Patriots reportedly might wait until after NFL Draft to hire GM, if at all
The Patriots could keep Matt Groh and Eliot Wolf in "prominent" roles in their front office, according to multiple reports.
The Patriots moved quickly to replace the head coach vacancy after they parted ways with Bill Belichick. But they might not move quickly, if at all, to replace Belichick’s general manager position.
A few reports emerged Saturday on the uncertainty that the Patriots will hire a general manager ahead of the bulk of the offseason. The Patriots are in “no rush” to hire a general manager and could wait until after the NFL Draft before picking someone to lead the front office, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported Saturday on “Postseason NFL Countdown.”
But there might not even be a general manager hired following April’s draft, either. There isn’t an expectation that they’ll formally hire a general manager, as it’s “anticipated” Matt Groh and Eliot Wolf could have “prominent” roles in the Patriots’ player personnel department, NBC Sports Boston’s Phil Perry reported.
Additionally, Groh and Wolf will “run the operation” for now as the Patriots “likely” interview other candidates for top positions at some point, though they might not make a hiring, The Athletic‘s Jeff Howe reported.
With Belichick’s departure on Thursday, both Groh and Wolf naturally became the senior members of the Patriots’ player personnel department. Groh has been the team’s director of player personnel since 2022, replacing Dave Ziegler after he became the Raiders’ general manager. Wolf began working as the Patriots’ director of scouting at the same time, indirectly replacing Groh, who was the Patriots’ director of college scouting prior to his 2022 promotion.
Even though the Patriots seem content with the Groh-Wolf setup for now, it was initially speculated by insiders that they could make an outside hire at general manager, with NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport suggesting they could add someone with Patriots ties.
Patriots owner Robert Kraft indicated Thursday that the team’s next head coach, which wound up being Jerod Mayo, wouldn’t have roster control, unlike Belichick for much of the last 24 years.
“All of us need checks and balances in our life,” Kraft told reporters. “We need what I say – I call it, we need ‘Dr. Nos’ around us, people to protect ourselves from ourselves, protect us from ourselves. And, 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, but once you have it, it’s kind of hard to pull it away and expect to have the accountability you want.”
Groh, the son of former NFL head coach Al Groh, has spent his entire NFL career with the Patriots’ organization, joining the franchise in 2011. He worked in various scouting roles in his first 11 seasons with the organization prior to his promotion in 2022.
Wolf, the son of former Packers general manager Ron Wolf, has only spent four seasons in the Patriots’ front office, first joining the team as a front office consultant in 2020. Prior to his stint with the Patriots, Wolf held a handful of roles within the Packers’ organization between 2004-17, including two seasons as their director of football operations.
Wolf has been a candidate for other general manager jobs in the past, interviewing for that job with the 49ers and Packers in recent years. But he’s yet to secure that role, only serving as an assistant general manager with the Browns in the 2018 and 2019 seasons.
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