Former Pittsburgh Steelers college scout Chris Watts has quickly found new work. Per CBS Sports’ Matt Zenitz, the University of Texas is set to hire him as part of its player personnel department.
Texas is expected to hire veteran NFL scout Chris Watts in a player personnel capacity, a source tells @CBSSports.
Worked for the Steelers the last four years. Previously spent 15 years working for the Giants. pic.twitter.com/c6gUt9ODQf
— Matt Zenitz (@mzenitz) May 6, 2026
News of Watts leaving the team was first reported by Inside the League’s Neil Stratton late last month.
Watts served as a Steelers college area scout for the past several seasons and was hired shortly after Omar Khan became Pittsburgh’s general manager in May 2022. He primarily worked in the south region, making today’s news of being hired by Texas logical.
According to his Linkedin, Watts’ time with Pittsburgh ended in March. That explains why we did not once see Watts on the Pro Day trail this cycle. It’s an atypical time for a scout to end with the team. Usually, departures occur after the draft when contracts officially expire as teams transition from one draft class to the next.
The Steelers’ website still shows Watts on staff but is notoriously slow to update information. The team has yet to reflect this winter’s hiring of Tim Gribble, who joined the scouting department in January. It’s not clear if Pittsburgh will undergo any additional scouting changes this offseason.
Prior to Pittsburgh, Watts served as a longtime scout for the New York Giants and was part of the team’s two most recent Super Bowl victories. He also spent time in the personnel department for the USFL’s Birmingham team and spent a six-month stint working for the Senior Bowl based out of Mobile, Alabama.
Watts played college football at Langston University in Oklahoma.
Texas is coming off a 10-3 season and Citrus Bowl victory. The Longhorns have returned to prominence after a decade-long stretch of middling showings. The program has won double-digit games the past three seasons, something it last accomplished over a nine-year stint from 2001-2009.
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