Albert Breer joins Arbella Early Edition to share insight into what the Patriots’ front office structure will look like with Mike Vrabel, Eliot Wolf and Ryan Cowden
The New England Patriots offseason isn't even a month old and there's already been significant changes made in the organization.
Mike Vrabel replaced Jerod Mayo as head coach. Josh McDaniels is the new offensive coordinator and Terrell Williams is the new defensive coordinator. Many other new coaches were brought in. The front office didn't experience wholesale changes -- executive vice president of player personnel Eliot Wolf remains -- but Ryan Cowden, who worked with Vrabel in Tennessee, was brought in as vice president of personnel.
Vrabel, Wolf and Cowden are part of the Patriots contingent down in Alabama this week for the Senior Bowl, where they will scout some of the top prospects in the 2025 NFL Draft.
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Getting on the same page and establishing what kind of culture the Patriots want to build will be crucial to this group's success.
"We want to see it through the same lens. Sometimes what we see is slightly different and having conversations is important," Vrabel told Patriots.com at the Senior Bowl. "But we got to make sure we bring in great people, that we believe in the people and that we trust in the people, and the ability also matches the level of trust we have in the players and people who we bring in."
Part of that process is just learning about each other as people.
"I like to think, as the personnel group -- the scouts, pro and college -- we're kind of a team and it's our locker room," Cowden told Patriots.com. "And the more you're around them, the more you understand what that means when he says this, or I know by his voice and his inflection that he's really fired up about this."
The Patriots have quite a challenge in front of them as far as rebuilding a roster that arguably was the NFL's worst in 2024. Free agency is a good place to address roster weaknesses, especially with the Patriots having more salary cap space -- around $120 million, per OverTheCap -- but the draft is the most important part of the offseason.
That's why events like the Senior Bowl are so vital, and why it's also crucial that the head coach and front office are working toward the same goal. Based on Vrabel's comments, it sounds like that part of the process is going well.
"We had some conversations this morning with the three of us, and it was what I envisioned it being: our shared vision, but also it brings three different ideas that have been different places and that have looked at it different ways," Vrabel said, per the team.
"I'm always going to lean to the side of the coach and then the personnel. These guys are more from the personnel standpoint. I enjoyed what we worked on this morning. We had some conversations here through practice, and I think we are all looking forward to getting moving on this roster and building this team."