Eliot Wolf has been at the helm of the Patriots’ front office this offseason, holding down de facto general manager duties through the draft. As expected, however, New England is prepared to bring in another important executive in the near future. 
CBS Sports’ Jonathan Jones reports the Patriots have begun their search for a “top football executive.” Questions have been raised about whether or not a new hire would work alongside or underneath Wolf, but Jones adds the role being interviewed for is believed to be one which will “outrank all other football positions in the building.”
Wolf – brought in following his time with the Packers – received positive reviews leading up to the draft, and as such many have pointed to him being the ultimate choice for the unnamed executive position. As of the most recent update on the matter, Wolf is certainly still in the running to have his duties at the head of the personnel department carry on through the remainder of the offseason and beyond. Doug Kyed of the Boston Herald confirms that is the case as New England sends out external interview requests.
As Jones notes, there is precedent for teams waiting until well into the offseason and beyond the draft to hire a new general manager. On the other hand, the Patriots have not used a typical organizational structure during this century, with Bill Belichick operating as head coach but also the top decision-maker regarding roster building. With Belichick no longer in the fold, Jerod Mayo is handling his responsibilities on the sidelines.
In the front office, however, there is room for either a new executive to lead the personnel department or an enhanced title to be given to Wolf. The son of Ron Wolf has ushered in a new structure with respect to player evaluation and scouting for the draft, and much of his future will of course depend on how his decisions to date have been viewed by owner Robert Kraft.
New England turned down interest shown by both the Giants and Vikings in the third overall pick. By retaining the selection, the Patriots added Drake Maye as a potential franchise quarterback. That move was followed in short order by the team finalizing a monster extension with defensive tackle Christian Barmore (the largest non-Tom Brady deal in club history).
To say the least, Wolf has already made a number of critical decisions in his brief time at the helm. Kraft will thus have plenty to evaluate as he also meets with potential options to supplant Wolf. To satisfy the Rooney Rule, the Patriots’ search process must include at least two external minority candidates, and it will be interesting to see who the team reaches out to.
Kraft should have sold shares to Tom.
Always a great plan to hire a new GM and tell them who their team is. It’s doubtful that the new GM would start planning to replace people with his own preferences on arrival.
I heard Bobby Grier is available …
You need more clarification on the barmore extension being largest in patriots history besides Brady as Bledsoe got 101 million on his 10 year extension.
lol. Should just ride with Wolf at this point. What GM worth it would want to come into a team shaped by a GM that you had no faith in and just let go. You get no say in the rookie class. You had no say in the supposed “franchise QB” your new team just picked. You didn’t get to pick the coaches or the staff. The team you are inheriting has bare bones for talent having just won 4 games the year before. Your owner has become a Jerruh style meddler who fired the so called best coach of all time because they couldn’t get along anymore. What a mess.
Standby, wrong you are. BB has won NOTHING w/o Tom Brady. His drafting was very susceptible to questions being asked of him.
This sounds like a very public way to satisfy the Rooney Rule to add a GM to the front office structure.
Could be an EVP of football ops instead of GM hire or could be Wolf getting a promotion and hiring a GM? Just says front office
I hope they’re good with their hands.
We all know Bob Kraft loves himself a happy ending
Any GM worth a damn is NOT gonna want to come in w/his hands tied. Drafts over, stuck w/sum 1 elses vision of roster construction, rookie HC who u didn’t hire, and probably a rookie QB starting @some point. Again, a critical position you are playing w/sum 1 elses choice n stuck w/em for foreseeable future as “your” guy. Shoulda already hired qualified top of pyramid executive months ago, you want stud personel guru not some lame duck who’s ok w/being nutured.
Ian Cunningham..the underling of Ryan Poles. Maybe he could come in and pull some draft and in season trades to get the Pats back on track.