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Patriots Interview Samir Suleiman

May 8th, 2024 at 10:04pm CST by Sam Robinson

A fifth confirmed candidate for the Patriots’ lead front office executive position has emerged. While three of the first four options declined an audience with the team, former Panthers staffer Samir Suleiman will meet about the job.

The Pats are interviewing Suleiman — most recently the Panthers’ VP of football administration — on Wednesday, according to ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter. Suleiman was part of this year’s January GM interview cycle, meeting about the Panthers’ position. While this is effectively for a GM role, SI.com’s Albert Breer indicates the Patriots are labeling the position their executive vice president of football operations. This is similar to how the Commanders themed their search this offseason.

[RELATED: 2024 NFL General Manager Search Tracker]

Carolina parted ways with Suleiman after promoting assistant GM Dan Morgan to the GM post. This interview represented Suleiman’s second meeting about a GM position. He also met about the Panthers’ 2021 GM vacancy, but while the team retained the salary cap expert after Scott Fitterer landed the gig three years ago, the sides parted ways once Morgan stepped in as Fitterer’s replacement.

Three execs — Trey Brown, Terrance Gray, Quentin Harris — turned down the Patriots, who are still viewed as likely to give this position to Eliot Wolf, who has been in charge of the team’s roster for several weeks post-Bill Belichick. The two staffers who have not rejected interviews worked together in Pittsburgh. Brandon Hunt, who is currently an Eagles exec, worked alongside Suleiman from 2013-19 with the Steelers. As Hunt served as the team’s director of pro scouting, Suleiman was in place as the AFC North franchise’s football administration coordinator.

Suleiman debuted on NFL staffs in the late 1990s, beginning his run with the Jaguars. He then spent the 2000s with the Rams, operating as the director of football administration for the then-St. Louis-based franchise. The Panthers hired Suleiman in 2020, and he became the team’s primary contract negotiator.

Hunt is continuing his interview today, Schefter adds. Once Suleiman completes his interview, the Patriots would stand to have satisfied their Rooney Rule requirements. Like Hunt, Suleiman is a minority exec. Teams are required to interview at least two external minority candidates to comply with the updated Rooney Rule.

Patriots Targeted WR Xavier Legette

May 8th, 2024 at 5:03pm CST by Sam Robinson

While the Bills exited the first round more closely tied to Xavier Legette, the South Carolina wide receiver prospect evidently did not meet the value of the No. 32 draft slot for the defending AFC East champions. But a division rival was in on the size-speed weapon.

After the Bills moved down from No. 28 to No. 32, leading to the Chiefs selecting Xavier Worthy, Buffalo received multiple offers for the final pick of Round 1. The Panthers ended up winning out, obtaining No. 32 in exchange for Nos. 33 and 141, the Patriots also sent their twice-a-year opponents an offer for the pick. Legette was indeed the Pats’ target, according to ESPN.com’s Jeremy Fowler.

[RELATED: Patriots Rejected Giants, Vikings’ Offers For No. 3]

Brian Thomas Jr. went off the board to the Jaguars at No. 23; that pick set up the second run on receivers. After the Chiefs chose Worthy, five wideouts went off the board between Nos. 31 and 37. The Patriots had hoped to move toward the front of this wave, but after Legette went off the board, they stepped back by moving from No. 34 to 37 (via the Chargers, who sent the Pats No. 110 in the swap). Three picks after the Bolts’ Ladd McConkey choice, the Pats ended up with their WR hopeful — Washington’s Ja’Lynn Polk.

Of the six WRs chosen between 28 and 37 (Worthy, Ricky Pearsall, Legette, Keon Coleman, McConkey, Polk), only one — Pearsall — did not involve a trade. This run of position jockeying will be interesting to revisit down the line, as teams will attempt to develop their chosen WRs.

Legette will join 2023 second-round wideout Jonathan Mingo in Carolina, with the Panthers using two picks in the 30s — Mingo went 39th last year — to supplement veterans Adam Thielen and Diontae Johnson. Thielen’s contract pays out its remaining guarantees this year, while Johnson’s Steelers extension expires after the season. Johnson and Legette certainly represent an upgrade from what Carolina gave Bryce Young in his rookie season.

The Patriots made an aggressive pursuit of Calvin Ridley, but after the Titans’ four-year, $96MM offer won out, Drake Maye will be developing alongside Polk. Legette, who made “30” visits to meet with the Panthers and Bills, pairs a 4.39-second 40-yard dash time with a 227-pound frame. Lauded for his blocking ability, Legette made a remarkable transformation. After never breaking the 200-yard barrier in four seasons with the Gamecocks, he broke through for 1,255 (17.7 per catch) and seven TDs in 2023.

ESPN’s Scouts Inc. slotted Legette 28th overall in this class and ranked Polk 60th. The Pats ranked Polk in their top six or seven, per Fowler; it just appears Legette came in a bit higher on that list.

Working opposite Rome Odunze in a Washington offense that saw three wideouts drafted in the first three rounds, Polk produced 694 yards and six TDs in Michael Penix Jr.‘s first Huskies season and then went 69-1,159-9 in 2023. The Pats, who certainly experienced issues developing highly drafted WRs during Bill Belichick‘s run, will attempt to groom Polk alongside the likes of Kendrick Bourne, JuJu Smith-Schuster, Tyquan Thornton, Demario Douglas and free agency addition K.J. Osborn.

Patriots To Interview Eagles’ Brandon Hunt

May 7th, 2024 at 9:50pm CST by Sam Robinson

After going 0-for-3 in interview requests for their top front office position, the Patriots are indeed set to meet with a candidate. Eagles exec Brandon Hunt will go forward with an interview, according to ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter.

The Hunt interview is on tap for today. Hunt has been with the Eagles since 2022, coming over after a lengthy tenure with the Steelers. This Patriots connection marks Hunt’s first GM-related tie since the Steelers passed on promoting him to that post, elevating Omar Khan instead, in 2022. Hunt interviewed twice for the Pittsburgh GM gig.

[RELATED: 2024 NFL General Manager Search Tracker]

Hunt is currently in place as the Eagles’ director of scouting. He was with the Steelers, as their director of pro scouting, from 2010-22. Khan hired Eagles exec Andy Weidl as assistant GM; the latter move preceded Hunt leaving for Philadelphia. The Eagles lost four staffers (Weidl, Brandon Brown, Ian Cunningham, Catherine Raiche) to assistant GM posts elsewhere in 2022; Hunt became one of Howie Roseman‘s additions in the wake of those exits. Brown, Cunningham and Raiche have come up in GM searches since; the Eagles will now see another of Roseman’s lieutenants take a key meeting.

News of this Hunt meeting comes after three execs — Trey Brown, Terrance Gray and Quentin Harris — turned down Patriots interview requests. The Pats are likely to keep Eliot Wolf atop its front office, soon in a more official capacity, likely leading to the run of execs turning down interview requests.

Each of the four known external candidates for this position are Black. Teams must interview at least two external minorities for HC and GM positions, shaping the nature of a Patriots search that other GM hopefuls clearly believe will end with Wolf staying in place atop the AFC East team’s front office.

2024 NFL General Manager Search Tracker

May 7th, 2024 at 4:00pm CST by Sam Robinson

With the Patriots hiring Eliot Wolf as their de facto GM after having moved on from Bill Belichick, all five teams in need of a GM have filled their post this offseason. If other teams decide to make GM changes, they’ll be added to this list.

Updated 5-11-24 (4:35pm CT)

Carolina Panthers

Las Vegas Raiders

Los Angeles Chargers

New England Patriots

Washington Commanders

Bills’ Terrance Gray Turns Down Patriots Interview Request; Eliot Wolf Favorite For Job

May 7th, 2024 at 3:09pm CST by Sam Robinson

Seeking to install someone not named Bill Belichick atop their personnel pyramid for the first time since the 20th century, the Patriots are having some issues launching a true search. A third candidate for their top front office position has turned down an interview.

The Patriots requested a meeting with Bills director of player personnel Terrance Gray, according to SI.com’s Albert Breer, who adds Gray “politely” declined the interview. Gray’s refusal to meet with the Pats follows Bengals exec Trey Brown and veteran personnel exec Quentin Harris doing the same.

Gray, who interviewed for both the Chargers and Raiders’ GM jobs in January, has been with the Bills since 2017. Bills GM Brandon Beane hired Gray upon arrival seven years ago. Gray has held the title of Bills director of player personnel since 2022. The Bills reshuffled their front office — a process that led to the team elevating short-lived Texans GM Brian Gaine to assistant GM — following assistant GM Joe Schoen landing the Giants’ GM position two years ago.

Twenty years in as an NFL staffer, Gray logged 11 years in Minnesota under Rick Spielman and previously spent time in Kansas City as well. Gray’s presence during the Bills’ rise into an AFC power — after 17 missed playoff brackets between the Music City Miracle and the first Beane-Sean McDermott year — has naturally made him an attractive GM candidate.

The Pats appear to be having a difficult time convincing candidates this position will not ultimately go to Eliot Wolf, who has been operating as the team’s de facto GM for months. The veteran exec is viewed as the expected hire, Breer adds. This will be rather interesting, seeing as Wolf already shepherded the Patriots through a draft that produced the team’s hopeful franchise quarterback in Drake Maye. Robert Kraft letting Wolf, a Patriots staffer since March 2020, make that decision and then hiring someone else to run the team post-draft would be a strange shift for a team settling in post-Belichick.

A recent report suggested the Patriots had complied with the Rooney Rule, but the Boston Herald’s Doug Kyed offers that is not currently the case. Rumored to be planning a true search for a front office boss for a while, the Patriots complied with the Rooney Rule before the draft, per Kyed, due to no singular presence being atop the FO hierarchy. Now that the Pats are planning to name a front office leader, they need to interview at least two external minority candidates for GM and HC posts. Brown, Gray and Harris are each Black, but thus far, no known interviews with any external candidates have taken place.

Quentin Harris Declines Patriots’ Interview Request

May 7th, 2024 at 10:33am CST by Adam La Rose

With the Patriots’ search for a lead executive underway, updates continue to emerge with respect to names the team has shown interest in. New England has once again not been able to line up an interview with the latest candidate linked to the position, however.

Longtime Cardinals executive Quentin Harris turned down an interview request from the Patriots, CBS Sports’ Jonathan Jones reports. Harris has been on the general manager radar in the past, and he is free to join any team’s front office at this time. He and the Cardinals parted ways in February.

That ended Harris’ tenure in Arizona, one which began in 2008. Working his way through the organization, the 47-year-old most recently held the title of VP of player personnel. Harris served as co-GM at the end of the 2022 season and he interviewed for Arizona’s full-time gig before it ultimately went to Monti Ossenfort. Outside interest was shown as well, with the Giants speaking with Harris in 2022 and the Titans doing the same last offseason.

Harris would have represented an experienced front office staffer for New England, albeit one without previous time spent as a GM. The Patriots have relied on Eliot Wolf to handle roster-building moves so far this offseason, one which has seen a number of key decisions made. While Wolf is a candidate for the full-time general manager position (in responsibility if not in title), the organization remains committed to meeting with other options before making a final decision.

A report from Monday indicated New England has already satisfied the Rooney Rule with respect to interviewing minority candidates. The only other staffer who has been connected to the position so far, however, is Bengals senior personnel executive Trey Brown. Like Harris, Brown turned down an interview request from the Patriots, so it will be interesting to see how the team proceeds moving forward.

Bengals’ Trey Brown Declines Patriots Interview

May 6th, 2024 at 9:27pm CST by Ben Levine

The Patriots have kicked off their search for a “top football executive,” but one of the team’s targets has already rejected an interview. According to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero, Bengals senior personnel executive Trey Brown has declined an interview for the Patriots’ de facto GM job.

[RELATED: Patriots Begin Top Executive Search]

A move to New England would be a bit of a reunion for Brown, as the 39-year-old started his front office career as a Patriots scout. He followed that up with a long stint in Philadelphia, where he eventually climbed to the role of Eagles director of college scouting. Brown had brief stints in the AAF and XFL before joining the Bengals as a scout in 2021. Following one year with the organization, he was promoted to his current role of senior personnel executive.

Brown’s rise through the Bengals organization coincided with the team’s on-field turnaround, and the executive garnered plenty of praise for his role in the operation. He first popped up on the GM carousel in 2022 when he earned an interview for the Raiders GM job. He got another look for the Raiders job this offseason but walked away empty handed. Considering his track record, Pelissero notes that Brown will remain a top GM candidate during next year’s hiring cycle.

While the Patriots have continually signaled that they’ll eventually be conducting a search for a front office leader, today’s development still comes as a bit of a surprise. After moving on from head coach/de facto GM Bill Belichick, the team basically handed the reins to Eliot Wolf, who retained his title of director of scouting. While the new-look Patriots relied on a group effort to fill the Belichick-sized void, Wolf played a major role in the team’s free agency and draft approach. With the roster pretty much set (and the organization having made a significant decision with Drake Maye at No. 3), the team will now curiously consider another executive to lead the way.

With that said, Wolf’s presence may cause some issues for Robert Kraft and the Patriots’ top decision makers. As Ben Volin of the Boston Globe notes, the Patriots may have a tough time convincing candidates that Wolf isn’t “a lock to get the job.” For what it’s worth, Volin notes that the Patriots have already complied with the Rooney Rule in regards to their GM vacancy.

The Patriots haven’t employed a traditional GM since Kraft took over ownership of the organization. It sounds like the long-time owner is once again considering a creative approach to his front office.

Patriots Begin Top Executive Search

May 6th, 2024 at 3:09pm CST by Adam La Rose

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.

Patriots To Waive QB Nathan Rourke

May 6th, 2024 at 8:51am CST by Adam La Rose

Following the draft, New England was one of a few teams with five quarterbacks on the roster. That logjam has been addressed to a degree now, however. The Patriots are waiving Nathan Rourke, ESPN’s Mike Reiss reports.

Rourke put himself on the NFL radar with a decorated tenure in the CFL. The 25-year-old Canadian initially joined the Jaguars, but he was unable to lock down the backup spot in Jacksonville. New England claimed him off waivers in December and he was re-signed in March.

That decision came after the Patriots cycled through a number of passers during the 2023 season, including Matt Corral and Malik Cunningham (who played QB in college but may need to transition to receiver at the NFL level). Starter Mac Jones is no longer in the fold, and the position has seen considerable change over the course of the 2024 offseason. Veteran Jacoby Brissett was signed as a bridge option for a rookie added at the top of the draft.

To little surprise, the Patriots used the No. 3 selection on Drake Maye. The North Carolina product profiles as New England’s quarterback of the future, although Brissett may begin the year atop the depth chart. In any case, those two will each use up roster spots throughout the campaign, leaving the QB3 position up for grabs. With New England having used a sixth-rounder on Joe Milton, three places on the depth chart are likely accounted for regarding the 2024 season.

Reiss noted over the weekend that Rourke would likely be competing with Bailey Zappe for the fourth and final roster spot amongst signal-callers. Monday’s move means the latter will remain in place for the time being, after he made eight starts across the past two seasons. With Maye now in the fold, however, Zappe’s path to a first-team role has become unclear in New England. For Rourke, meanwhile, it will be interesting to see if outside teams put in a claim; failing that, he will become a free agent.

Drake Maye, Jacoby Brissett To Compete For Patriots’ QB1 Job

May 4th, 2024 at 10:36pm CST by Ben Levine

Even before the Patriots pulled the trigger on Drake Maye with the third-overall pick, it was assumed that free agent acquisition Jacoby Brissett would keep the seat warm for most (if not all) of the 2024 campaign. However, it sounds like the organization is willing to give their rookie quarterback every chance to compete for the starting job.

[RELATED: Patriots Select QB Drake Maye At No. 3]

While speaking with reporters this week, head coach Jerod Mayo acknowledged that the team hasn’t made a decision on their Week 1 quarterback starter.

“Look, Jacoby understands, he’s a mentor,” Mayo said (via NFL.com’s Cameron Wolfe). “He’s very smart, has great leadership skills, and hopefully Drake can learn something from him, as well. I would say we’re going to compete all spring, we’re going to compete during training camp, and the best player will start.”

After moving on from three-year starter Mac Jones, the Patriots scooped up old friend Brissett via free agency. The veteran would never be confused with a top-end quarterback, leading many to rightfully assume that the organization was going to select a QB at No. 3.

However, Brissett has shown that he can be competent when given the opportunity to start; he went 7-8 as a full-time starter for the Colts in 2019, and he’s since gone 6-10 in stints with the Dolphins and Browns. Considering that performance as a fill-in, Brissett has earned a reputation as one of the league’s premier backup QBs.

As Wolfe notes, many scouts were critical of Maye’s “inconsistency in accuracy and overall NFL readiness,” leading many to believe that the veteran would be the QB1 until his younger teammate was ready to go. That could still end up being the case, especially considering Brissett’s former Cleveland OC Alex Van Pelt is now leading the Patriots offense. But following New England’s worst showing in decades, there’s a chance that Robert Kraft and co. want to generate some enthusiasm with their squad, resulting in Maye leading the depth chart.

The Patriots found themselves in a similar situation back in 2021. That season, Jones was expected to temporarily take a back seat to 2020 starter Cam Newton, but the rookie ended up winning the job in the preseason. While Brissett will surely be sticking around regardless of this current outcome (Newton was ultimately cut), there’s a chance the Patriots immediately start their first-round QB for the second time in a post-Tom Brady era.

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