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The Patriots are reportedly making their first front office hires, and shake-ups, of the post-Bill Belichick era.
First and most importantly, according to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport, Pats executive Eliot Wolf appears to be "in charge of the personnel department, with control of the 53-man roster working closely with Jerod Mayo." He added that Matt Groh, formerly New England's director of player personnel, will mostly handle college scouting.
Additionally, according to The Athletic, New England is finalizing a deal with University of Miami football general manager Alonzo Highsmith to join Wolf's front office as an executive in personnel. His job title is reportedly yet to be determined.
Highsmith, 58, joined the Packers front office in 2012 and worked alongside, you guessed it, Eliot Wolf, serving as a senior personnel executive from 2012-2017. He then followed Wolf to Cleveland to serve as the Browns vice president of player personnel from 2018-2019. Highsmith is New England's fourth hire with ties to Wolf, joining offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt, senior offensive assistant Ben McAdoo, and defensive line coach Jerry Montgomery.
In the Spring of 2022, Highsmith was named the general manager of football operations at the University of Miami where, acccording to the Athletic, he helped head coach Mario Cristobal with "evaluating transfer prospects and working... on administrative functions including the budget, culture building, and working with staffers both on and off the field." As noted in the piece, the Hurricanes have signed top 10 recruiting classes in back-to-back years and also landed former Washington State quarterback Cam Ward in the transfer portal this offseason.
The Patriots are also hiring former Texans staffer Bobby Brown in a "key administrative role", according to KRPC's Aaron Wilson. This is Brown's second stint in New England, having worked in Foxborough from 2017-2023 in various roles in the front office. From June of '20 to February of '23, he served as their Associate Director of Football Administration before heading to Houston for the same role. Brown is a Malden, MA native and a graduate of Boston College.
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