A major talking point since the hiring of Mike Vrabel on Sunday has been how the new Patriots head coach will handle building out the rest of the organization after the disaster that was the Jerod Mayo administration.
In the early going, it appears one holdover will be executive vice president of player personnel Eliot Wolf - who Patriots chairman and CEO Robert Kraft told the media was a part of his hiring team, and was someone Vrabel mentioned six different times during his introductory press conference on Monday.
Despite Kraft and Vrabel’s public displays of affection for Wolf, it did not stop the organization from hiring Giants senior advisor Ryan Cowden on Monday, where he’ll serve as a front office advisor alongside Wolf.
Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer has reported that Cowden will serve as Wolf’s “de facto” No. 2. But with Vrabel and Cowden previously working together in Tennessee, it begs the question of who will actually hold the ultimate power when rebuilding this New England roster this offseason.
According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, it doesn’t matter what anyone’s job title is in that front office when it comes to decisions on the roster. Ultimately, they’re all at the hand of Vrabel.
“He’s the face of the organization,” Schefter said on Wednesday. “He’s the guy that’s making decisions. He’s the guy, right? Like, again - the front office is there to serve him. He’s the guy. I mean, he’s the man.”
“Is there any concern?” asked WEEI’s Andy Hart. “Because if you look at this from a far, we’re all human beings, and we’re all like, ‘OK, Eliot Wolf stays. He wasn’t here with Vrabel. And then you’re bringing [Ryan] Cowden, his guy. Is there any concern of how this dynamic plays out?”
“Well, again - it’s a new scenario, it’s a new situation,” said Schefter. “It’s time for everybody to get adjusted to the new world that exists in Foxborough, and we’ll see how that all plays out, right?
“Like, Eliot didn’t lose any power. He didn’t lose any title, he didn’t lose any standing. He still is the same thing, but there’s a new guy. And I think when there are new relationships, you have to prove yourself to your new coworkers, right? Always. And Eliot’s very good at what he does. So he’ll have the chance to show that to Mike, and you’d like to think that they’ll get along, and the relationship will prosper from there. And if it doesn’t, then there’ll be changes made. Like anywhere.”
Schefter used a recent example of a high profile head coach inheriting a front office executive, and having that situation work out well for all parties involved.
“Like, Sean Payton goes into Denver, and he’s the man there,” said Schefter. “And he inherits George Paton as the GM. Well, George Paton’s still there two years later, right? Despite any conversation.
“So, sometimes marriages are arranged, sometimes they are done in advance, and every relationship evolves. But all we can say is Eliot has the same job he did. Mike Vrabel’s the new head coach. It’s up to them to figure out how well they work together, or not, and go from there.”
It’s been reported that Vrabel’s frustration with how the Titans handled the firing of former GM Jon Robinson was part of the friction between him and ownership, eventually leading to his ouster as head coach after six seasons in Tennessee.
But according to Schefter, this won’t be a problem in Vrabel’s second stint as an NFL head coach.
If Vrabel likes Wolf, he stays.
If they don’t get along, Vrabel will show Wolf the door.
Because, after all, Vrabel is “the man.”