For the second straight year, Bill Belichick didn’t attend the Senior Bowl.
The Patriots sent scouts Eliot Wolf and Matt Groh in his place last week, reports Mike Reiss. A group of younger scouts reportedly made the trip as well.
With trusted personnel man Dave Ziegler following Josh McDaniels to Vegas, Belichick is in the midst of once again remaking his football operations department. Wolf and Groh’s Senior Bowl trip indicates they may be responsible for a significant share of draft preparation.
Wolf, 39, spent the bulk of his career in the Packers organization, eventually becoming the director of football operations in 2016. He’s the son of longtime Green Bay general manager Ron Wolf.
Wolf was the Browns’ assistant general manager for two seasons before joining the Patriots in 2020. The Bears and Vikings both interviewed him for their vacant GM jobs last month.
Groh also enjoys a deep familial connection to the NFL. His father, Al, was a defensive coordinator for the Patriots under Bill Parcells and Belichick’s successor with the Jets.
The Patriots hired Groh as a scouting assistant in 2011. He’s now a national scout.
Once again, the Patriots are undergoing changes in their front office. Last year, Nick Caserio left to become the Texans’ general manager.
Belichick reportedly employed a more collaborative approach for the draft last year, following criticism from Robert Kraft.
