Eliot Wolf - Pro Football Rumors

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.

Breer On GM Search, Harbaugh, Draft

December 17th, 2016 at 3:08pm CST by Zachary Links

When it comes to being a GM, is it more about who you know than what you know? In his latest column, Albert Breer of The MMQB spoke with one league official who suggested that the NFL’s career development advisory panel has something of a fraternity-vibe.

“It’s all full of nepotism. It’s a joke. And it starts with Charley Casserly,” the personnel man said.

Casserly rejected the idea that he, Ron Wolf, Bill Polian, Ernie Accorsi, John Madden, Tony Dungy and Carl Peterson are aiming to line up their friends with jobs, but he did acknowledge that connections help.

“It’s so different than it is with coaches,” Casserly said. “Coaches are so clearly defined. You know who calls the plays, you see them on TV, coordinators have press conferences. It’s just not like that in scouting. Are they pro? College? None of them are making big decisions. What you need is networking. It’s not politicking.”

Casserly was directly involved with the Jets’ coach and GM search process in 2015. Gang Green wound up hiring Todd Bowles and Mike Maccagnan – two former co-workers of Casserly’s.

Here’s more from Breer:

Breer identified the following executives as people who could immediately jump into a GM job somewhere: Chiefs VP of player personnel Chris Ballard, Patriots VP of player personnel Nick Caserio, Ravens assistant GM Eric DeCosta, Seahawks co-director of player personnel Scott Fitterer, Texans director of player personnel Brian Gaine, Packers director of player personnel Brian Gutekunst, Seahawks co-director of player personnel Trent Kirchner, Cowboys assistant director of player personnel Will McClay, Cardinals VP of player personnel Terry McDonough, Vikings assistant GM George Paton, Falcons assistant GM Scott Pioli, Bengals director of player personnel Duke Tobin, Packers director of football operations Eliot Wolf.
The widespread feeling in NFL circles is that Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh will be back in pro football eventually, even if it’s not happening right now. For his part, Harbaugh says that he is incredibly happy as the Wolverines’ coach.
Is Wyoming quarterback Josh Allen the next under-the-radar quarterback prospect a la Carson Wentz? It was Craig Bohl who recruited Carson Wentz to North Dakota State and he is now Allen’s coach at Wyoming. It’s hard to say whether the 6’5″, 222-pound signal caller has the same kind of talent, but his stock is rising. “He’s a big ol’ kid with a big arm, and he’s pretty athletic too,” said one AFC exec. “We gotta learn more about him, but the tools are there.” Allen, a redshirt sophomore, has plenty of time to develop.
Western Michigan coach P.J. Fleck recently predicted that Central Michigan quarterback Cooper Rush will be an “incredibly high draft pick” this year. Apparently, talent evaluators do not agree. “He may get drafted late because of the [lack of] quality at the position,” said one area scout assigned to CMU. “He’s an accurate thrower with deceptive athletic ability to extend plays with his feet. Not a dynamic or explosive athlete, but good enough to avoid the rush and create at times. Average arm at best, but he’s got solid touch on intermediate and deep balls. He just lacks elite velocity.”

Extra Points: Packers, Bills, Van Noy, Lions

November 24th, 2016 at 9:03pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

Unless Packers president Mark Murphy is willing to risk losing well-regarded director of player personnel Eliot Wolf, he’ll probably have to turn the football operations over to the 34-year-old in the offseason and relegate general manager Ted Thompson to an advisory role, writes Tom Silverstein of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. The Packers have been highly successful since hiring Thompson in 2005, having gone 112-73-1 with eight playoff appearances, but they’re currently 4-6 and Silverstein argues that Thompson’s free agency-avoiding approach has grown stale. Thompson, who has two years left on his contract, is also three decades older than the up-and-coming Wolf. Thus, if the Packers are sold on Wolf, promoting him soon would make sense.

More from around the NFL, which is capping off a quality slate of Thanksgiving games:

Bills No. 1 receiver Sammy Watkins hasn’t seen the field since Week 2 on account of a foot injury, but it appears he’ll return Sunday against Jacksonville. “As long as there’s not another setback or anything like that, I feel pretty good about him playing,” head coach Rex Ryan said Thursday (via Mike Rodak of ESPN.com). Watkins, whom the Bills designated to return from injured reserve Wednesday, will only be available on a limited basis if he does play Sunday. Nevertheless, his presence will be a welcome one for a wideout-needy Buffalo team that likely won’t have Robert Woods in its lineup because of a knee ailment.
On the heels of a 25-sack college career at BYU, the Lions selected linebacker Kyle Van Noy in the second round of the 2014 draft. Van Noy amassed just one sack in 30 games with the Lions, though, and they traded him to the Patriots last month for a late-round pick. In his Pats debut last week, Van Noy picked up 29 snaps and a sack in a win over the 49ers, and he admitted Thursday that his Detroit tenure was frustrating because the club seldom used him as a pass rusher. “Oh yeah, who wouldn’t be when you did that your whole college career and then all of a sudden you’re not allowed to, or they don’t want you to,” he told Ryan Hannable of WEEI.
There were conflicting reports on Thursday afternoon regarding the Redskins’ willingness to place the franchise tag on quarterback Kirk Cousins again in the offseason. That was before Cousins completed 41 of 53 passes for 453 yards and three touchdowns in a 31-26 loss to Dallas. Cousins is amid a late-season tear for the second straight year.
Speaking of the Cowboys, who are an NFL-best 10-1, second-round linebacker Jaylon Smith won’t make his debut this season.

North Notes: McCarthy, Abdullah, Browns

November 20th, 2016 at 10:19am CST by Rory Parks

The Packers are struggling, and head coach Mike McCarthy has predictably come under fire as a result. But Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports reports that McCarthy is not likely to lose his job, and while there has been significant conversation about McCarthy’s relationship with Aaron Rodgers, La Canfora writes that the two men share a great deal of mutual respect and that Rodgers would not support a coaching change.

That does not mean, however, that the Packers will not shake things up elsewhere. Given the overall decline in talent on the roster, GM Ted Thompson is not immune to review, and defensive coordinator Dom Capers could also be coaching for his job over the second half of the season. Some team officials also believe that the offense has become stagnant and that the offensive coaching staff could use an overhaul. Further complicating the issue is that director of football operations Eliot Wolf, long considered to be the heir apparent to Thompson, could pursue outside options this offseason, as he remains one of the more sought-after young executives in the game and he may want to capitalize on that status in case the Packers should start to fade.

Now for some more notes from the league’s north divisions:

The Lions‘ running game could get a boost down the stretch, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (via Twitter). Per Rapoport, Ameer Abdullah, who is currently on IR with a foot injury, will meet with Dr. Robert Anderson on Tuesday to see if he can begin practicing. There is a realistic chance that Abdullah could be active in three weeks.
The Lions are no lock to win the NFC North, but they are certainly looking like the favorites at this point in the season. However, if Detroit collapses and fails to win its first division title in 23 years, Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press does not believe head coach Jim Caldwell would keep his job.
Although much has been made of the turmoil in the Browns‘ front office, cornerback Joe Haden does not believe those negative vibes have trickled down to the players themselves. Per Aditi Kinkhabwala of the NFL Network (Twitter links), Haden said that although he has been in locker rooms where the players have quit, the Browns’ current roster remains engaged. Haden believes head coach Hue Jackson is a big reason for that, as the players believe in him. Haden also says the team is generally too young to have developed the cynicism that a more veteran group might harbor.
Yesterday, we took a dive into the latest notes on the AFC North.

North Notes: Packers Execs, Browns, Lions

April 24th, 2016 at 12:53pm CST by Rory Parks

In the past year, the Packers have denied its three highest-ranking personnel executives under GM Ted Thompson the opportunity to interview with other NFL clubs, as Bob McGinn of The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel writes. Eliot Wolf was not allowed to speak with the Lions in November about their GM job, Brian Gutekunst was not permitted to interview with the Eagles in 2015 for a major front-office position or with the Titans in January 2016 for Tennessee’s director of player personnel position, and Alonzo Highsmith was denied the chance to interview with Washington last year for its director of player personnel job.

Thompson, the man responsible for denying those opportunities, has attempted to “make it up” to Wolf and Gutekunst by giving them more grandiose titles and higher salaries, even though their duties did not change much, but Highsmith has remained senior personnel executive since May 2012. Those executives have expressed a small degree of frustration, according to a source with knowledge of the situation, but by and large they enjoy working for Thompson and are part of a generally positive environment. Wolf, of course, is widely viewed as Thompson’s heir apparent, although scouts who have recently interacted with the 63-year-old GM say they cannot envision his retiring anytime soon. Thompson has three years left on his current contract.

Now for some more notes from the league’s North divisions:

In a different piece, McGinn spoke with an NFL personnel executive who said the Packers really need to focus on the defensive line in this year’s draft, particularly with the team’s first pick, No. 27 overall. Although that executive believes Green Bay can “get by” with its skill positions, he believes the Packers, after addressing their defensive line, should grab a running back, and should also fortify their offensive front.
In her latest mailbag, Mary Kat Cabot of The Cleveland Plain Dealer says that the Browns and head coach Hue Jackson were simply not high enough on Jared Goff or Carson Wentz to justify staying put with the No. 2 overall selection, particularly when the Eagles’ presented them with a bounty of draft picks that they could not refuse. Jackson has indicated he might like another quarterback just as much or more than Goff and Wentz, and Cleveland will stockpile talent until it can justify pulling the trigger on that particular signal-caller.
Dave Birkett of The Detroit Free Press takes a look at five players that may be available when the Lions are on the clock with the N0. 16 overall selection. True to Birkett’s statement that Detroit is one of the biggest wildcards in this year’s draft, each of the five players Birkett lists plays a different position.
The Ravens are no strangers to picking up quarterbacks in the later rounds of the draft, having selected Keith Wenning in the 2014 draft and Tyrod Taylor in 2011, and Clifton Brown of CSNBaltimore.com thinks Baltimore could do it again this year. With Ryan Mallett‘s contract set to expire at the end of the 2016 campaign, Brown sees Kevin Hogan, Dak Prescott, and Brandon Allen as potential fits.

Packers Promote Eliot Wolf, Brian Gutekunst

March 21st, 2016 at 11:56am CST by Luke Adams

The Packers announced a pair of front office promotions today, confirming in a press release that former director of player personnel Eliot Wolf is now the team’s director-football operations. Replacing Wolf as Green Bay’s director of player personnel is Brian Gutekunst, who had previously been the club’s director of college scouting.

“We think both of them are very worthy of those promotions and it’s an indicator… for stuff that they’re already doing,” general manager Ted Thompson said, per Tom Silverstein of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. “They’ve become leaders and have been leaders in our organization for some time now. Maybe it’s a little overdue. We thought this was a good time. We’re leading up to the draft, so everybody understands the contributions they make.”

Wolf, the son of former Packers GM Ron Wolf, has received several promotions since joining the club’s front office in 2004, and is viewed by many as a future general manager himself. Although Wolf has been cited as a potential candidate for several teams who have hired new GMs in recent years, he has always been considered highly unlikely to leave Green Bay, since he’s viewed as the possible heir apparent to Thompson.

As for Gutekunst, he has also drawn interest from outside the Packers’ organization in the past. When Chip Kelly was looking to hire a personnel executive for the Eagles in 2015, Gutekunst was considered a candidate, but ultimately didn’t interview — either he or the Packers turned down the Eagles’ request.

AFC Rumors: Dolphins, Browns

January 2nd, 2016 at 6:15pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

The latest on a couple of AFC teams that are on the cusp of major overhauls:

Doug Marrone and Jim Schwartz were the head coach and defensive coordinator, respectively, of a 2014 Bills team that finished 9-7. They could reunite soon in the same roles for the AFC East rival Dolphins, multiple sources have told the Miami Herald’s Armando Salguero (Twitter link). Marrone, who is currently an assistant in Jacksonville, was the Jets’ offensive line coach in 2002-05. Dolphins executive vice president of football operations Mike Tannenbaum was also with the Jets then, as Salguero notes (on Twitter), so Tannenbaum and Marrone are familiar with one another. Further, the Tannenbaum-led Dolphins reached out to Schwartz earlier this season when the team fired defensive coordinator Kevin Coyle.
In other important Dolphins news, they could soon name director of college scouting Chris Grier their next general manager, according to Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk. They’ll first have to fire current GM Dennis Hickey, which appears likely. If the Dolphins do ax Hickey, they’ll be able to quickly promote Grier – a minority candidate – instead of having to follow the Rooney Rule process.
Significant changes to both the Browns’ front office and coaching staff seem imminent, as the team is expected to fire general manager Ray Farmer and head coach Mike Pettine. As a result, names that will be connected to the club in the coming days include Adam Gase, Tom Cable and the aforementioned Doug Marrone as head coaching candidates and Green Bay executive Eliot Wolf as a GM possibility (via ESPNCleveland.com’s Tony Grossi on Twitter). Interestingly, if the Browns hire Gase, their quarterback next season could be Peyton Manning, according to Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk. Gase and Manning worked closely together in Denver from 2012-14.

North Notes: Dalton, K. Long, Wolf, Steelers

January 1st, 2016 at 4:07pm CST by Dallas Robinson

Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton will meet with a specialist on Monday to determine his progress since fracturing his right thumb on December 13, but according to Geoff Hobson of Bengals.com, Dalton doesn’t know exactly what to expect from the visit. He hasn’t ruled himself out for a potential wild card game next weekend, but he isn’t expressing much optimism, either. “It depends how it feels and what the doctor says,” Dalton said today. “It’s hard to tell exactly how it feels. It’s getting better. That’s what they’re saying.”

Let’s dive into some more notes from the NFL’s two North divisions:

Kyle Long confirmed to reporters, including Patrick Finely of the Chicago Sun-Times, that he’ll be playing tackle for the Bears next season — but he still doesn’t know if he’ll man the right or left side. The former first-round pick slid out from guard to right tackle this season, and according to Pro Football Focus (subscription required), didn’t fare all that well, grading as the league’s 40th-best tackle.
Packers executive Eliot Wolf could have his “pick of jobs,” according to Neil Stratton of Inside the League (Twitter link), as both the Lions and the Browns could express interest. However, Wolf is also seen as the heir apparent to current Packers general manager Ted Thompson, so Wolf might not be too eager to jump ship just yet.
Getting a head start on possible offseason futures deals, the Steelers brought in kicker Ty Long, receiver Levi Norwood, and quarterback Phillip Sims for workouts, reports Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle (Twitter link).