 In 1983, Graves was promoted to assistant director of player personnel.He joined the National Football League in 1984 as a regional scout for the Chicago Bears, a position he held until promoted to director of college scouting in 1993, then director of player personnel in 1994.During his tenure with the Bears, he worked for Bill Tobin, the team’s director of player personnel and older brother of former Cardinal head coach Vince Tobin, along with another former Cardinal head coach, Dave McGinnis, and running backs coach Johnny Roland.