The New England Patriots have their new head coach in Mike Vrabel, but there are still some kinks to work out in the front office heading into the 2025 offseason.
Eliot Wolf is set to return as executive vice president of player personnel after a rough debut season in Foxboro. Matt Groh remains in the mix as director of player personnel, and former New York Giants executive Ryan Cowden reportedly will join the group as Wolf's de facto No. 2. NBC Sports Boston's Patriots insider Tom E. Curran adds that Vrabel, not Wolf, will be the "final decision maker" when it comes to adding talent to the roster in 2025.
So, what does this all mean for the power structure in Foxboro? The MMQB's Albert Breer provided some clarity during Tuesday's Early Edition.
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"I think on paper it's going to remain the same as it was last year, which is both Eliot Wolf and Mike Vrabel reporting directly to ownership," Breer said. "But if you're looking at the way it's going to be set up, I think Mike's going to have a heavy hand in every area.
"I think the mistake people are making is thinking that this is going to go back to the way Bill Belichick ran it, which is impossible for anybody to do that at a high level in 2025, which I think is part of why the roster fell apart the way that it did. People in this market haven't been exposed to other models; that model doesn't really exist anywhere anymore, so it's gonna take a strong personnel department for sure to rebuild the thing.
"Mike's gonna have a major say in personnel, but to say that he's gonna be going in and breaking down 400 college players and setting up a draft board I think is a little ridiculous."
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While he may not be the one making the final roster decisions, Wolf is still expected to lead the front office in scouting and evaluating talent. Vrabel will simply give the green light on roster moves, making for a collaborative environment that Breer anticipates will be free of any power struggles.
"I think Eliot Wolf is not going to fight Mike Vrabel on things, so I think that's got to be your baseline for all of this. Like, I don't think you're gonna have these massive arguments," he added. "I think the way Eliot Wolf came up and the way that people in that Packer system come up is, you're there to set the table for the coaches and say, 'OK, here's what we see in these players, here's why they fit what we are, here's where they would fit into the team, and let's discuss how to get this done.'
"Eliot Wolf's not the type of personality -- Eliot's not gonna come in there and shove players down Mike Vrabel's throat. It's just not gonna happen. So this idea that there's gonna be some sort of huge feud between personnel and coaching, I think it is a little ridiculous."
Vrabel and Wolf appear to be on the same page, but how does Cowden fit into the equation?
"His friends will tell you he's loyal to a fault, but he can be prickly," Breer said of Cowden. "If he isn't in on you, then it can be a problem. So I think it's gonna be on Eliot and Ryan to figure this out. I think it's gonna be on Eliot and Ryan to work through whatever entanglements there might be in melding the way that one guy does things, the way the other guy does things. ...
"I think so much is gonna come down to, 'Eliot, Ryan, you guys need to figure out how this is gonna work. You guys need to figure out your relationship. Eliot, you're number one. Ryan, you're number two. ... You have four months to really figure this out and create a good department that's gonna work well underneath you.' Underneath them, they've got a bunch of guys who have been here for a lot of years that came up in a very coach-centric system to begin with, so it doesn't mean it's gonna work like it did under Bill, but those guys are used to, 'OK, here's the coach's vision and here's how we make that vision come to life.' "
A pivotal offseason awaits Vrabel, Wolf, and the rest of the Patriots front office. New England must add talent at several positions, including offensive tackle and wide receiver, to take a step forward after back-to-back 4-13 seasons.
Watch the full Early Edition segment with Breer below or on YouTube: