Lawrence Tynes is not the only Scot making his mark in the NFL. Former Scottish Claymores’ general manager Steve Livingstone is making an impact with Jacksonville Jaguars.

Livingstone’s days as a player with Strathclyde Hawks and Glasgow Diamonds may be a fading memory but he is now a valued member of the Jaguars’ front office staff as senior manager of business development and operations.

He left Scotland after the Claymores were axed from the European set-up in 2004 to set up home in Florida.

Livingstone admits it was a tough first year but he was given his big break by the Jaguars after – in true American style – writing to the team’s chief executive officer Wayne Weaver asking for a job.

“I had spent a couple of days with the Jaguars in 1999 as part of an NFL Europe programme to enrich our experience of the game,” Livingstone recalls, “And fortunately, they seemed to remember me from that time.

“In fact, we used part of their model for a schools’ programme with the Claymores when I returned to Scotland.

“I wrote a three-page letter to Mr Weaver outlining some of my ideas for the team and, in all honesty, I didn’t expect to hear anything back.

“But I was called back a couple of days later and asked in for a meeting with Mr Weaver and Tim Connelly, the senior vice president of business development, who is now my boss.

“Fortunately, they liked what I had to say and I was given the chance to implement some of my ideas.”

Livingstone had started the Champions Club with the Claymores which gave season ticket holders a chance to forge a closer link with the team in return for certain privileges.

Volunteers would come into the Claymores’ offices and phone around thanking other season ticket holders for their support and urging them to renew.

It was something that worked well and Champions Club members had the chance to feel part of the team and were also invited down onto the field at certain matches as a way of thanking them for their support. 

“It’s the same principal we’re using over here,” says Livingstone, “But it’s just on a different scale.

“We were dealing with between 10,000-15,000 in terms of a Claymores’ fan base but here we have a stadium with a 66,000 capacity.

“Between February to April, we turn the press box at the stadium over to the Champions Club and they phone out to season ticket holders thanking them for their support and persuading them to renew.

“They were responsible for selling 3,000 season tickets this year which is the equivalent of $2 million worth of business

“The model is so successful that other NFL teams are now looking at it and St Louis Rams and Houston Texans have shown an interest.”

Livingstone is now responsible for overseeing overall ticketing at the team and it has meant long working days.

He is at his desk at 8am and often is still there until 10pm or 11pm and points out that there is no close season for office staff.

“It’s just the NFL way of working and you have to go with it,” he said, “I knew what it would be like and I’m loving the job.

“I think my Scottish accent has helped as it is a good ice-breaker when you meet people as you spend the first ten minutes of a business meeting explaining how you ended up in Jacksonville.

“I still keep in touch with some of the people from the Claymores as there are a few coaches, players and equipment managers working in the NFL and we have our own network.

“Of course, I miss the time with the Claymores and I was sorry to see them go but I could see it coming.

“There were cutbacks and they moved operations to Germany and no organisation shrunk into greatness.

“The NFL has now shifted its focus and playing matches at Wembley and it is just a different approach. But selling out two matches now within 20 minutes of tickets going on sale suggests they must be doing something right.”

RM
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