The NFL Europe season may be more than six months away, but already the Scottish Claymores' coaching staff are laying the groundwork for another campaign.

Head coach Jim Criner has involved his full coaching staff in recent weeks to scout NFL teams in training camps and look at potential recruits.

Defensive coordinator Myrel Moore and offensive coordinator Vince Alcalde evaluated 165 players between them and visited seven teams. No stone will be left unturned as Criner seeks to steal a march on his European rivals.

In previous years, Criner has done virtually all of the scouting himself, but this time he wants his coaches to play a big part in the sifting process.

The Claymores have had a deeply frustrating year. With arguably the most talented team in the league, they also had the ability to lose spectacularly, and Criner was at a loss to explain it. Now he is determined to find out about the character of his players even before he assembles them in training camp in Florida in March.

Moore explains that one of the main reasons for the heavy presence at NFL training camps is not just to judge playing talent, but to see how mature the players are. ''It's important to learn what kind of character they have,'' he says. ''They are required to be in Europe for some time and there is a lot demanded of them, so we have been talking to coaches about how they would cope in addition to their athletic ability.

''We were able to sit down with scouts who have followed these players from when they first started playing, so it was very important to get that input.

''Some of the Claymores players have surprised us in the past with their immaturity in some things. There weren't a lot of them, but if we can eliminate anyone that comes into that category, then it will help.

''You find by the seventh or eighth week of the season the players are starting to get a little homesick. They've been rooming with the same guy and that can bring problems and we need some strong characters to get us over that last part.''

It is a sentiment echoed by Alcalde. ''It's tough to find young guys coming in who show great leadership. We don't have time to really develop that and every year we hope we can bring back guys like Yo Murphy and Barry Stokes,'' he says.

''One of things we're looking for is players who maybe showed leadership in college and could do a similar job for us.''

The most pleasing aspect for Moore and Alcalde about their travels is that they have been well received everywhere they have gone.

Moore admits it was not always the case and, in the past, there has not been the same open access by the NFL teams who rather looked down their noses at their European offshoot. But, with more than 150 former NFL Europe players in the league this year, the NFL teams are now fully behind the venture and 29 of the 31 teams allocated players to Europe this year.

The European league provides a safety-net for players who may have slipped through before.

Alcalde points out that receiver Yo Murphy was picked up in Canada by the Claymores and has worked hard for four years for his shot at the NFL. It did not work out for him at Minnesota Vikings last year but now it looks as if he may get his chance at Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

He was activated last weekend at Philadelphia Eagles and could get another chance to show what he can do against Super Bowl champions Denver Broncos tomorrow.

Another player who managed to get another shot at the NFL through playing with the Claymores is George Coghill, who has signed a long-term deal with the Broncos but is currently out of action with a knee injury.

If the NFL teams are starting to see the benefits of allocating players to Europe, then the Scottish game has also been helped with the presence of American players in the five years of the Claymores' existence.

Steve McCusker, who has succeeded Mike Kenny as national coach at the Claymores, believes there are more talented players around Scotland than every before. He has been working closely with the Claymores' development team and it may not be too long before a couple of these players are in line for a call-up to the full team.

Twenty-two former Claymores players have now managed to secure berths on NFL rosters this year and that number will continue to rise in the years ahead. Just ask Myrel Moore and Vince Alcalde.