuvering,
but ultimately scoring and putting the ballinto the cup. I think we did
that in terms of how we felton how we attacked this process and the

(06:26):
guys that we came away with,so you know, you know, ultimately
less pivoting, but definitely prepared.And the guys that we added we felt
were very good fits for our organizationand we're excited to have them. From
a culture standpoint, because that's sucha topic. When you're evaluating free agents,

(06:48):
bringing in free agents on visits,how do you balance that make sure
that they fit? What goes intothat evaluation process because obviously you have an
idea of the player. I'm sureyou've talked with people around the league about
the player, but then you bringthem in on a visit. How does
that go about determining Okay, theydo fit, they don't fit, we

(07:08):
should offer them a contract, weshould not offer him a contract. We
should pivot and we should go lookelsewhere. What goes into that decision making
well, I think first is whatyou see on tape and how those physical
attributes, How do those how dothose fit in terms of what we do?
And you know, we can't worryabout everything else. We got to

(07:30):
look in terms of what they doand what they do on tape and how
they fit in terms of the Bengalsoffense or defense or like I said,
on special teams. So that's firstand foremost. If if we feel like
their skill set is not a greatfit in terms of how we would utilize
them, you know, maybe they'renot they're not good on these certain plays
or this, uh, their movementor lack of movement doesn't fit in terms

(07:55):
of what we do defensively. Sothere's a lot of factors that you that
come across on the fit. Ithink that's where it starts. And then
once you check that box like hey, this guy does fit what we do
schematically, then you can continue togo. And then, like you said,
you're talking to your people that youknow around the league, maybe people
that have coached them, people thathave worked with them, in other organizations,

(08:16):
maybe some guys that have also studiedthe guy when he was coming out
of school and kind of kind ofcan have those conversation, Hey, this
is what he looked like coming outof college. This is what he looks
like now. Then you're also bringingin, you know, our doctors and
our trainers, the medical staff tosee, hey, how do we feel
this guy is going to go,you know, his per you know,

(08:37):
his production long term in terms ofthe health and the durability on the on
the guy's body. So I thinkthere's a lot of factors that come in
in terms of what he's fit,how how the player fits. But then
we get an opportunity to potentially bringsome of these guys in and they get
a chance to visit with our coachingstaff one on one and get on the

(08:58):
film and see how they retain theinformation. So it's a it's a it's
it's definitely a detailed process that isput together, and I think once once
we continue to follow that kind ofthat script, we have a good feel
for the guy at the end ofthe day to be able to say,
hmmm, does this guy fit.You know, what we're trying to do

(09:20):
going forward? And these guys thatwe did this offseason were absolutely yes is
and that's what we felt good aboutis as we went through kind of those
those chain of events, these guyswere great fits for what we're trying to
do going forward. And that isin line with the analysis we've done on
this podcast as well. The schemefit seems to be there. And and

(09:43):
of course you know more about thecultural fit than we would on the inside.
You've talked to these guys. Youknow what your culture is like on
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available to US customers. Try.I have a question about your experience leading
into Cincinnati. You obviously worked inNew England. You worked with Howie Roseman
in Philadelphia. You ran the showyourself in Saint Louis before arriving with the
Bengals. What were the big takeawaysfor you at each of those stops working

(12:16):
with you know, Bill Belichick andHowie Roseman and that level of football executive,
the guys that have been around doingwhat they've been doing, and then
running the show yourself in Saint Louis. How has that translated in terms of
the biggest lessons learned for you?Because you're a popular GM candidate, it
seems like for interviews the last coupleof years as well, which has to
feel good I'm sure for you.Yes, Oh, it's It's always good

(12:41):
to feel the love. You know, myself and my family love it here.
So we're very fortunate to work withso many great people here. And
I can say that really over thecourse of my career, I've really been
spoiled with the great football minds andfootball people that I've been exposed to.
I had, you know, Iwas very fortunate to start my career in

(13:03):
New England, great organization, greatpeople, great coaches, great scouts,
great personnel men and women there thatI was working with. Then it was
able to transition to the Philadelphia Eagles, which another great organization, great leadership,
and great people that I worked withon a staff. And then,
like you said, I had ashort stint in these other leagues where really

(13:28):
got a chance to develop and bea part of really everything within the organization,
and those things are really critical,I think to my development and my
growth just in terms of what we'reexposed to in this business. And following
up you know where I am nowwhere I always say, great leadership starts

(13:48):
from the top, and we gotamazing ownership here in Cincinnati, and you
know, amazing leader in our personneldepartment in Duke Tobin. So like I
said, I've just been showered within this in this business, and I
think a lot of my success thatI've had is really it comes from a
lot of the people like I've justnamed, that I've been around. So

(14:09):
that's where that's where I think I'velearned and developed, has really been exposed
and to these these people, menand women, that has really allowed,
I guess or have fostered my growthof course of my career. And you
know, I'm somebody that is alwaystrying to get better, trying to learn,
soak up knowledge, and when youhave so many knowledgeable people around you,

(14:33):
i mean eventually some great lesson ortrick of the trade is going to
fall upon you and you just gotto be ready to take it in because
there's this thing, this this leagueis goes by quick. Every season goes
by fast, and when you're tryingto get to a championships, all those
lessons you might have learned along theway, you never know when you need

(14:54):
to use them. And I havea lot of things in my toolbox that
I'm ready to use when those whenthose things come up. So yeah,
I'm very grateful for everybody that I'vebeen exposed to and I'm very lucky in
the business not to put you onthe spot, but is there like an
anecdote from your time with Howie Rosemanor an interaction with Bill Belichick that really

(15:15):
sticks out to you Just with someof those I mean, they're titans to
me in the industry. Obviously withBill everybody knows, but Howie Roseman is
a very impressive executive to me inPhiladelphia as well. Anything that you could
share, but no pressure, ifnot, Yeah, I think the one
thing I would share would be winning. I mean, those guys have won

(15:37):
a lot of games in this business, and you know, you never take
those wins for granted. And youknow, those guys have been successful,
you know, both been able toyou know, hold up the trophy at
the end of the year, andyou know, those are things that we're
trying to do here in Cincinnati.So I think those those guys are great

(15:58):
examples on on how to you know, basically win in this business. And
they've done a great job doing that. And you know, we got some
great people here that we're on awe're on a track to do those things
as well, and we're very excitedfor the opportunity and the challenges that are
up in front of us. Butyou know, I think we have a
good roster and a good group ofcoaches and good staff members that can get

(16:23):
us there over the top. Sowe're we're looking forward to this season a
couple of things, and I promiseBengals fans it's going to relate to Cincinnati
in a second. But first Ihave to mention it now. So I
have a confession, Tray, Iwas definitely rooting for New England when you
guys beat them for like so madthat the strip sack. You're probably celebrating.

(16:47):
You probably have your rings stored awayright now. Yeah, I just
know I was. I was frustratedby that. I'm I'm glad you came
clean now while while we're live andon air, because I mean, you
could if you would have told methat earlier. Who knows if you would
have got me on here, youknow, But I man, because what

(17:07):
quarterbacks for five hundred in the SuperBowl and loses. That doesn't happen?
I mean yeah, I mean thatit's that thing went down to the wire
and those games, those those SuperBowls are those things are always exciting and
great talent on both ends, youknow, both teams were were loaded with
a lot of a lot of superstars, and yeah, we were able to

(17:32):
pull it out. But I can'tbelieve you're on that side. Oh my
goodness, Like even though I'm we'rein green right now for those watching on
YouTube, so we're yeah, Iwas a big Brady guy. I mean
obviously, right. It's it's easyto root for listener, Yeah, that's
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(17:52):
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(19:02):
Given all of that experience, thoughobviously, super Bowl Champ and Jake touched
on who you've worked with. Nowthat you're in Cincinnati, you've been here
for a few years. Now,you know what it's like. What would
you tell anyone, whether it's inanother organization, Bengals fans, anyone that

(19:22):
asks what it's like in the Bengalsfront office? What would you say about
it? The good, the bad, the different? How would you present
it? Because there's a lot ofdiscourse I think about the Bengals front office,
and so I'm curious as to someonewho's worked in all of these different
places what it's like and what youwould say about that. Well, I

(19:45):
mean, first I would say justin terms of when you start your day.
I mean, I can't think ofa place where you're just so so
excited and thrilled to be able towork with such a great organization. I
mean every day, you know,your wake up and I just I just
come with so much juice and energybecause of you know, the people that

(20:07):
you're around. So first I wouldsay, like, I mean, it's
top notch in terms of the peoplethat you're around each and every day.
I mean that's in every level ofthe building, you know, Like I
said, that's that's just kudos toyou know, our ownership and how they
lead this organization. So that's firstand foremost. I think in terms of
our scouting apartment, you we gota lot of elite people in our in

(20:32):
our with our staff, we gota lot of talented a lot of talented
football people in our building that youcan just be able to just naturally communicate
with. And when I mentioned mentioneda second ago in terms of soaking up
knowledge, you know, when Iwalk into the room and you guys,
you got guys like Duke Tobin,Stephen Rodisovik, Mike Potts, you know,

(20:56):
Andrew Johnson's, Christian Sarkisian, ourwhole group, I mean we're really
we're really intertwined in lockstep, andyou know, the constant dialogue each and
every day is really fulfilling because that'sI think that gives us an opportunity to
be great. And then on thesame side, which I would say is
probably a little different than most spots, is the fact that we are in

(21:18):
lockstep and intertwined with us but alsowith our coaching staff. You know,
that's that's something that's very unique,and you know, I think that gives
us a lot of a lot.It gives us a really good chance to
be successful on the field because weare constantly talking what are they doing on
that you know, on the footballfield, what what scheme they're running,

(21:40):
how do we think a player canfit into what they're doing, or how
how maybe they wouldn't work. Andso I think that dialogue back and forth
with us in personnel along with thecoaching staff, for us to be such
a tight niche group, gives usthat opportunity to put put points on the
board and stop people from putting pointson the board when we line up in

(22:00):
between those lines. So when you'regetting ready to sign a Trent Brown or
draft a Marius Mems or Jermaine Burtonor Chris Jenkins. How is that dialogue
between you and the scouting personnel sideof the world or of the organization and
the coaching staff. How do youguys get on the same page as far

(22:23):
as how those players could project intothe Cincinnati system. Well, I think
the main thing is communication, right, because you got to have those dialogue
and like it's and it's not alwaysclean, right, you know, there
might there might be some guys whereyou feel like, hmm, this guy,
you know, would be a greatfit. And then after talking to

(22:45):
the coaching staff and watching film andgoing over the routes we might be running
out to protect the protection that wemight be implementing, you might get you
might go back forth a little bitand you might get, h well,
that makes sense, this guy maybewouldn't be a great fit. So I
think it's that constant communication between usgoing back and forth, watching film,
meeting daily and those things to whereultimately we got to find the best fit

(23:10):
for us and Cincinnati, not thebest fit for you know, the outside
zone play, you know, thebest fit for running a back shoulder fade.
I mean, there's a lot ofthings that we do and Ultimately,
they got to fit what we're doinghere. And I think the communication constantly
on the daily. It's not youknow, once a once a month or

(23:34):
you know, hey we got somethingsaid on our calendar, you know,
four weeks from now. It's everysingle day. It's walking through the hall,
come sit down in the office.Hey, put put let's put this
game on. Hey did you trade? Did you watch that? Hey Duke?
Did you see that game that youknow versus Penn State? You know,
Hey, Steve, Mike, didyou did you get a chance to
see this pro day that I wasat? So I think all those things

(24:00):
during the course of the day,during the course of the season, naturally,
you know, we take advantage ofand that allows us, like I
said, to be able to findthe best guy for us. When you
say it out loud, the frontoffice communicates with the coaching staff. That
makes a ton of sense to me, and that you'd want to be in
lockstep. And yet you said it'srare, and you're not the first person

(24:23):
to say that that's rare and uniqueto Cincinnati. Why is that so rare?
Why wouldn't other organizations want coaches,front office, everyone to be on
the same page. Because I knowthere are a lot of front offices that
think their way and then coaching staffsthink their way, and I feel like
that that's a really hard way togo about things. Well, to be

(24:45):
honest with you, I hope theydon't communicate. I mean, we're trying
to go out there and dominate.So I've been happy to know that.
Yeah, I'm happy that if youknow, if they want to stay siloed
and you know, coaches don't talkto the personnel guys, and the personnel
guys don't talk to coaches. I'mhoping that's what they're doing at other places.

(25:06):
But yeah, I mean I Ican really just talk into detail what
we're doing and not to give oursecrets away. But that's just a little
taste and that a little bit ofa little taste of what I think gives
us, you know, a littlebit of an extra edge when we're competing
with some of those other personnel staffsaround the league is that you know,
we're very intentional, we're very youknow, connected with with us in terms

(25:29):
of scouting and coaching, and likeI said, I think that gives us
a big, a big jump onthe rest of the rest of the league
in terms of you know, howhow how much we're communicating, how we're
just really lockstep really with everything thatwe do. So without necessarily getting into
specifics, what are you guys talkingabout now? And I'm and I'll put

(25:51):
some context around that. I guessyou've got the draft in the rear view
mirror. The majority of free agencyis done. There's still pro guys out
there that are unsigned, that arestill available. Are you still talking about
making additions to the team or what'sthis part of the off season like for
for you in the personnel department,Well, it's it's a beautiful day in
Cincinnati's another day at the office.So we're constantly trying to upgrade and look

(26:15):
at guys that are still out there, still available, you know. To
be totally honest with you, youknow, we're we have some guys that
we know we're coming in that arecoming in that are you know, doing
their physicals and getting checked out.And this is really the first time that
we're gonna have an opportunity for ourcoaches to be out there with our with
our rookies and kind of put themtogether with our veterans and that are already

(26:37):
here in the building. So it'sexciting times anytime you get a chance to
upgrade your roster and add a aninflux of talent into UH into our building.
And so I think we're it's it'svery busy. Guys are back,
Guys are practicing, Guys are running, throwing, backpedaling, breaking, And
then you, like I said,then you add an influx of talent to

(26:59):
our building with some new guys thatare going to try to get up the
speed and learn the playbook and getacclimated to here in Cincinnati. But what
we're doing day to day, soto your point, yeah, I mean
we're working. We're grinding. Anytimewe get a chance to find new guys
or you know, new new additionsto the team that can help us win,
we're looking to do. So.So you know, if you guys

(27:21):
can run and jump and hit,I'd be trying to sign you guys right
now. But James, don't dothat. Yeah, come on, I'm
gonna drive down the paper. Istayed with my watch on me. So
I mean, if if you guyscan run and jump a little bit,
hey, we'll put you through thereand see if you can hang. I'll
call Sam and I'll say get meinto Black Sheep for a little bit,

(27:45):
and then I'll call you and we'lldo see rookie mini camps tomorrow. So
I can't. I can't say therookie mini camp trial. Maybe next year
when I'm thirty three. Yeah,I don't. You got to pass the
physical first. I don't. Idon't know. Yeah, yeah, yeah,
you know. I mean we don'twant those hamstrings getting tight, you
know what I mean? And thenyou the next thing, we lose you
for two weeks, you're in aboot or something. We don't want that.

(28:07):
I will play for free, soit wouldn't matter. Podcaster signs for
free. That signed me up.I will do that all day. Yeah.
I getting back to you were inPhilly and they were starved for a
championship, Like I could feel ithere, and obviously I'm not aware of

(28:30):
what it's like there covering the Eaglesall of those things. Do you feel
that here with the Bengals and withwith fans in Cincinnati? Oh? Absolutely?
I mean you talk about the greatestfans in football right here, and
you know this, this is agreat fan base and you know they deserve,

(28:51):
you know, a championship, andthat's that gives us motivation every single
day we come into the office.You know, we there's a there's a
lot of people that putting a lotof work into this team. And the
fans are right there at the top. I mean, they come out,
show up every game, support great. They're you know, great fan base
for our players in the community andyou know, they're very supportive to what

(29:14):
we do. And there's nothing betterthan you know, bringing home the final
trophy at the end of the yearand celebrating that with your fans. And
that is something that we're all strivingfor each and every day when we come
to work here in Cincinnati. Greatfan base and can't wait to do that
one day when we get we getthat opportunity to well, we can't either.

(29:38):
Locked On Bengals would love to coverthat. I'll tell you that Trey
appreciate the energy. You can seethat very clearly. First impressions, not
that you ask great energy, lovethe insight, love the enthusiasm. Appreciate
you taking the time to join usand talk a little bit about what you're
doing with the Bengals. Love it. Glad to be on. Locked On.

(30:00):
You know, we're always ready togo. So happy that we got
an opportunity to talk to you guys, and and and hopefully you know,
get the chance to see James oneof these days run a forty and you
know, do his vertical jump andforty, get some real scouting eyes on
him, you know for a whichwhich is not not good enough for a
five, I agree, but itwould be sub five, which is good

(30:22):
for the average guy. Look high, I Q football smart, study and
preparation, you know. I meanyou can overcome some of those things with
just with with the game upstairs.And so that's that's what guys like you
have, James. You know thatthat mental, that vision and that work
ethic. Man. So I meanI wouldn't count you out, you know.

(30:45):
I mean as long as long Isaid, as long as best physical,
then you got a chance. Ithink. I think you're going to
have a special physical that is isdifferent than the regular one. I'll pass
the regular one. But this isjust what we need to games Ego through
the roof here to finish out theweek. Appreciate it, trade. That's
gonna do it for this episode ofthe Lockdown Bengals podcast. Until next time,

(31:08):
thanks for listening, who day,and have a good one. Hey,
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