INDIANAPOLIS – It’s back, and speculation remains about how much longer that will be the case.
The NFL Scouting Combine and accompanying masses converge on the city for a 38th year beginning this weekend.
“There’s a reason, right?’’ offered Jeff Foster, president of locally-based National Football Scouting/NFL Combine, which manages the vastness of the evaluation process.
The reason is Foster and his staff have mastered – as much as possible considering all of the moving parts – the varied and complex demands of bringing the next wave of draft-eligible talent to town. The first portion of 329 players start arriving in town Sunday for what amounts to a major job interview leading up to the April 24-16 NFL Draft.
The 10 days leading up to the Combine, Foster insisted, are “the toughest days of my year.’’
“We’re still managing players’ schedules and flights, putting in contingency plans for weather, stadium operations and making sure the Combine Performance Center is set up and making sure all of the staffing arrives,’’ Foster said earlier this week.
Despite methodically checking off matters as they’re put in place, there’s invariably a hiccup.
“We’re not scrambling,’’ he said, “but there’s always something that hits that you didn’t anticipate. You try to get ahead so you’re available when something hits.’’
The Combine has been a fixture in Indy since 1987. The only exception was in 2021, when the COVID pandemic intervened.
But while Foster is laser-focused on the next 10 days, he’s heading into an uncertain future.
The Combine returns to Indy for 2026, but then the NFL will consider hosting bids for 2027 and beyond. Previously, Dallas made a significant push to land the event. Arizona and, to a lesser extent, Los Angeles also have expressed an interest.
The city already has submitted what’s called an “expression of interest’’ to the league, according to Clare Clark, senior communications manager for Visit Indy. The bid is a collective endeavor involving the Colts, Visit Indy, the Indiana Sports Corp and IU Health, and expressed an interest for the city to host the Combine each year through 2030.
Visit Indy estimates the Combine’s impact at $9.26 million.
“We’re in Indy through 2026,’’ Foster said, “and we’re excited about that.
“As things start to materialize for 2027 and ’28, we’ll talk about what that looks like.’’
The NFL seems hellbent on sharing one of the more attractive events on its schedule, similar to its decision to uproot the Draft from New York City in 2015 and bounce it from Chicago to Philadelphia to Arlington, Tex., to Nashville to Cleveland to Kansas City to Detroit and to Green Bay in April.
“If the league decides to move it, it will,’’ Foster said.
Anyone who grasps what it takes to stage the Combine as opposed to turning the Draft into a road show should understand the dramatic and complicated difference.
The Combine has morphed into a cornerstone block on the NFL calendar.
The evaluation of players remains paramount, which includes invaluable and extensive medical exams by each team and IU Health, on-field testing and interviews with teams. According to Foster, a team is allowed to schedule 45 formal interviews that last 20 minutes. Informal contact adds to the information-gathering process.
For more than a week, Indy is the epicenter of the NFL as general managers, head coaches, assistants, scouts and medical personnel from all 32 teams take up residence downtown.
The NFL is still issuing media credentials for the Combine, but the number likely will hit 1,600. The league has enhanced the experience for fans by allowing access to on-field workouts at Lucas Oil Stadium and setting up the Combine Experience on the South Lot of the stadium.
There are time slots on Tuesday and Wednesday when general managers and head coaches are available to the media. Chris Ballard (4:30) and Shane Steichen (5:30) are slotted late Tuesday afternoon.
Also, there are media interview sessions with players Wednesday through Saturday. Last year offered a rarity when Ohio State wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. decided at the last minute not to talk and left town.
The overriding objective, though, is providing the best evaluation forum for players and teams. Throughout the tweaks and adjustments to the Combine over the years, Foster has kept a player’s experience atop his list of priorities.
“It’s like when you go on vacation,’’ he said. “Did you have a good experience or a bad experience? That includes everything from their flights, their sleeping accommodations, schedule, how many interviews they had in a row, their medical testing. Their food is really the biggest (issue).’’
Foster is most proud of the Performance Center, which is in its third year and situated in the Indiana Convention Center. It includes a weight room, recovery room, lounge and two field-turf surfaces that allow a player to warm up before his workout.
“We continue to invest in things that make the player’s experience better while they’re here for they can perform,’’ he said.
Who’s coming to town?
The final tally of invitees is 329, and that includes several with Indiana ties.
*Notre Dame: QB Riley Leonard, WR Beaux Collins, TE Mitchell Evans, DL Howard Cross III, DL Rylie Mills, LB Jack Kiser (Pioneer High School), CB Benjamin Morrison, S Xavier Watts.
*Indiana: QB Kurtis Rourke, DL CJ West.
*Purdue: OL Marcus Mbow.
*Michigan: DT Kenneth Grant (Merrillville H.S.).
*Iowa: LB Jay Higgins (Brebeuf Jesuit).
*Toledo: S Maxen Hook (New Palestine H.S.), DT Darius Alexander (Fort Wayne Snider H.S.).
*South Carolina: LB Bam Martin-Scott (Fort Wayne Snider H.S.)
