The Jets turned within today to name Jeff Bauer, their long-time college scout, as director of college scouting to replace Joey Clinkscales, the departed vice president of college scouting.
The team has also added Kevin Kelly, who has been an area scout with the Indianapolis Colts, to their college scouting operation. The announcements were made by general manager Mike Tannenbaum.
Bauer is beginning his 12th season in the Jets' college scouting department. For the previous 11 seasons he had covered the Midwest. Before joining the Green & White, he spent 11 years as a high school/middle school football coach, six years in Houston and five in Overland Park, Kans.
A four-year strong safety and letterman at Iowa State from 1987-90, Bauer received his bachelor's degree in physical education from ISU and his master's degree in administration from Prairie View A&M.
Clinkscales had just concluded his fourth season as the Jets' VP of college scouting and his 17th with the team. He left recently to join Reggie McKenzie, his college teammate at Tennessee, in the Raiders' front office.
Kelly spent three seasons with the Colts after serving from 2001-08 as an area scout with the Cleveland Browns. Before scouting, he was a high school head coach/offensive coordinator in Illinois from 1996-2000 and a college defensive coach at Case Western Reserve, John Carroll University and Lake Forest College after beginning his coaching career as a defensive graduate assistant at Indiana from 1989-92.
He holds his bachelor's in economics and his master's in sports marketing and management from IU.
Kelly began his college career at the University of Miami and was a member of the Hurricanes' 1983 national championship team, before transferring, walking on at Indiana and serving as team captain for the Hoosiers' 1987 Peach Bowl team.
