The Denver Broncos are one of many teams that uses an internal Football Information Service (FIS) technology.
Everyone knows that technology has vastly changed the way teams evaluate players and prospects, but Tony Lazzaro of the Denver Broncos is far more aware of it than most of us. He’s the VP of technology and research for the Broncos, and he now uses an internal digital system to link called FIS (football information system) that connects coaching, scouting and executive departments, according to Jourdan Rodrigue of The Athletic.
Lazzaro’s days of doing this job go back to the VCR era, but now he can use the system to produce a final product that includes film cutups, data, player profiles and scouting evaluations with a series of clicks and procedures.
“It’s kind of a one-stop shop for everybody,” Lazzaro said, and Rodrigue also noted that many teams in the league use this system. It contains every bit of information anyone could want, and the writer added that it includes current and historical scouting metrics and grades, medical notes, film and even salary-cap and contract details.
Broncos GM George Paton also uses the FIS system, and he raves about the comprehensive convenience it provides.
“A lot of teams (separately) have an app for pro scouting, an app for college scouting, an app for video. Ours is all built into one; that’s not easy to do,” Broncos general manager George Paton said. “Our college scouts can go to a school, have their system open, and they can just click on a player and then watch video. You don’t have to go to (an external vendor).”
It’s not exactly surprising that this generates a lot of questions from coach Sean Payton, and Paton added that the coach might ask Lazzaro “100 questions in three days.”
This kind of technology leap always generates some amusing “back in the day” stories, and Paton’s is about magnets, believe it or not.
“Back when I first got into scouting, it was all magnets,” Paton said. “Your draft board (was) magnets.
“I haven’t used a magnet in 10 years.”
As for Lazzaro, he’s a pioneer when it comes to this sort of thing. He was a finance major at Colorado State who wanted a more interesting career, so he started cold-calling teams until he got an internship with the then-San Diego Chargers. Lazzaro was charged with the tasks associated with keeping the Chargers’ computers up and running, and he got hooked on the process of building systems, according to Rodrigue.
He eventually landed a job with the Broncos, and part of his job now is keeping up with the march of technology, which now includes AI. Lazzaro’s biggest job is to keep the system usable for executives like Paton, who uses it tougher with his head coach.
“We’ll be watching tight ends, and Sean (Payton) will want to know run after catch. Boom, it’s right there,” Paton said. “It’s very intuitive.”