Brian Decker (Director of Player Development)

Born into the military in Texas and raised in Kentucky - for Brian Decker, service was in his blood. His grandfather served in the military in the Korean War and his dad served in Vietnam. After attending community college for a year and a half, he joined the military – working his way up to Lieutenant Colonel in The Army's Special Forces, he did two tours of duty in Iraq. After graduating from Eastern Kentucky and getting his master's degree from the Naval Postgraduate School, Decker continued to serve - overseeing the talent acquisition strategy for future Green Berets. During his three years as Commander of Special Forces Assessment and Selection, the program saw success - so much so that other organizations - military, business, and even sports teams wanted to hear about it. What they realized was that by focusing solely on performance, they were missing the person. Decker consulted with professional organizations of every major sport and eventually, the Cleveland Browns brought him in to oversee their player selection process. When the Colts brought Ballard in as general manager, he brought Decker in to help with player selection and development. Decker continues to serve and give back by investing in veterans like himself and shining a spotlight on nontraditional ways to bring people in from the military and have them contribute in a valuable way. After 22 years of service, no matter where he goes - in his heart, he's always a soldier.