On Feb. 9, 2025, the Philadelphia Eagles beat the Kansas City Chiefs, 40-22, in Super Bowl LIX, giving the Eagles their second NFL championship in seven years and denying the Missourians a third straight Super Bowl win.
Days after that victory—and a joyous parade down Broad Street—Jeff Scott (G’12), the Eagles’ vice president for football operations, was back at his desk as the city continued to celebrate. Like many from the front office, Scott, a graduate of the Master’s in Sports Industry Management program at Georgetown’s School of Continuing Studies, had played an important, behind-the-scenes role in the Eagles’ success. Now, with the offseason barely started and months to go before preseason training, he could take time to rest, reflect, and bask in the glow of a job well done.
Right?
Well, not exactly.
“There’s a subset of the NFL that had a five-week head start on us—those teams that didn’t make the playoffs,” Scott said. “They’ve been focused on free agency and the draft going forward. So, it’s on us to get the nose to the grindstone and really get back to work.”
A Trio of Hoyas
Scott is one of three alumni from Georgetown’s sports management program working for the Eagles. And, not surprisingly, given the unique demands of America’s No. 1 spectator sport, they all have that kind of work ethic—and something more: a bond with their organization and a love for the sports-mad city it represents.
Bridget Waldron (G’17) has been the Eagles’ facility security coordinator for more than five years. Her three-person department is responsible for security, medical staffing, and crowd control at Philadelphia’s Lincoln Financial Field, whether it’s for Eagles games, concerts, or other events.
“Obviously, the sports and entertainment world is very cool. It’s a very exciting field to be in,” Waldron said. “There’s just something energizing about having thousands of people come to your venue on a given day and making sure they have a good experience, regardless of what gate they come in.”
Taylor Wilson (G’22) became the Eagles’ community relations senior coordinator three years ago after getting a start as an intern for the Baltimore Ravens. One of her favorite professors was Deandra Duggans, who is now vice president of brand marketing for the Las Vegas Aces but was then the Ravens’ Director of Advertising & Branding.
“I would see her at work, and I would be, like, ‘I’m gonna turn in my assignment tonight. I promise!’” Wilson said. “It was about as ‘hands-on’ as you could get.”
Wilson says that learning while doing—about things like marketing strategies, partnerships, sponsorships, and licensing—was ideal for someone starting out in the field. “And then I actually finished the program when I became full-time with the Eagles,” she added. “So, it was almost a perfect transition.”
In Philadelphia, she works with a large, passionate fan base where the demand for everything Eagles is “always overwhelming.” It’s a challenge that she said “we’re happy to have.”
The team has partnerships with Ronald McDonald House Charities, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, and other organizations. One of her jobs is learning what kinds of community involvement various players are interested in and then trying to make those interactions happen.
“I think what I enjoy most about my job is making this really big organization and these players that people see as huge figures—literally and figuratively—relatable and tangible,” Wilson said. “I know when people think about the NFL and the Eagles, specifically, they think about these really big names and athletes who are amazing on the field. But my job is to help make them relatable off the field and to give back to the fans.”
From Intern to Vice President
Many pivotal moments led to Jeff Scott becoming vice president of football operations for the NFL champion Philadelphia Eagles, but two stand out.
One was when he was playing football at Davidson College, near Charlotte, N.C. An outstanding quarterback in high school, he switched to defensive back at Davidson but suffered a ruptured disk his junior year. He thought for a time that he would never play again. Knowing this, the defensive coordinator who helped him recover focused on more than rehabbing his injury: he taught Scott to view the game of football differently, that is, through a coach’s lens.
As it happened, Scott did return to the football field for his senior year, and after graduating with a degree in political science he went to work in global risk management for Bank of America, a career he stayed with for three years.
“It was a great opportunity. I wouldn’t trade it for the world,” Scott said of the experience. “But I just missed football. I’d been playing football since I was five years old. I wanted to be around the game, and one of the ways back to that was applying to Georgetown, getting my masters in sports management, and trying to find my way in—in whatever way that looked like.”
That was the other pivotal moment.
“I had already been in the working world and understood the importance of networking and being able to network, not just vertically, but also across,” Scott said. “And, for me, the fact that the Georgetown program was being taught by sports professionals was an added bonus.”
Those connections paid off in 2012 when Eric Schaffer, then vice president of Washington’s NFL franchise, asked his friend, Allen Hermeling, then a professor in Georgetown’s sports industry management program, to recommend a student who could help in the team’s front office on salary cap issues.
“I said, ‘I really need someone really sharp, really smart, to be an intern,’” Schaffer recalled in an interview with the “Fredericksburg Free Press.” “I said, ‘Do you have anybody?’”
Hermeling recommended Scott, who went on to work for Washington’s football team as a scout, Director of Football Strategy, and Assistant Director of Pro Scouting/Advance Coordinator. He moved to the Eagles in May 2021.
If anything, his love for the game has only grown over the years.
“I love watching film. I love going through it and evaluating talent,” Scott said. “And I think one of the biggest things is not just evaluating talent, it's evaluating fit. It’s evaluating how that person is going to kind of come into our culture and our environment. It’s not just, ‘Are they the best, the most talented?’ It’s, ‘Are they the best person for our team?’’’
Like Waldron and Wilson, he has developed a special affinity for Philadelphia and its ardent fans.
“The city definitely has its own culture; and it’s one that—if you embrace it—is amazing. And the fans are very supportive,” Scott said. “But one thing is: They expect a lot, and it’s on us to deliver a winning and positive program that they can be happy about. And you know, I think the expectation that they have for us is what we have for ourselves.
“I enjoy it,” he concluded. “You want to be somewhere where it matters. And there’s no doubt that football matters here.”
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