Staff

Jim Nagy

Executive Director

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Jim Nagy was named to the position June 1, 2018, by Mobile Arts & Sports Association Chairman Mr. Angus Cooper II.  In his role, he is responsible for both the football and business operations of the nation’s premiere college all-star game.  

 

While the Senior Bowl has long been regarded as the preeminent event on the NFL scouting calendar, the game has reached new heights over Nagy’s first three years, both on and off the field.  Since taking over for former Cleveland Browns General Manager Phil Savage four years ago, Nagy’s overarching vision for game was to position it as the unofficial start of the NFL pre-draft process, which led to the organization’s trademarked mantra “The Draft Starts in Mobile”.

On the football side, Nagy is primarily responsible for the identification, evaluation, and selection of the top NFL prospects to be invited to the game, as well as serving as a liaison to the agent community representing those players. Under Nagy’s leadership, the Senior Bowl team is coming off a year in which it strategically and skillfully pulled off the event despite the extreme challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, something no other pre-draft event accomplished, including the NFL Combine.  

 

The past three games have produced a three-year record 292 drafted players, including 20 first round picks and an all-time high 106 total prospects a year ago.  In each of the three years prior to his arrival, the Senior Bowl’s total number of drafted players represented 32% of the that year’s total draft class. That figure has climbed from 36% in each of Nagy’s first two years to an all-time high 41% last year.  Moreover, Nagy’s classes have enjoyed incredible staying power once they get to the NFL.  From his first two Senior Bowl classes (2019 and 2020), 90% of the players (218 out of 243) wound up making an active 53-man NFL roster at some point during their rookie season.  Some future NFL stars who played in the Senior Bowl the past three years include: Los Angeles Chargers QB Justin Herbert, San Francisco 49ers WR Deebo Samuel, Washington Football Team WR Terry McLaurin, and New England Patriots QB Mac Jones. 

One of Nagy’s first moves was to build the game’s first-ever personnel department composed exclusively of former NFL scouts, which in 2021 included seven scouts with a collective 120 years of league experience. The Senior Bowl’s year-round evaluation process begins each February with extensive tape study on college prospects, continues through the summer with recruiting visits to events like the Manning Passing Academy, and concludes each year in the fall after more than a hundred live game exposures on campuses around the country.  Before invites are sent, Nagy relies on his over 20 years of relationships in the NFL to get input from the league’s top decision-makers to ensure the Senior Bowl is bringing the best draft eligible talent to Mobile each year.

 

An integral part in the Senior Bowl’s success during Nagy’s tenure has been the use of social media to connect with potential players and expand the reach of the Senior Bowl brand.  Since August 2018, Senior Bowl Twitter accounts (@seniorbowl and @JimNagy_SB) have grown exponentially every year, increasing total impressions from 40 million in 2018 to a staggering 350 million in 2021.  Embracing the power of social media has helped the Senior Bowl maintain a consistent year-round presence and greatly enhanced the game’s overall visibility.

 

Another significant growth area over the past four years has been the acquisition of several prominent national partners. With new additions like Nike (on-field) and Swet Tailor (off-field) as the official apparel sponsors, Panini America as the official trading card/NFT partner, and Walk-On’s Sports Bistreaux as the official practice partner, Senior Bowl sponsorship revenues have nearly doubled since 2018.  In addition, prominent local businesses such as Regions Bank and Alabama Power have made significant commitments to the growth of the game over the past three years and Wind Creek Casinos recently did the same by signing on as the official sponsor of the Senior Bowl Street Party.  

 

Away from the field, Nagy and his staff have added three exciting new January events—the Senior Bowl Summit, Player’s Mardi Gras Parade, and Downtown Concert—that have quickly transformed Senior Bowl week into more than just a game.  Star-studded events like the Summit, which has featured guests like ESPN’s Kirk Herbstreit, Alabama Head Coach Nick Saban, and celeb entrepreneur Gary Vaynerchuck, and free concerts by groups like The Revivalists and Grammy-winners Portugal The Man have helped drive tens of thousands of visitors to downtown Mobile over the past few years.

 

The Senior Bowl remains an active community partner throughout the year with its youth NFL Flag league, charitable events such as the Senior Bowl Charities Celebrity Golf Classic, which raised $20,000 for Big Brothers/Big Sisters in its inaugural year last June, and the Turkey Bowl that helped feed 1,000 underprivileged families at Thanksgiving.  Additionally, through the Mobile/Baldwin Athletic Partnership (MBAP), the Senior Bowl awarded over $50,000 in grant money for team equipment needs and donated Nike uniforms to several local public high school programs in the city of Mobile.  

 

In addition to his duties at the Senior Bowl, Nagy has worked as a draft analyst for ESPN, covering both the NFL Combine live from Indianapolis and the NFL Draft live in Nashville.  He also does extensive work across various football media platforms, including regular appearances on NFL Network and NFL Sirius Radio, and he was named one of the “Top 50 NFL Twitter Accounts” by The Athletic in 2020.

 

Nagy, a native of Traverse City, Mich., graduated from the University of Michigan in 1996 and was honored with a career achievement award from the school in 2019.  He broke into the NFL as an intern for the Green Bay Packers during their Super Bowl XXXI winning season and held various scouting roles over his 18 years in NFL personnel departments, elevating to national scout with the Kansas City Chiefs from 2009-2012. Prior to coming to the Senior Bowl, he spent five years as the southeast area scout for the Seattle Seahawks.  Nagy was a part of six teams that reached the Super Bowl and four Lombardi Trophy Champions (Packers XXXI, New England Patriots XXXVIII and XXXIX, and Seattle Seahawks XLVII).

 

 

 

Sylvester Croom

Senior Vice President of Operations

Sylvester Croom joined the Reese's Senior Bowl in May of 2018 as an honorary member of the staff. He spent more than 25 years as an assistant coach in the National Football League, with nine different clubs. From 2004-2008 he was the head coach at Mississippi State University, where he was the first African American head coach in the history of the Southeastern Conference. He was named the SEC Coach of the Year in 2007 after leading the Bulldogs to eight wins, including a victory in the Liberty Bowl. Croom attended the University of Alabama, where he played for legendary coach Paul 'Bear' Bryant and later started his coaching career at his alma mater as an assistant under Bryant and Ray Perkins.

Dave Rogers

Director of Marketing and Brand Strategy

Dave Rogers joined the Senior Bowl staff in February 2019 and is responsible for all marketing, branding strategy, and communications. Dave is the liaison for public relations and advertising agencies, creative content production, print vendor relations, national network media relations, and large-format event productions. Dave comes to Mobile from the University of Florida football program where he was the Director of External Communications and an instructor with the College of Journalism and Communication for two years. Before Florida, Dave spent 13 years with the University of Utah athletic department, where he received his bachelor’s degree in communication, and completed his tenure as Director of Football Media.

Elizabeth DuPree

Director of Corporate Sponsorships

Elizabeth DuPree joined the Senior Bowl team in June of 2019 after 18 years leading sales account management and operational teams.  Responsible for recruitment and renewal of corporate sponsors and Quarterback Club membership, Elizabeth will partner closely with local and national sponsors to provide meaningful value to businesses and uphold the excellence, tradition and prestige that the Senior Bowl brand represents.  Born and raised in Mobile, AL, Elizabeth is an enthusiastic Crimson Tide football fan and loves spending time with her husband and 2 children on the water. Elizabeth holds a Bachelor’s degree in History &  Political Science from the University of Alabama.

 

Johnny Williams

Creative Content Coordinator

Johnny Williams was added as creative content coordinator.  “Johnny Williams brings a unique football background as a Power Five player (at Duke University) to the creative side of our team.  He not only understands the game, but he is also skilled at bringing it to life through his artistic talents.”

Molly Middleton

Media & Community Relations Manager

After working for the Senior Bowl as a media relations intern for three years, Molly Middleton joined the full time staff as the media relations coordinator in September of 2021. She graduated from The University of Alabama in 2020 with a bachelor's degree in public relations and a minor in sport communications, where she was a student recruiter and communications assistant for Alabama Athletics. Molly specialized in basketball, football, golf, rowing, and soccer during her time working for the Crimson Tide.

 

Molly is the first point of contact for all year-round media inquiries, serving as the primary liaison between the Senior Bowl and national and local media. She is responsible for and oversees all game-week communication, including Media Day and interview schedules for players and coaches. She also manages the executive director's interview schedule and assists with the planning, implementation, and execution of all Senior Bowl events throughout the year, including, but not limited to, the Quarter Back Club event, Senior Bowl Committee parties, the Charities Celebrity Golf Classic, Turkey Bowl, and the Senior Bowl Hall of Fame.  

 

Jack Gilmore

Director of Football Operations

Jack is a native of Mobile, Alabama. He attended St. Paul's and then graduated from The University of Alabama with a degree in Kinesiology. Jack was a preferred walk-on for the Crimson Tide Football Team as well as a Recruiting Specialist from 2012-2016. During this tenure, Jack was a part of two National Championships and three Southeastern Conference Championships. 

 

Following his time at The University of Alabama, in 2017, Jack served as a Graduating Assistant at the University of North Alabama, assisting with the defense, and coaching the safeties. In 2018, Jack spent Training Camp with the Buffalo Bills assisting the Operations and Personnel departments.

 

Following the internship, before returning home to the Senior Bowl, where he served as a Scouting Assistant under first-year Executive Director, Jim Nagy.

Following the 2019 Senior Bowl, Jack accepted a position with the Oakland Raiders as the team's College Scouting Coordinator. During his tenure with the Raiders, Jack assisted all efforts pertaining to College Scouting and NFL Draft preparation. He worked under two different General Managers and was a part of the transition from Oakland to Las Vegas.

 

In 2023, Jack returned to the Senior Bowl as the Director of Football Operations. As the Director of Football Operations, Jack assists with player evaluations, manages the player onboarding process and oversees the following support staff during game week: coaching, equipment, trainers, video, and officials. Jack is the son of Shannon and Bo Gilmore and has one older brothers, Joe, who is the Head Coach at St. Luke's Episcopal School.

 

Aryn mcDowell

Business Operations and Events Coordinator

Aryn McDowell joined the Senior Bowl team in October 2023. Aryn is a former University of South Alabama track & field student-athlete. She gained experience as a Football Recruiting Assistant during her time with the Jags. 

 

Following graduation in May 2022, she moved to Tuscaloosa, Alabama to elevate college gameday experiences as a Manager of Premium Hospitality at The University of Alabama. After one year in the role, Aryn returned to her hometown to serve as the Business Operations and Events Coordinator for the Senior Bowl. With multiple ties to the city of Mobile, she is excited to add to the continued growth of the Senior Bowl brand.