LOUDOUN COUNTY, Va. -- The Washington Football Team announced today that they have hired Jeff Beathard and Sheldon White as college scouts.
Beathard is entering his 25th season in the NFL and spent the last 13 seasons as an area scout for the Carolina Panthers. He was assigned to the southeast region. Prior to joining the Panthers, Beathard was a scout for the CFL's Hamilton Tiger-Cats from 2003-05. He also worked in the San Diego Chargers scouting department from 1994-2002. He got his first NFL scouting opportunity with the Los Angeles Rams in 1992 and worked with the club until 1994. Prior to working in the NFL, he held the roles of director of player personnel and running backs coach for the Orlando Thunder of the World League of American Football in 1991. Before joining the Rams in 1992, Beathard held the positions of director of player personnel and tight ends coach for the San Antonio Riders of the WLAF.
Beathard was a running back at Towson State University from 1983-85 before transferring to Southern Oregon State College as a senior. He was the 333rd overall selection by the Los Angeles Rams in the 1988 NFL Draft, becoming "Mr. Irrelevant" that year. He is the son of Pro Football Hall of Famer and Washington Ring of Famer Bobby Beathard who was the franchise's general manager from 1978-88.
Sheldon White is entering his 20th NFL season and most recently held the position of Executive Director of Player Personnel and Recruiting for Michigan State University. At Michigan State, he led the programs recruiting efforts and developed and implemented strategic planning along with supervising the entire recruiting staff. White also coordinated all player evaluations of current players for the coaching staff.
Prior to his role at Michigan State, White worked for the Detroit Lions for 19 years and spent six seasons as the vice president of pro personnel along with being named interim general manager in 2015. White became a scout for Detroit in 1997 before being promoted to director of pro personnel in 2000. In 2009 he was promoted to vice president of pro personnel and the team advanced to the playoffs twice during his tenure in that role. In 2004, he graduated from the NFL's career development program at Stanford University's Graduate School of Business.
White played four seasons at Miami-Ohio as a cornerback from 1984-87 and was a first-team All-MAC and All-American honorable mention during his junior and season seasons. He was selected by the New York Giants in the third round of the 1988 NFL Draft and spent six seasons in the NFL as a player with the Giants, Detroit Lions and Cincinnati Bengals.
