When hiring a new head coach, the Patriots didn’t hire a new head of football operations. They’ve now turned their attention to that job.
Given the position, compliance with the Rooney Rule is required. According to at least one report, that requirement has been satisfied.
Per Ben Volin of the Boston Globe: “I’m told the Patriots have already complied with the Rooney Rule as it pertains to their G.M. situation, so that is not the reason they are going through an interview process.”
There have been no reports of interviews that would satisfy the rule. Usually, those come to light when a team seeks permission to interview candidates under contract with other teams. For it to happen without such requests being sent to the league — and inevitably leaked — the Patriots would have had to interview candidates not currently under contract with any other franchise or candidates who currently work for the Patriots.
Some around the league believe it’s a done deal for Eliot Wolf to get the job. As one source pointed out on Monday, he just drafted their next franchise quarterback, if said quarterback develops as they hope he does. The idea that someone other than Wolf would take charge of a football team that has made an investment of that magnitude in Drake Maye wouldn’t make much sense.
If they hadn’t already complied with the Rooney Rule, attracting candidates to interview at a time when it feels like a fait accompli could be a challenge. But they reportedly have complied.
Obviously, it would be useful to have transparency in that regard. That’s one of the benefits of the Rooney Rule. Minority candidates become linked for major jobs, laying the foundation for those same candidates to be considered elsewhere in the future. If no one knows who was interviewed, , it defeats one of the practical purposes of the rule.