MOBILE, Ala. – The Senior Bowl has a new "unofficial mayor of Mobile, Alabama" in Drew Fabianich, who is in his first year as the event's executive director.
After former executive director Jim Nagy departed to become the general manager at Oklahoma, the former Cowboys national scout took over the reins of an event he attended with Dallas' scouting staff for 18 years.
Fabianich is proud of the structure that's been built with the event, saying it's very similar to how an NFL scouting department operates from a calendar standpoint as well as a scouting standpoint, with area scouts spread all around the country searching for talent to bring to Mobile.
The Cowboys have had a strong history in drafting Senior Bowl alumni that have contributed at a high level for them. Dak Prescott was the game's MVP in 2016, and was put in the game's Hall of Fame in 2022. DeMarco Murray, Zack Martin, Osa Odighizuwa, Jake Ferguson, and most recently Marist Liufau and Donovan Ezeiruaku were all players that Dallas got eyes on in Mobile.
The best example Fabianich remembers from his days with the Cowboys was DeMarcus Ware, who is also in the game's Hall of Fame. He recalled former Cowboys head coach Bill Parcells asking Ware to stand up and widen out in drills as a defensive lineman, which ultimately gave him the edge to be selected with the 11th overall pick in the 2005 draft over the other player Dallas was considering, Shawn Merriman.
"It's the best against the best," Fabianich said. "What I enjoyed about it was getting together as a group, plus we split it up by position, flipped it, we talked about those guys at the end of the week. This brought guys value here. A perfect example was DeMarcus Ware… I think this put him over the edge."
Ware wasn't the only successful pick the Cowboys had while Fabianich was part of the Cowboys' scouting department. When asked what stood out about how Dallas' draft process differed from other teams around the league, he pointed to their track record.
"I thought we were really good at what we did…" Fabianich said. "We drafted 67 Pro Bowl appearances when I was there from 2003 to 2022. I mean, that's pretty damn impressive. Did I get a ring? No. Would I like to have one? Yup. But this is a tough game, it's hard to win a Super Bowl."
"People think it's easy to go to the playoffs, people think it's easy to go to the Super Bowl, it's not. I thought we did a really good job, and I thought we put together some really good rosters during my time, and that's what I'm proud of."
Fabianich's scouting background isn't the only element of his past that's prepared him for this role. He also coached for 17 years and spent time as the general manager of Auburn and West Virginia in college, which gives him a unique way to connect with coaches and players.
He doesn't need to sell players on the upside the Senior Bowl can have on their careers, and feels the competitive setting in Mobile speaks for itself.
"It's really simple… Whoever you lined up against, SEC, Big 12, whatever, I'm not dogging on anybody, but some of the guys you lined up against are working at UPS next week," Fabianich said. "I said, 'These guys are going to play on Sunday with you, so be prepared for ratcheted up competition.' And it is, you've seen it. It's rolling right now."
While Fabianich hasn't been able to fully watch every drill in practice, he did point out several players that have caught his eye. Notre Dame WR Malachi Fields, Baylor WR Josh Cameron, Missouri WR Kevin Coleman, Florida State DT Darrell Jackson Jr., Oklahoma RB Jadyn Ott, Georgia State WR Ted Hurst and Pitt LB Kyle Louis were all names he mentioned as standouts.
The Cowboys have selected a Senior Bowl prospect with one of the draft selections in each of the last 10 drafts. In 2026, they could be in line to make it 11 straight seasons with a Senior Bowl draft pick with one of their former scouts running the show.
