Eliot Wolf - Pro Football Rumors

John Dorsey Unlikely To Return To Packers?

June 22nd, 2017 at 8:01pm CST by Dallas Robinson

After being fired as the Chiefs’ general manager earlier today, John Dorsey is unlikely to return to the Packers, with whom he’s the spent the majority of his professional career, according to Charles Robinson of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter links: 1, 2, 3, 4).

Dorsey has been mentioned as a candidate to succeed Green Bay GM Ted Thompson since January, when a report indicated Dorsey could head to Green Bay when his Kansas City contract expired after 2017. Dorsey helped to build the Packers into a consistent contender, first as a college scout from 1991-97 and then as director of college scouting in 1998. After a one-year stint as the Seahawks’ director of player personnel in 1999, Dorsey returned to the Packers, where he served as the team’s director of college scouting from 2000-11 and as the director of football operations in 2012.

However, the next Packers general manager is more likely to be one of director of football operations Eliot Wolf, director of player personnel Brian Gutekunst, or vice president of football administration Russ Ball, per Robinson. Wolf and Gutekunst, specifically, have turned down opportunities to interview elsewhere (including San Francisco earlier this year) in order to remain in Green Bay, while Ball has been “working to broaden his knowledge base” in order to be prepared for a jump to GM.

That’s not to say Dorsey doesn’t have interest in returning to the Packers, as Robinson reports Dorsey has “overwhelming respect” for Thomspson and is “very fond” of the Packers organization. But his presence on Green Bay’s personnel staff could “ruffle some feathers,” per Robinson, especially because the trio of Wolf, Gutekunst, and Ball have remained on board instead of pursuing other jobs.

Packers Have No GM Succession Plan In Place

February 2nd, 2017 at 10:34am CST by Zachary Links

Packers execs Eliot Wolf and Brian Gutekunst were both considered for GM jobs this offseason and it stands to reason that they will continue to be in the mix for those gigs going forward. Despite the fact that they are in high demand, neither man has been told that they will succeed GM Ted Thompson (link via Rob Demovsky of ESPN.com).

“I don’t think you can make promises,” team president Mark Murphy said with regards to the two young scouts and cap guru Russ Ball. “Especially [because] the league changes so much year to year.”

Murphy says that he has an idea of how long Thompson, 64, will stay on the job, but he declined to disclose that timetable publicly. It’s also not immediately clear whether Thompson’s contract runs out after the 2018 season or following the 2019 draft.

On the field, the Packers have built a winning team by building talent from within. That philosophy extends to the front office, where they have multiple young candidates who are ostensibly ready to run the show. Interestingly, the Packers could reportedly change course this offseason and be active on the open market.

Latest On Colts’ General Manager Search

January 27th, 2017 at 6:41pm CST by Dallas Robinson

The Colts aren’t rushing through their hunt for a new general manager, and have identified “no specific timetable” during which they will make a decision on their next personnel chief, according to Stephen Holder of the Indianapolis Star. The process isn’t expected to reach a conclusion for at least another week to 10 days, tweets Mike Garafolo of NFL.com.

[RELATED: 2017 GM Search Tracker]

Indianapolis and owner Jim Irsay finished up its first round of interviews, and follow-up meetings are to be scheduled, per Holder. Chiefs director of player personnel Chris Ballard and Packers director of football operations Eliot Wolf are considered the favorites for the position, reports Jason Cole of Bleacher Report (video link), although incumbent candidate Jimmy Raye III — currently acting as the Colts’ interim GM — has also been mentioned as the leader in the clubhouse.

The six contenders — a list that includes the Seahawks’ Scott Fitterer and Trent Kirchner, the Vikings’ George Paton, and those listed above — are meeting with Indianapolis head coach Chuck Pagano as part of the interview exercise, tweets Garafolo, rightly noting that the “dynamic” between Pagano and the next general manager will be critical. The mandatory retaining of Pagano is a small barrier for some candidates, per Holder, but the vacancy is still viewed as highly attractive.

“What a great situation,” one of six contenders anonymously told Holder. “But you’ve got to fix that defense. It’s old.”

Packers’ Eliot Wolf To Meet With Colts

January 25th, 2017 at 11:20am CST by Sam Robinson

Add Eliot Wolf to the list of names who will take the Colts up on their offer to interview for the vacant GM job. The 34-year-old Packers executive will meet with the Colts later this week to discuss his credentials for the position, Mike Garafolo of NFL.com tweets.

The pursuit of the Colts’ top front-office position is clearing up, with Chiefs player personnel director Chris Ballard also agreeing to meet with Jim Irsay about the job. Ballard and Wolf join internal candidate Jimmy Raye III, Seahawks co-player personnel director Scott Fitterer and Vikings assistant GM George Paton as those who have accepted Indianapolis’ interview requests.

The 34-year-old Wolf recently signed a contract extension to stay in Green Bay, which helped influence him to bow out of the 49ers’ GM race despite being tabbed as a finalist. However, it appears as though the young executive may hold this latest opportunity in higher regard.

If hired, Wolf would not have the opportunity this year of selecting a new head coach with the Colts since Irsay reaffirmed his commitment to Chuck Pagano. But the 49ers’ GM candidates don’t appear to have that luxury either, with Kyle Shanahan having input as to which GM the team hires. And the winner of the race to replace Ryan Grigson in Indy will have a franchise quarterback to build around in Andrew Luck.

Colts Request Interview With Eliot Wolf

January 24th, 2017 at 8:01am CST by Connor J. Byrne

The Packers awarded director of football operations Eliot Wolf a new contract to stay in Green Bay last week, but that apparently isn’t going to stop general manager-needy teams from courting him. The Colts, who are continuing to compile candidates in their search to replace the fired Ryan Grigson, have requested an interview with Wolf, according to CBS Sports’ Jason La Canfora (Twitter link).

Wolf, 34, is the fifth known candidate with whom the Colts at least hope to meet. Along with Wolf, the Colts have thus far requested to speak with the Seahawks’ co-directors of player personnel — Trent Kirchner and Scott Fitterer — and will interview Vikings assistant GM George Paton. Indianapolis also has an in-house option, vice president of football operations Jimmy Raye III, who could be the favorite to land the role.

Every serious candidate who has emerged for the Colts has also been under consideration for the 49ers’ still-vacant GM position this month. The only member of the group who’s still in the running is Paton. Wolf would have joined Paton as a finalist and gone through a second interview with the Niners this week had he not withdrawn from the race. While their job wasn’t able to entice him to leave Green Bay, perhaps he’ll entertain the notion of heading to Indianapolis and inheriting a franchise quarterback in Andrew Luck.

Latest On 49ers’ GM Search

January 20th, 2017 at 1:48pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

Before he withdrew from San Francisco’s general manager search Friday, Packers player personnel director Brian Gutekunst had been the favorite to land the job “for two weeks,” a source close to the 49ers told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (via Eric Branch of the San Francisco Chronicle).

Eliot Wolf, another member of Green Bay’s front office, preceded Gutekunst in pulling out Thursday despite being a finalist for the position in San Francisco. The decisions Gutekunst and Wolf made don’t necessarily reflect poorly on the Niners, though, as a source close to the two told Jason Cole of Bleacher Report that “other factors” outside the team’s control led to their exits from the derby (Twitter link).

With Gutekunst and Wolf out of the picture, the GM-less 49ers could target Falcons director of football operations Nick Polk, tweets Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk. Polk is familiar with soon-to-be 49ers head coach and current Falcons offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan, having worked with him in Atlanta the past two seasons. Speculatively, that could give Polk an advantage over the 49ers’ other GM candidates if they do pursue him.

As of now, San Francisco is set to conduct a second interview next week with Vikings assistant GM George Paton. Cardinals vice president of player personnel Terry McDonough and Jaguars director of player personnel Chris Polian are also possibilities for the 49ers’ GM role. The team hasn’t yet scheduled a second meeting with McDonough, however, and it hasn’t met with Polian at all.

NFC Notes: Wolf, Seahawks, Vikings, Rams

January 19th, 2017 at 2:13pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

Packers director of football operations Eliot Wolf has accepted a new contract in Green Bay and withdrawn from the 49ers’ search for a general manager, reports Tom Pelissero of USA Today. He’s the second candidate this week to bow out of San Francisco’s hunt for a GM, joining Seahawks co-director of player personnel Trent Kirchner. One of Wolf’s colleagues in Green Bay, director of player personnel Brian Gutekunst, and Vikings assistant GM George Paton are continuing to vie for the 49er job and will conduct second interviews with the team next week.

NFC Notes: 49ers, Panthers, Cardinals

January 18th, 2017 at 9:48am CST by Connor J. Byrne

Packers director of football operations Eliot Wolf is among the general manager candidates the 49ers and soon-to-be head coach Kyle Shanahan will invite to Atlanta for an interview next week, according to Tom Pelissero of USA Today (Twitter link). The team will also conduct second meetings with one of Wolf’s Packers colleagues, Brian Gutekunst, and Vikings assistant GM George Paton, tweets Ian Rapoport of NFL.com.

More from San Francisco and a couple other NFC cities:

Falcons secondary coach Marquand Manuel could become the 49ers’ defensive coordinator under Shanahan, Matt Maiocco of CSNBayArea.com hears (Twitter link). The two are on the same staff now, of course, and Manuel garnered prior coaching experience in Seattle from 2012-15. The 37-year-old was an NFL safety from 2002-09.
The Panthers worked out free agent quarterback Aaron Murray on Tuesday, reports Joseph Person of the Charlotte Observer. Murray spent 2016 on the Eagles’ practice squad, but he has been available since they elected against signing him to a reserve/futures deal earlier this month. The 26-year-old was a star at Georgia, where he became the SEC’s all-time leader in passing yards, completions and touchdowns, but he hasn’t recorded an NFL statistic since the Chiefs took him in Round 5 of the 2014 draft. With Panthers QBs Cam Newton, Derek Anderson and Joe Webb under contract next year, there’s no clear fit for Murray in Carolina.
Cardinals defensive lineman Josh Mauro‘s recently signed two-year contract is worth just over $2MM total, per Mike Jurecki of FOX Sports (Twitter link). Mauro will make $750K next season and $1.3MM in 2018.

Kyle Shanahan Likely To Become 49ers’ HC

January 18th, 2017 at 8:10am CST by Connor J. Byrne

As of Tuesday evening, Falcons offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan wasn’t a lock to accept the 49ers’ forthcoming offer to become their head coach. However, Shanahan’s now “almost certain” to take the job, reports Mike Silver of NFL.com.

With Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels and Seahawks offensive line coach Tom Cable having withdrawn from the race this week, Shanahan is the last man standing among the eight candidates the 49ers have interviewed. The rest have accepted head coaching positions elsewhere. Thus, in the unlikely event Shanahan turns San Francisco down, it would send CEO Jed York and executive vice president of football operations Paraag Marathe scrambling to hit the reset button on their search to replace Chip Kelly.

The 49ers are also on the hunt for a new general manager, of course, and lost one candidate when Cable’s Seattle colleague, co-director of player personnel Trent Kirchner, took himself out of consideration Tuesday. Of the GM possibilities the Niners have considered, Kirchner, fellow Seahawks executive Scott Fitterer and Chiefs director of player personnel Chris Ballard would have preferred to work with Cable, according to Silver. The Chiefs prevented Ballard from talking to the 49ers, though, and awarded him a pay raise as compensation, Silver writes.

Cable has another fan in defensive coordinator-to-be Gus Bradley, who would have gone to San Francisco had it hired Cable. Instead, after Cable dropped out of contention Tuesday, Bradley spurned the 49ers when they asked if he’d be interested in teaming with Shanahan. It appears, then, that Bradley will become the Chargers’ D-coordinator.

Shanahan is currently preparing for Sunday’s NFC championship game between the Falcons and Packers. If Atlanta advances to Super Bowl LI, the 49ers wouldn’t be able to hire him until after Feb. 5. Regardless, he’ll have a second interview with the Niners next week and will discuss GM choices with team brass. Packers director of player personnel Brian Gutekunst remains the favorite, relays Silver, who adds that Green Bay director of football operations Eliot Wolf and Vikings assistant GM George Paton are also strong contenders.

No Guarantee Shanahan Accepts 49ers Job?

January 17th, 2017 at 6:49pm CST by Dallas Robinson

Now that Tom Cable and Josh McDaniels have each dropped out of the 49ers’ head coaching search, Falcons offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan is the last man standing and is fully expected to be offered the position. However, Shanahan is not a lock to accept the job, according to Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com (Twitter links), who notes that an upcoming meeting between the two parties could play a key role in Shanahan’s decision.

Shanahan will reportedly discuss potential general manager candidates with San Francisco management during his second interview, and the 49ers are now narrowing down their list of executives, tweets Matt Maiocco of CSNBayArea.com. Seahawks co-director of player personnel Trent Kirchner withdrew his name from the search earlier today, but four other candidates — Brian Gutekunst (Packers), Terry McDonough (Cardinals), George Paton (Vikings) and Eliot Wolf (Packers) — all had “strong” initial interviews, reports Matt Barrows of the Sacramento Bee.

According to Barrows, Kirchner believed that he and Cable were being used as something of pawns in order to drive Shanahan’s contract demands down. Shanahan does have tremendous leverage, as La Canfora adds (Twitter link), and would certainly be in high demand as a head coach in 2018. But the 49ers job is his last chance to land a head coaching gig during this hiring cycle, as every other vacancy has been filled.

If Shanahan does turn down the 49ers, San Francisco would truly return to square one. Outside of Cable and McDaniels, every other coaching candidate the club interviewed (or had planned to interview), including Doug Marrone, Vance Joseph, Sean McVay, Sean McDermott, and Anthony Lynn, has been hired elsewhere.