Since the Patriots hired Mike Vrabel as their head coach, there have been some questions regarding the organizational hierarchy. Despite the major changes, it sounds like the team’s operations should remain status quo. According to Albert Breer of SI.com, both Vrabel and executive vice president of player personnel Eliot Wolf will report to ownership, an indication that there’s no singular leader in the front office.
When Vrabel was brought on, it was assumed that he’d have a major influence over player personnel. That will surely be the case, but it sounds like it will be a collaborative approach vs. the former totalitarian approach under Bill Belichick. While last season’s results left plenty to be desired, Breer notes that Wolf and former HC Jerod Mayo already started making an effort to build an actual football ops department, something that was sorely lacking.
The next step could see the Vrabel/Wolf duo look to improve the “player-development side” of operations. The Patriots had “next to nothing” in that regard under Belichick, meaning there was effectively nobody overseeing the development of bottom-of-the-roster players and practice squad players. The Patriots could also look to improve their football analytics/research department (with Marshall Oium a name to watch) and their sports science department.
Following a dismal season in New England, it was thought that Mayo may not be the only casualty. However, Breer notes that ownership was impressed by Wolf during his first season at the helm. The executive worked on “modernizing the scouting department” and building out football operations. Wolf’s strategy won’t be completely foreign to Vrabel; as Breer writes, Tennessee’s Chad Brinker had a similar Green Bay-centric grading system, so New England’s head coach is already familiar with the perspective.
Vrabel is also familiar with a handful of other members of New England’s front office. Ohio State alums Camren Williams and Patrick Stewart are the Patriots college and pro scouting directors (respectively). In fact, Vrabel recruited Williams to the Buckeyes when he was on Ohio State’s staff. Of course, Vrabel has also influenced some new additions to the front office dynamic. Ryan Cowden, who previously held multiple high-ranking roles in the Titans front office, was brought over to New England earlier this offseason. Breer notes that Cowden will definitively be under Wolf in the franchise’s pecking order.
Vrabel also continues to add to his coaching staff. According to Ryan Dunleavy of the New York Post, Zak Kuhr has agreed to join the Patriots. Kuhr spent four seasons working under Vrabel in Tennessee, and he spent this past season on the Giants defensive coaching staff. Meanwhile, Jourdan Rodrigue of The Athletic reports that John Streicher is also joining the staff in New England. “Stretch” spent this past year as the Rams game management coordinator, and he also has experience working alongside Vrabel in Tennessee.
The Patriots’ first season in their post-Belichick era revealed some major cracks in the organization’s foundation. While the team still isn’t operating with a traditional front office hierarchy, it doesn’t sound like there will be any power struggle between some of the team’s major voices.