Bengals suffer a loss in their front office that hurts them more than it would hurt most NFL teams

Sarkisian has been with the Bengals since 2018, a year before Zac Taylor was hired as head coach. He previously worked at Northwestern as the football program's assistant director of player personnel. He also earned his masters degree in sports administration from the institution and his grandfather, Alex Sarkisian, played for the team in the 1940s. 

Sarkisian was responsible for scouting many of the Bengals' recent draft picks as his area of responsibility covered the southern part of the country. He personally scouted defensive end Shemar Stewart at Texas A&M and is responsible for the majority of intel they received on their eventual first-round pick of the 2025 NFL Draft.

The simple fact that Sarkisian was one of the very few scouts on Cincinnati's staff under director of player personnel Duke Tobin means his departure for a promotion is a big hit on the Bengals. Finding a new area scout to replace the trust Sarkisian had earned over several years will be a tall task for Cincinnati.

It's a reality other NFL clubs with personnel departments five times as large don't have to deal with. One of 15-20 scouts leaving is much more absorbable compared to when one of a few leave. 

The Bengals prefer things this way: Having select and trusted voices in the process who do ample amount of work and feel their work is put to good use and their opinions are heard.

The cost becomes high when a good chunk of the department is gone from just one person saying goodbye. They almost experienced it earlier this year when Trey Brown was in consideration for multiple NFL GM gigs.

Sarkisian now becomes a GM for real, and the Bengals will now look to replace him.