Eliot Wolf - Pro Football Rumors

Packers Notes: Wolf, DeCosta, Perry, McCray

January 7th, 2018 at 2:16pm CST by Dallas Robinson

Now that the Packers have officially promoted incumbent executive Brian Gutekunst to general manager, Green Bay director of football operations Eliot Wolf is unlikely to ever become GM of the Packers, as Tom Silverstein of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel notes (Twitter links). Wolf is expected to garner a GM job elsewhere before the Green Bay position ever opens again, as he’s drawn interested from other clubs in the recent past. However, the Packers will attempt to convince Wolf to remain with the team, per Silverstein. One additional note on the Packers’ general manager search: although Green Bay had interest in meeting with Ravens assistant general manager Eric DeCosta, the Baltimore executive turned down an interview request on Saturday night, per Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link).

Here’s more on the Packers:

Incumbent safeties coach Darren Perry interviewed for the Packers’ defensive coordinator job on Saturday and is viewed as the favorite to land the position, according to Alex Marvez of the Sporting News (Twitter link). That news conflicts with a recent report from Rob Demovsky of ESPN.com, who indicated last week that Green Bay cornerbacks coach Joe Whitt was the frontrunner to be promoted to DC. Perry, 49, began his Packers coaching career in 2009 after spending time in Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, and Oakland.
While Perry could be given a promotion in Green Bay, former offensive coordinator Edgar Bennett appears to be moving on, tweets Silverstein. Bennett, who did not call offensive plays for the Packers, was re-assigned last week, but he should be able to find another coaching position given the level of turnover throughout the NFL, per Silverstein. Colts offensive line coach Joe Philbin is expected to be hired for a second stint in Green Bay, and although he may not take Bennett’s old title as OC, he’s likely to handle many of Bennett’s prior duties.
The Packers should be expected to add competition for backup quarterback Brett Hundley, writes Ryan Wood of the Green Bay Press-Gazette. While Green Bay had originally planned to deal Hundley (and nearly did so during the draft), the former fifth-round pick’s lackluster production while filling in for Aaron Rodgers is likely to hinder those intentions. Indeed, the Packers attempted to sign veteran signal-caller Brian Hoyer in November as the club was trying to keep its postseason hopes alive.
Green Bay recently worked out offensive lineman Jordan McCray, the brother of Packers guard Justin McCray, reports Demovsky. Both McCrays were undrafted free agents out of UCF in 2014, but Jordan has yet to appear in an NFL game.

Packers Interview Eliot Wolf

January 4th, 2018 at 9:44am CST by Zachary Links

The Packers are interviewing Director of Football Operations Eliot Wolf for their GM vacancy on Thursday, a source tells Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter). Wolf is one of three strong in-house possibilities for the position.

The Packers are starting the process with their internal candidates. After Wolf, the next two interviews should be with Russ Ball and Brian Gutekunst, though not necessarily in that order. Knowing the culture of the Packers, it would be a bit surprising to see them go out-of-house for the GM hire when there are three qualified execs already in the building. However, the team could reportedly consider ex-Bills GM Doug Whaley.

Wolf was connected to the 49ers and Colts GM vacancies a year ago and was recently linked to the Giants GM gig before the team hired Dave Gettleman. He’s reportedly getting antsy in Green Bay and he may consider leaving if he does not become the successor to Ted Thompson. There is a scenario in which Gutekunst becomes the GM and he stays, but the feeling is that both Wolf and Gutekunst will bail if Ball gets the job. No matter what decision he makes, it sounds like it will be tough for Packers president Mark Murphy to keep the band together.

“I think it goes back to just getting the best man, best person for the job,” Murphy said this week. “We’ve got some good people here and you don’t want to lose them, but I also think the most important thing is getting the right person.”

Packers Hope To Hire GM Next Week

January 3rd, 2018 at 2:13pm CST by Zachary Links

The Packers are expected to start their GM interviews on Thursday with an eye on making a hire next week, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (on Twitter). They’ll likely start by interviewing their trio of internal candidates: Russ Ball, Eliot Wolf, and Brian Gutekunst.

Ball, the team’s vice president of football administration, is said to have a strong rapport with Packers president Mark Murphy. Promoting him to the GM post would likely lead Wolf and Gutekunst to go elsewhere, but if either Wolf or Gutekunst gets the job, the other exec will likely stay in Green Bay. That could weigh heavily on the decision made by Packers president Mark Murphy, who will be working with search firm Korn Ferry to make the determination.

Wolf and Gutekunst have been in the running for GM jobs in each of the last few offseasons. If they decide to leave the nest, it would not be surprising to see both men running teams in 2018.

Packers Notes: GM Search, Ball, Wolf, Evans

January 2nd, 2018 at 7:58pm CST by Dallas Robinson

Now that the Packers have reassigned former general manager Ted Thompson (he’s now a senior advisor to football operations, the club announced today), Green Bay is searching for a new decision-maker atop its personnel department. Incumbent vice president of football administration Russ Ball is thought to be a candidate for the position and has a “close relationship” with Packers president Mark Murphy, according to Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk, but promoting Ball could cause other problems for Green Bay. If Ball (or an external candidate is hired), the Packers will likely lose fellow personnel men Eliot Wolf and Brian Gutekunst to other clubs, reports Tom Silverstein of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. However, if one of Wolf or Gutenkunst is promoted to GM, the other man will likely stay in Green Bay, per Silverstein.

Here’s more on the Packers:

While the Packers will utilize search firm Korn Ferry as they look for a new general manager, Murphy told reporters that he will make the final call on the club’s top personnel job (Twitter links via Jason Wilde of ESPN.com). Additionally, Green Bay’s next GM will have the power to fire the team’s head coach, an interesting development given that Mike McCarthy is currently signed through 2019. Murphy said “[McCarthy] will be our coach,” an indication that the new Packers general manager will be stuck with McCarthy for at least one campaign.
Green Bay’s decision to extend McCarthy’s contract will allow the longtime head coach more flexibility as he seeks to fill out his staff, writes Rob Demovsky of ESPN.com. The most pressing decision for McCarthy will be to hire a new defensive coordinator following Dom Capers‘ firing, but the Packers will also see change on the offensive side of the ball. Luke Getsy, who’s served as Green Bay’s wide receivers coach for the past two seasons, is now Mississippi State’s offensive coordinator, per Demovsky.
The Packers have interest in re-signing veteran guard Jahri Evans, who will become a free agent in March, per Ryan Wood of PackersNews.com (Twitter link). Evans would likely need to accept less than the $2.25MM he earned in 2017, per Wood, and the 34-year-old offensive lineman would almost certainly ink a one-year pact. In his first season outside of New Orleans, Evans ranked as the No. 30 guard among 82 qualifiers, per Pro Football Focus.

Ted Thompson Out As Packers GM

January 1st, 2018 at 5:42pm CST by Micah Powell

The Packers are now searching for a new general manager after Ted Thompson is expected to take a new role in the organization, sources tell NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport (Twitter link).

ESPN’s Chris Mortensen confirmed Thompson will assume a new role within the team and the front office will undergo an overhaul, led by team president Mark Murphy (Twitter link).

Thompson has operated as the team’s general manager since 2005 and has been with the team through two stints since 1992. In his first NFL Draft, Thompson selected Aaron Rodgers with the 24th overall pick. Green Bay has been among the best teams in the draft since Thompson’s arrival, plucking stars like Clay Matthews and Jordy Nelson.

Under Thompson’s watch, the team advanced to the playoffs nine times and won the Super Bowl in 2010. The Packers missed the postseason for the first time since 2008 when it finished 7-9 in 2017.

There are several internal candidates to keep an eye on to take over as general manager, including director of college scouting Brian Gutekunst, director of football operations Eliot Wolf and vice president of football administration/player finance Russ Ball, Rapoport reports (Twitter link). Mortensen reported all three are expected to receive new duties with the change. (Twitter link). The team is expected hire a true general manager and will not operate with all three in the position, ESPN’s Jason Wilde reports (Twitter link).

NFC North Notes: Vikings, Keenum, Packers

December 24th, 2017 at 3:40pm CST by Dallas Robinson

The Vikings still have not opened extension talks with pending free agent quarterback Case Keenum, according to Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com. Previous reports have indicated general manager Rick Spielman & Co. won’t discuss contracts with any of their free agent signal-callers until the season concludes, and that stance has not changed, per Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk. Indeed, Keenum may require a franchise or transition tag in order to not hit the open market, several executives tell La Canfora. Keenum, Teddy Bridgewater, and Sam Bradford are all scheduled to become unrestricted free agents next spring, meaning the Vikings will have several decisions to make over the coming months.

Here’s more from the NFC North:

While the Packers have certainly struggled without quarterback Aaron Rodgers, the club isn’t expected to make wholesale changes during the offseason, reports Tom Pelissero of NFL.com. However, defensive coordinator Dom Capers could take the fall after leading a defense that ranks just 19th in DVOA. If Capers is fired, one candidate to take over Green Bay’s defense may be current Bears DC Vic Fangio, per Pelissero. Fangio, whose contract expires after the 2017 season, has Chicago’s defense at 14th in DVOA (with arguably less talent than the Packers possess).
Capers isn’t the only Packers staffer who could leave the team this offseason, as director of football operations Eliot Wolf is once again drawing general manager interest. While Wolf has long been viewed as an in-house replacement for current GM Ted Thompson, Wolf is reportedly growing impatient and is ready to “branch out,” sources tell Matt Miller of Bleacher Report. Wolf, who was tied to the 49ers and Colts general manager vacancies a year ago, was most recently linked to the Giants GM gig.
Although Vikings long snapper Kevin McDermott‘s dislocated shoulder is likely to sideline him for the final game of the regular season, he’s expected to be available for the playoffs, per Chris Tomasson of the Pioneer Press (Twitter links). McDermott, who will not require surgery, had his shoulder popped back in place last night. Meanwhile, Minnesota will need a long snapper for their Week 17 contest against the Bears, and the club plans to audition free agent Justin Drescher on Tuesday, per Tomasson. Drescher has appeared in 110 career games, including eight with the Cardinals earlier this year.

Giants Eyeing Eliot Wolf, Nick Caserio For GM

December 13th, 2017 at 6:40pm CST by Dallas Robinson

Although former Panthers general manager Dave Gettleman is considered the favorite for the Giants’ GM position, the club also has other candidates in mind. Packers director of football operations Eliot Wolf and Patriots vice president of player personnel Nick Caserio are on New York’s radar as it seeks to replace Jerry Reese, according to Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk.

Wolf, 35, has long been considered a future general manager, but never actually interviewed for an opening until this year (partially because Green Bay denied permission for him to meet with Philadelphia and Detroit in recent hiring cycles). Although he was viewed as a strong contender for the 49ers’ GM job this offseason, Wolf ultimately accepted a new contract with the Packers. He subsequently interviewed with the Colts.

Caserio, who has spent the entirety of his 17-year NFL career in New England, has been linked to other vacancies in the past, but has never shown much willingness to leave Foxborough. Since 2014, he’s declined an offer from the Dolphins and an interview from the 49ers in order to remain with the Patriots. However, Albert Breer of TheMMQB.com recently indicated Caserio is “willing to listen” to general manager proposals, and noted the Giants job could hold particular interest.

Each of the candidates for the New York gig could have potential head coaches in mind: a source tells Florio that Gettleman or Wolf could attempt to hire Eagles defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz, while Caserio could unsurprisingly look at Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels.

East Notes: Cowboys, Giants, Hackenberg, Jets

December 8th, 2017 at 2:21pm CST by Zachary Links

Jerry Jones offered a measured response to Roger Goodell‘s new extension when asked about it on Friday morning.

“No, I don’t really [have any comment],” Jones said on 105.3 The Fan (transcript via Jon Machota of the Dallas Morning News). “We’re having a very important [owners] meeting here in Dallas next week beginning Wednesday. That’s very meaningful. I’m looking forward to that. That’ll be very meaningful as we go forward. One of the things that I think that has been mentioned is any role that I might have had in the extension of Roger. As you know, I’ve been on both ends of it as far as any criticism. It’s been my experience in 30 years in the NFL that to make change and to make positive change — every time we all strive to make the NFL better, I include every owner with that — it’s hard. It’s very, very hard. If you really want to make some changes, you usually end up getting a lot of criticism along the way. It’s happened every time with me when we’ve had meaningful change. … We’ll see how it goes forward, but there’s nothing that has surprised me here.”

While Jones seethes behind closed doors, let’s take a look at the latest from the East divisions:

Jordan Raanan of ESPN.com spoke with people around the league to size up some potential candidates for the Giants‘ GM vacancy. The names he’s hearing include Eliot Wolf (Packers), Nick Caserio (Patriots), Scott Pioli (Falcons), Trent Kirchner (Seahawks), Dave Gettleman (ex-Panthers GM), Louis Riddick (currently with ESPN), and internal candidates Kevin Abrams and Marc Ross.
Can Christian Hackenberg still be the Jets‘ quarterback of the future? The former second round pick has yet to see the field, but Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News won’t rule out the possibility that he could be in the mix next season. For his part, Hackenberg admits that he is anxious to take an NFL snap. “In order to grow and learn, you need to get hit in your mouth,” Hackenberg said. “You need to fail. Then you grow from that. There’s really no intimidation. I got to experience things. I felt like I experienced a lot of really good things this preseason and some things I need to learn from. That’s all part of the process. If you don’t experience both ends of the spectrum, you’re not getting everything out of the adventure.”

Browns Eyeing Ex-Chiefs GM John Dorsey

December 7th, 2017 at 11:12am CST by Zachary Links

The Browns’ GM search is underway and we already have word on a potential frontrunner for the job. The Browns are eyeing former Chiefs GM John Dorsey and he is expected to emerge as a leading contender for the job, sources tell ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter and Dianna Russini.

Owner Jimmy Haslam and his wife Dee Haslam are expected to interview candidates as early as this week, sources tell the duo. The early interviews may also include Seahawks executive Trent Kirchner and Packers executive Eliot Wolf, Tom Pelissero of NFL.com reports (on Twitter).

In his statement announcing the firing of Sashi Brown, Haslam said that he would be looking for “someone with strong experience and success in drafting and building consistently winning football teams.” Dorsey fits the bill, though he is not without his critics. Dorsey was canned by Kansas City late last offseason, reportedly because of his overly loose management style. The Chiefs also did a poor job of managing the salary cap, though that supposedly did not factor heavily into Clark Hunt’s decision fire him.

Because of the team is making experience a requirement, it sounds like former NFL quarterback Peyton Manning will not be considered for the job. Throughout the year, there were rumblings of Haslam working to lure Manning, potentially by offering a small stake in the team. Instead, it appears that the Browns will be making a more traditional hire.

Whoever takes over for Brown in Cleveland will have a lot going for them (in theory). In the 2018 draft, the Brows have an enviable stockpile including an extra first-round pick, two additional second round picks, a fourth-round choice, and a fifth-round selection. They could also have nearly $100MM in cap space, though it’s not a given that Haslam will spend it all.

NFC East Notes: Giants, Redskins, Jones

December 4th, 2017 at 9:15pm CST by GregGoldstein

Now that the Giants front office and coaching staff is set to go through a number of changes after the firing of Jerry Reese and Ben McAdoo, there’s a ton of speculation of who could be the person put in charge to bring the franchise back to perennial success.

While many people think the hire will come outside the organization, Mike Garafolo of the NFL Network thinks interim GM Kevin Abrams should not be overlooked as the Giants begin their search.

Garafolo notes that Abrams is a “cap guy by trade”, but has worked on his scouting ability in recent years and has “attended multiple NFL seminars” to prepare to lead a football operations department. A number of names are likely to be floated for the job given that the team will likely have a high pick and has a track record of winning, but Abrams seems like he might get a realistic shot at turning his interim tag into a full-time position.

Here’s more from around the NFC East:

Apart from Abrams, Mike Sando of ESPN.com speculated a few candidates from outside the organization who could be contenders for the Giants general manager and head coaching gigs. Sando names front office guys like Nick Caserio from the Patriots, former Panthers GM Dave Gettleman and former Colts President Bill Polian. He also highlights many well known up-and-comers such as Eric DeCosta (Ravens), George Paton (Vikings), Eliot Wolf (Packers) and Terry McDonough (Cardinals) among many others. Sando added that former GM’s Scott Pioli (Falcons) and John Dorsey (free agent) could be intriguing hires as well. In terms of potential head coaching candidates, Sando names guys who were on the teams original list back before they hired McAdoo prior the 2016-17 season. This would include current coordinators like Teryl Austin (Lions) and Mike Smith (Buccaneers). An under-the-radar name to watch is Texans defensive coordinator, Mike Vrabel, who is best known for his time leading the Patriots defense to Super Bowl titles.
While the Redskins are out of the NFC playoff race after losing to the Cowboys last Thursday, that doesn’t mean that team will start resting their players, states John Keim of ESPN.com. He passes along that Head coach Jay Gruden said that he wouldn’t rest some of their injured starters just because the games don’t have postseason implications for the team. “They’re all trying to get back in the lineup,” Gruden said. “They’re going to play hard because they want to win and want to do well. That’s the reason they’re all here. We try to target guys that love football, are passionate about the game and are going to play hard no matter what. For the most part, we’ve got that here. So whether you are on one year left or five years left, doesn’t really matter.” Starters like left tackle Trent Williams, right tackle Morgan Moses and tight end Jordan Reed have all dealt with nagging injuries this season, but it appears that the Redskins won’t just solely be resting key players hoping that could lead to a better draft pick.
Eagles cornerback Sidney Jones has not played in a game this season as he’s continued to rehab the achilles that he had torn back in March. However, the rookie has yet to participate in practice, reports Zach Berman of the Philadelphia Inquirer (Twitter link). Jones has been eligible to start practicing since the beginning of Week 7, but has just a 21 day time period to be activated to the roster once he does begin to take part in practice. It’s important to note that Berman explains in a follow-up tweet, Jones could just use the last three weeks of the regular season to get extra reps and get a head start on his offseason training. The Eagles currently have corners Jalen Mills, Patrick Robinson, Ronald Darby and Rasul Douglas patrolling the defensive backfield.