Eliot

Wolf

Kraft opened his Monday presser by taking full responsibility for the firing of former head coach Jerod Mayo, who Kraft said was put in an “untenable” situation. Shortly after, he announced that Wolf and senior personnel executive Alonzo Highsmith would return to their roles next season while adding they will be “looking for people working together.” Kraft dodged any questions about the possibility of Mike Vrabel being at the top of his coaching wish list, but nobody would be surprised to see the former Patriots linebacker and Titans head coach return home if the two sides came to an agreement. It will be a busy few days in New England as the team looks to sort itself out and find the next coach to usher in the post-Belichick era.

Wolf moves from his previous position as director of scouting to serve as executive vice president of player personnel, a position that now gives him control of the personnel department, the salary cap, and the 53-man roster in New England. This was thought to be the direction the franchise would go, with the announcement of the signing now making it official. The fancy title effectively makes Wolf the new General Manager for a team undergoing vast changes throughout its organization.

The Patriots interviewed Eagles exec Brandon Hunt and former Panthers cap manager Samir Suleiman for a new front office role. The team’s director of scouting, Eliot Wolf, also remains a strong candidate. Breer reports the Pats registered the title with the league office as Executive Vice President of Player Personnel. It seems Robert Kraft will continue to not hand over a general manager title as the Pats’ new front office takes shape. This role is expected to be the de facto general manager role, whether Hunt, Suleiman, Wolf, or someone else step into it.

Eliot Wolf, the team’s director of scouting, is expected to be considered for the role after spending the last four months working closely with the team on free agency and the draft. However, the team is expected to conduct a full-scale search that will comply with the Rooney Rule as they look to fully move on from the coach centric model that existed under Bill Belichick. While it’s uncertain whether or not the Patriots will give the title of general manager to whoever they hire, Jones says sources familiar with the situation “believe the position would outrank all other football positions in the building.”

The Patriots have made it known that they are keeping an open mind throughout the pre-draft process. While it’s expected they will take a quarterback with the No. 3 overall pick; they appear to be just as open to trading the pick to acquire other assets and presumably focus on a quarterback later in the draft. With other teams in need of help at quarterback, there are several teams currently picking outside of the top five — i.e., the Vikings, Broncos, and Giants — who could make a move into the No. 3 spot to select one of the top passers in the class.

The Patriots continue to hint at being open to trading the No. 3 pick, but for a team so desperate to secure a franchise quarterback, it’s hard to imagine them moving the pick if there’s a quarterback they like. They’ve done their due diligence in meeting with the flock of incoming quarterbacks, as Jayden Daniels, Drake Maye, J.J. McCarthy, and Michael Penix have all had top 30 visits with the team. They even met with Tennessee’s Joe Milton at one point in time. We’ll see if anything develops between now and next week’s draft, but the Patriots continue to sound like a team ready to usher in the Jerod Mayo era with a new quarterback at the helm.

With Bill Belichick out of town, the Pats are doing some restructuring in their front office. Wolf appears to be the de facto general manager, though he will also work closely with Matt Groh among others. He has been with the Patriots since 2020 and spent 14 years in Green Bay plus another two with the Browns. Wolf has interviewed for multiple GM vacancies but has never landed the job. Though it looks like he won’t get the title in New England, he appears to be the final authority on the team’s roster.

The 39-year-old son of legendary executive Ron Wolf, Eliot has been working in NFL front offices since 2004. He ascended as high as director of player personnel in Green Bay before going on to serve as assistant GM in Cleveland. He has been a “consultant” the past two years in New England. Although Wolf’s star has dimmed a bit in recent years, he has also earned a GM interview in Chicago.

The Vikings also requested interviews with Browns executive Kwesi Adofo-Mensah and Patriots player personnel consultant Eliot Wolf. All three have pending requests from other organizations as well. The Vikings moved on from Rick Spielman after their 2021 season ended. Spielman had been with the franchise for 16 years but the team had stagnated in recent seasons. Once management decides on a GM, they will move forward in their search for a new head coach.

Wolf is 39 years old and has been viewed as an up-and-coming general manager candidate for the last handful of years. After serving as the Packers director of football operations he was in the running for their general manager position but ultimately lost out to Brian Gutekunst. He’s since served as an assistant for the Browns and is currently a senior consultant for the Patriots. The Bears are casting a wide net for their next general manager.