The New England Patriots have a clear vision at head coach after hiring Mike Vrabel on Sunday. The front office? That's a different story.
As of now, executive vice president of player personnel Eliot Wolf is New England's de facto general manager, and team owner Robert Kraft said last week Wolf would be "staying on." But our Phil Perry recently reported there's no guarantee Wolf will be leading the personnel department in 2025, and Yahoo Sports' Charles Robinson reported Sunday that the Patriots are expected to add New York Giants executive Ryan Cowden to their front office.
Robinson reported Cowden won't have the GM title initially and noted he believes Wolf still will "retain personnel power." But given Cowden's extensive history with Vrabel -- Cowden ran the Tennessee Titans' personnel department while Vrabel was head coach there, elevating to interim general manager in 2022 -- that could create a complicated power dynamic in the Patriots' front office.
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Perry spoke to several people in NFL circles who are skeptical of a front office setup where Wolf is at the top of the masthead yet Cowden and Vrabel have significant influence.
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"I got a handful of texts when that Charles Robinson tweet got sent out (from) people that are in football, that are interested as to how this might shake out," Perry said on NBC Sports Boston's Sports Sunday, as seen in the video player above.
"I got one that said, 'So, Eliot is sticking around? That should work out well.' This guy is not exactly an emoji guy, but I think he (would) have done like the 'eye rolling' emoji at that point.
"Another one says, 'Should have just cleaned it out. This rarely works out, especially with a big personality like Vrabel.'"
Vrabel has a reputation as a "CEO-style" head coach who has his hand in both coaching and front office decisions. His former teammate, ex-Patriots and Chiefs quarterback Matt Cassel, told our Tom E. Curran that he believes Vrabel wouldn't have taken the Patriots job without assurance he'd have a say in key roster decisions.
So, will Wolf be on board with Vrabel making his voice heard on personnel matters? How will Vrabel, Cowden and Wolf navigate important decisions if they have significant differences in how they evaluate players?
The Patriots could avoid this potentially awkward dynamic by simply parting ways with Wolf. But if they do so, they'd need to undergo a formal search for a new general manager that includes interviewing multiple external candidates and satisfying the NFL's Rooney Rule.
So, the path of least resistance is for Wolf to remain in his current title. Whether that's the best decision for a team that desperately needs to improve its roster remains to be seen.
Check out more from Perry, The MMQB's Albert Breer and The Boston Globe's Chris Gasper on Sports Sunday below.