Patriots Hire New College Scouting Director

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — The New England Patriots have a new director of college scouting.

The Pats, per a Wednesday morning report from Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer, are promoting national scout Tony Kinkela to the role recently vacated by Camren Williams — who left the organization earlier this offseason to join the Denver Broncos front office.

In his new role, Kinkela will be working closely with director of player personnel, Matt Groh, as well as executive vice president of player personnel Eliot Wolf. Alongside Groh and Wolf, Kinkela helped comprise New England’s strong draft scouting contingent — which also included input from vice president of football operations and strategy John ‘Stretch” Streicher and vice president of player personnel Ryan Cowden.

Kinkela was hired by the Patriots in 2022, having previously spent 11 seasons as an area scout for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. His efforts were instrumental in helping the Bucs win the Best Draft Award for their work in the 2020 NFL Draft, when the team landed offensive lineman Tristan Wirfs, defensive back Antoine Winfield, Jr, and wide receiver Tyler Johnson, among others.

Since joining the Patriots, his input and scouting acumen have been instrumental in the team’s selections of cornerback Christian Gonzalez, quarterback Drake Maye, offensive lineman Will Campbell and others.

Prior to joining the Buccaneers, he spent three seasons as the Director of Football Operations for the Tulane Green Wave from 2006-08. 

During the 2004-05 campaigns, Kinkela was the assistant director of football operations at Washington State. As a student at WSU, Kinkela served as a student assistant for the football team from 2001-04, and was a student representative for the NCAA Peer Review Board from 2001-02. He also served as the assistant to the recruiting coordinator during the same period, coordinating on campus visits and overseeing the recruiting film system. As a member of the Cougars' staff, Kinkela was a part of Washington State's 2003 Rose Bowl and Holiday Bowl teams, and the 2001 Sun Bowl squad.

Kinkela now becomes the second new scouting director installed by the Patriots this offseason. The Pats, in May, agreed to hire A.J. Highsmith as their new director of pro scouting. Highsmith assumes the role vacated by former director Patrick Stewart — who left the organization in February to become the University of Nebraska’s new general manager.