Will the Scouting Combine remain in Indianapolis?

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It’s been regarded as inevitable for the past several years that the Scouting Combine will move to a new location, the convenience of all parties involved be damned. Inevitable may still be at least one more year away.

With no specific commitment for the location of the Combine in 2023, and despite a very real vibe that the event will be headed for Dallas or L.A., a sudden shift toward the status quo could be happening.

For example, Peter King offers this quote in his new Football Morning in America column, from an unnamed “major NFL operative.”

“If I were a betting man,” the source said, “I’d take Indianapolis for at least one more year. The league knows no one wants to move.”

Although people like Jerry Jones envision the Combine becoming an even bigger deal if it were to happen elsewhere, the made-for-TV aspects of the event already are stretching the limits of its usefulness to teams. Remove the ease with which the coaches get from Point A to Point B to Point Wherever, and more coaches may decide to skip the event entirely. This year, heavy hitters like Sean McVay and Kyle Shanahan decided not to show up in Indianapolis.

“You watch,” an unnamed G.M. told King. “If the Combine moves, you won’t see near the number of coaches here as who come now.” An unnamed coach agreed, telling King, “It’s a huge time-suck for us now. I could see lots of coaches staying away if it moves.”

If the coaches don’t show up, why should the fans care? That’s the balance. Making it useful to teams and attractive to fans. That balance got out of whack on Thursday night, with the plan to play music during the workouts quickly getting scrapped after it kept the scouts and coaches from hearing who working out. As one team source told PFT, “It was the most cringeworthy NFL experiment of all time.”

It could end up being the second most cringeworthy NFL experiment. The new champion would be moving the Combine to a different location and having most coaches decide to not show up for it.