Packers front office hires former 49ers director of college scouting Matt Malaspina

With a week to go until the NFL Scouting Combine, the Green Bay Packers have made one move to bolster their scouting department. According to various media outlets, the Packers have hired Matt Malaspina as a scout.

Landing Malaspina appears to be a nice hire, as he is taking a job in a lesser capacity than his previous position. He was the San Francisco 49ers’ director of college scouting for the last three seasons, and before that had served as the team’s head national scout and an area scout. Malaspina will likely report to the Packers’ current director of college scouting, Jon-Eric Sullivan.

As of the time of this publishing, Malaspina’s bio remains posted on the 49ers’ official website. However, it is possible that he was not in line to be retained after the 49ers switched general managers; earlier this offseason, San Francisco fired Wisconsin native Trent Baalke and replaced him with Hall of Fame safety John Lynch.

With Malaspina serving as college scouting director, the 49ers selected Oregon defensive linemen in the first round of each of the last two NFL Drafts: DeForest Buckner at 7th overall in 2016 and Arik Armstead at 17th the year before. In 2014, the team’s first pick was safety/slot corner Jimmie Ward from Northern Illinois.

According to his 49ers bio, Malaspina played college football at Central Florida and has also spent time as a scout with the Panthers and Seahawks organizations.