One of the final pieces to the Patriots’ post-Bill Belichick front office puzzle has been placed, and, perhaps unsurprisingly, they opted for an internal solution to their general manager — or New England’s equivalent of that position — vacancy.
Eliot Wolf, who previously served as the director of scouting and worked with the Browns as an assistant general manager, was hired as the the Patriots’ executive vice president of player personnel, the team announced Saturday.
He had been serving as New England’s de facto GM throughout the offseason and 2024 NFL Draft, and his official responsibilities will include the 53-man roster, the Patriots’ salary cap and other personnel decisions, according to a team release.
“As I have started multiple times during the offseason, the plan was to observe the working relationship and involvement between Eliot and [head coach] Jerod [Mayo] and see how they managed our offseason personnel decisions,” Patriots Chairman and CEO Robert Kraft said in a statement. “Then, following the draft we would formally undertake a process for setting up the permanent structure of our personnel department.
“I have been impressed with Eliot’s management style and experience and I’m excited that he has agreed to take on this new position.”
So while Wolf won’t carry the traditional GM label, he’ll be tasked with constructing a Patriots roster that reverses the organization’s recent spiral — just one playoff appearance across the past four seasons — and maximizes the potential of franchise quarterback Drake Maye, who the Patriots selected at No. 3 overall last month.
Wolf, the son of ex-Pacers GM Ron Wolf, originally joined the Patriots as a scouting consultant in 2020, marking the latest stop in a career that started with the Packers in 2004 and featured titles of pro personnel assistant, assistant director of pro personnel, assistant director of player personnel, director of pro personnel and director of player personnel through 2017.
Then, he served as the Browns’ assistant GM for two years, before joining the staff in New England.
For the first three years of Wolf’s tenure with the franchise, Belichick controlled personnel decisions.
But when the team and the 72-year-old head coach parted ways following a 4-13 campaign and 24 seasons altogether, that created a rare opening for the Patriots to fill.
“This is the first time in a quarter of a century that we’ve had to make major changes,” Kraft said in a January press conference.
The first step was simple.
Linebackers coach Jerod Mayo — who spent his eight NFL seasons with the franchise before returning to coach — was hired as a first-time head coach one day after Belichick’s exit, with NFL.com previously describing the possibility of that move as a “firm, contractual succession plan.”
Then, Belichick talked about looking in-house, at the “marketplace,” at any other options that supported Mayo — there wasn’t a “fixed formula” to follow, Kraft said — for the person to run their football operations.
And after nearly four months, that all led to Wolf’s promotion.
“It is an honor to accept this position with the New England Patriots,” Wolf said in the Patriots’ release. “I am grateful to the Kraft family for this opportunity and want to thank my family, especially my wife and children, for the support and strength they have given me as I move forward in my new role. I also want to thank all of the people I have worked with and learned from over the years.”
