Who will be the Patriots’ next GM? Here are 6 speculated candidates
The Patriots moved swiftly to replace their head coaching vacancy, but they still need to hire a general manager.
There’s a new king of the castle in Foxborough.
Just over 24 hours after Belichick’s exit, Jerod Mayo was named the head coach of the Patriots. And while the (short) race to find a head coach replacement has come and gone, an equally important general search is getting underway.
For over two decades, Belichick not only was the head coach, but assumed general manager responsibilities as well. His consolidated power offered him more control over his team than any other coach in the league.
At an individual press conference Thursday afternoon, owner Robert Kraft explained the importance of a renewed division of power between the next head coach and general manager.
“All of us need checks and balances in our lives. I call it, we need ‘Dr. No’s’ around us — people to protect us from ourselves,” Kraft said. “As things evolve and you get more power, sometimes people are afraid to speak up. I’m speaking about all companies. I think it’s good to have checks and balances.”
Earlier Friday, NFL Media’s Ian Rapoport reported some names that Kraft likely has on his GM short-list. Among them was Adam Peters, who has already been scooped up by the Washington Commanders to fill their own GM vacancy.
So who is best slated to assume the GM throne alongside Coach Mayo? Here are six candidates speculated to be in the running for the Patriots general manager position.
Dave Ziegler
Ziegler spent nine years in the Patriots front office, picking up three rings during his tenure with the team. Starting as assistant director of pro scouting and then moving on to become director of player personnel in 2021, he’s a candidate with intimate knowledge of how Belichick ran things.
While his time with the Raiders doesn’t reflect well on his GM record, a lot of that blame rests at the feet of Josh McDaniels (Ziegler’s former college teammate who he brought with him to Las Vegas).
Jon Robinson
The former Titans GM got his start in New England in 2002, remaining with the organization for 11 years before becoming the director of player personnel for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Robinson became the Tennessee Titans GM in 2016 and – alongside Mike Vrabel (another former New Englander) – gave the franchise somewhat of a facelift.
Eliot Wolf
Wolf is being touted by many as the top in-house candidate for the position. His rise through the Patriots ranks has been swift, starting as a consultant with the organization in 2020 and becoming their director of scouting in 2022.
While Wolf’s time in New England has been short, he came to the organization with an extended tenure background. He spent 14 seasons with the Packers, serving as the director of player personnel from 2015-16 and director of player operations from 2016-17. Following his time in Green Bay he became the assistant general manager for the Browns.
Mike Borgonzi
Borgonzi, assistant general manager for the Kansas City Chiefs, joined the organization in 2009 to work with former Patriots exec. Scott Pioli. He was promoted to his current position in 2021 and has since helped the team on their rapid rise to success.
While Borgonzi has no experience with the Patriots front office, he did just happen to grow up a Patriots fan in Everett, Massachusetts.
Trey Brown
Brown, 38, is the youngest candidate on the list. How would he pair with 37-year-old Mayo? That’s not for us to decide, although the two do have a history from Brown’s time with the Patriots.
Brown worked as a scout for the Patriots from 2010-12 before leaving to work for the Philadelphia Eagles for five seasons. He continued his scouting career with the Bengals in 2021 and was promoted to senior personnel executive the following year.
Matt Groh
Another strong internal candidate, Groh has been the front office right-hand man of Belichick for the past two years. Starting with the organization’s scouting department in 2011, Groh worked his way up the ranks over the next decade.
He became director of player personnel in 2022, which means he’s likely gotten experience handling some GM responsibilities for the team.
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