Eliot Wolf - Pro Football Rumors

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.

Latest On Packers Execs/49ers’ GM Search

January 15th, 2017 at 8:27pm CST by Dallas Robinson

Packers executives Brian Gutekunst and Eliot Wolf are two of the nine candidates the 49ers have interviewed for their general manager job, and sources tell Bob McGinn of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that San Francisco views Gutekunst in a higher regard, adding that the Niners were “really impressed” by Green Bay’s director of college scouting. Mike Silver of NFL.com (Twitter link) continues to “believe” that Gutekunst and Wolf are the leading contenders for the SF gig.

Meanwhile, Wolf — the Packers’ director of football operations — would almost certainly accept the 49ers job if offered, per McGinn, as some believe that he’d like to escape the shadow of his father, former Packers general manager Ron Wolf, in Green Bay. The Packers denied the Lions’ request to interview Wolf for their GM vacancy last offseason, but they’ve made no attempt to do so this offseason. On the other hand, Jason Cole of Bleacher Report adds (video link) that Green Bay does not want to lose Wolf, and would consider moving him into the GM chair this offseason to replace Ted Thompson.

Green Bay’s front office machinations also have implications in Kansas City, where Chiefs general manager John Dorsey could be a candidate to take over for Thompson in 2018. Dorsey is one of the lowest-paid GMs in the NFL, according to McGinn, and some sources believe that he would relish an opportunity to return to the Packers. “I always thought he was the type of guy who would want to come back to Green Bay,” said one of Dorsey’s friends. “He loves the Packers. I do know that.”

49ers To Interview Packers’ Wolf, Gutekunst

January 2nd, 2017 at 7:49pm CST by Ben Levine

After having fired Trent Baalke yesterday, the 49ers have already started their search for a new general manager. According to Tom Pelissero of USA Today (via Twitter), Packers executive Eliot Wolf will interview for the gig later this week. Eliot is the son of Ron Wolf, who won three Super Bowl titles as the general manager of the Raiders and Packers. ESPN’s Adam Schefter tweets that the 49ers will also be interviewing Packers Director of College Scouting Brian Gutekunst.

Wolf has spent the past 13 seasons with the Packers organization, and he was promoted to the director of football operations prior to this season. According to the team’s website, Wolf’s “primary duties include coordinating the pro and college football departments as well as handling both college and pro player evaluation through film study, college visits, pro days, college all-star games and the NFL Scouting Combine. During the season, he is responsible for overseeing advance scouting of upcoming Packers opponents, evaluating potential free-agent signees and recommending player tryouts.”

As NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport recently pointed out, Wolf was expected to take over as Packers general manager whenever Ted Thompson decided to retire. Interviewing for the 49ers gig certainly wouldn’t prevent Wolf from taking a potential Packers job. In fact, he could be using the interview with San Francisco as leverage, although that’s only my speculation. Peter Schrager of FoxSports.com notes (via Twitter) that the Packers did not give permission for Wolf to take interviews last offseason.

Gutekunst has been with the Packers organization for the past 18 years. Prior to his current role, Gutekunst served as a college scout. The executive also has experience as a coach.

The 49ers aren’t necessarily competing with other organizations for general manager interviews, as they’re currently the only NFL team with an opening. Earlier today, the team reached out to the Chiefs with the hope that they could interview executive Chris Ballard. According to Rapoport on Twitter, Ballard is not interested in taking an interview with the 49ers.

Coaching/GM Notes, Pt. 2: Arians, Gase, Wolf

January 1st, 2017 at 11:48am CST by Rory Parks

Here is Part 2 of our coaching/GM rumors post. Part 1 can be found here.

Despite his health concerns, Cardinals head coach Bruce Arians expects to return in 2017, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter (via Twitter). Schefter tweets that one of Arians’ top assistants, offensive coordinator Harold Goodwin, is expected to interview for a head coaching job with the Rams, Jaguars, and Bills.
As the 49ers get prepared to search for a new head coach and GM, a ghost from the past has reared its ugly head. According to Jay Glazer of FOX Sports (via Twitter), San Francisco was prepared to hire current Dolphins head coach Adam Gase two years ago. The team informed Gase that he was the choice, but GM Trent Baalke intervened at the last moment and convinced ownership not to hire Gase. The 49ers chose Jim Tomsula instead, and it has been all downhill from there.
The Packers are not expected to make major coaching changes–although offensive coordinator Edgar Bennett could get head coaching interviews–but GM Ted Thompson could step aside and become a senior scouting adviser, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com. One reason, according to Rapoport, is that Director of Football Operations Eliot Wolf is a highly-coveted football mind, and if he’s not promoted soon, Green Bay could lose him.
The Bengals are not expected to fire Marvin Lewis, who is signed through 2017, according to Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports. However, Lewis is not expected to get another one-year extension this offseason, which means that another disappointing campaign in 2017 could spell the end of his tenure as Cincinnati’s head coach.
Jets head coach Todd Bowles will likely be back for a third season, but offensive coordinator Chan Gailey is expected to be fired, according to Brian Costello of the New York Post.
The Ravens are expected to part ways with OC Marty Mornhinweg, and assuming they do, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets that Greg Roman is someone to “keep an eye on.”
Browns coaches have “deep concerns” with the direction of the team’s personnel department and are expected to push owner Jimmy Haslam for changes in that regard, according to La Canfora. While head coach Hue Jackson is not planning to request the removal of top football man Sashi Brown, the coaching staff would like a proven, old-school talent evaluator involved in player selection to provide something of a checks-and-balance system to Brown’s analytics-based approach.
La Canfora suggests that, if the Lions miss the playoffs this season, GM Bob Quinn could at least think about a coaching change, and his Patriots ties could lead him to consider Josh McDaniels and Matt Patricia, with whom he established strong relationships during his time in New England. While I personally could imagine Quinn’s being interested in McDaniels, I cannot see Patricia as a legitimate head coaching candidate at this point.