Scot McCloughan was born into a family that revolved around football. His father, brother, and himself have been involved in NFL scouting for more than 80 years combined. While Scot did not play in the NFL, choosing to play minor league baseball instead, he gained extensive knowledge of the game through his family’s ties to the NFL. He used this experience to start a career as a scout and eventually came to work as a General Manager for two NFL teams. Scot talks a lot about the traits that he would look for in potential quarterbacks that his team draft. One trait stands out among all others, leadership. McCloughan discusses his admiration of Brett Favre and Tom Brady for their ability to take over the game and make their teams believe that they are going to win. With this Scot describes one of the most important aspects of the Pro Mindset®, belief. Players need to believe in themselves, especially quarterbacks, and they also need the rest of their teammates to believe in them as much as they do. By breathing this “air of belief” teams give themselves and their players the confidence needed to win and win consistently. In this episode Pro Mindset Podcast host Craig Domann goes in depth with Scot McCloughan about his process of evaluating NFL prospects and his experiences that enabled him to be successful.
“The quarterback, the good ones, they look you in the eye when they call the play. They look around at the O-Lineman, the receivers, the tight end, the running back, and they call the play. They come out of the huddle and they believe. They believe you can get it done.”
Scot McCloughan talked a lot about the leadership of successful quarterbacks during his interview. This quote from him perfectly exemplifies why it is important for quarterbacks to have belief in themselves and for them to be extraordinary leaders. By showing their teammates that they believe that they can make every play work, they instill a mentality of success that greatly improves the confidence of the entire team. McCloughan also talked about how important it is to have this same leadership in the locker room. It is infinitely important to an organization to be able to look up to their quarterback and have confidence that he is going to lead them to win games. This mentality of belief is absolutely essential to Pro Mindset. If a player doesn’t think that he can accomplish something, he never will. The players that believe and have the drive to succeed and win are the ones that do whatever it takes to make it a reality. This is the type of player that Scot McCloughan looked for during his years as an NFL Scout and GM and it is the mindset of the player that most commonly finds great success in the NFL.
“Never take one day lightly. Every day you get up, you do something to make yourself better.”
Training and preparation are two very important parts of an athlete’s Pro Mindset. As McCloughan mentions in the quote above, it is essential for athletes to continue to improve themselves and their game in order to compete at the highest level. Throughout his years as a GM and scout McCloughan learned how to recognize this trait in the players he wanted to draft. He talked about the impact that these players could have in the locker room, not only on their fellow players but also on the coaching staff and everyone in the organization. By showing their team that they are relentlessly dedicated to improvement, they inspire others to follow in their footsteps. This continuous focus on excellence and self-improvement in their training and preparation is a perfect example of a Pro Mindset – a burning desire for both their teammates and themselves to perform to the best of their abilities. Combine this with belief and leadership that McCloughan praises, and you have key elements of a champion!
To hear more of Scot McCloughan’s interview, his time as a distinguished NFL scout, and how to build a Pro Mindset, listen to this Pro Mindset Podcast here: https://apple.co/31YjpGK
