NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — C.O. Brocato, who scouted players over four decades with the Houston Oilers-Tennessee Titans, has died. He was 85.

His daughter, Becky, told the Titans that Brocato died Tuesday in Arlington from cancer.

Brocato joined the Houston Oilers in 1974 for the first of three seasons as a scout before leaving to scout for the United States Scouting Combine. Brocato rejoined the Oilers in 1981 as a scout and had a variety of jobs with the franchise, including scouting consultant, even as the team relocated to Tennessee in 1997.

His career spanned 599 games with the franchise, and Brocato was among the preliminary nominees for the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2005, 2007 and 2008.

Titans general manager Ruston Webster credited Brocato with devising the three-cone drill and the backpedal and turn drill among others to help scouts better measure players.

Brocato went to Baylor and was defensive coordinator in 1968 at Northern Arizona and then at Texas-Arlington between 1971 and 1974.