FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – The New England Patriots announced two staffing changes in the team's personnel department today. Larry Cook, the team's director of college scouting since 1997, will become one of the team's regional scouts. The California native originally joined the Patriots as a personnel scout in 1985. He spent his first 22 years in football in California, as a coach at the high school and college levels before joining the Los Angeles Rams scouting department in 1979. He began coaching at Fountain Valley High in 1963. In 1975, he joined the college ranks as an assistant at Cal State Fullerton. After three seasons at Fullerton, he was hired by the Rams, where he worked for six seasons in personnel before joining the Patriots in 1985.
Thomas Dimitroff Jr. will replace Cook as the director of college scouting after serving the past season as the team's national scout. He is entering his 14th season in player personnel, including his 11th in the NFL. He began his professional career scouting for the Canadian Football League in 1990, followed by the World League in 1992 before joining the NFL in 1993 with the Kansas City Chiefs. Prior to joining the Patriots, he gained experience as a regional scout for the Detroit Lions (1994-97), followed by four seasons with the Cleveland Browns (1998-01).
