Patriots’ top exec job reportedly ‘viewed as an attractive job opening’ around the NFL
Jerod Mayo has finalized his coordinator hirings, turning the attention to what the Patriots will do with their front office.
It appears the job of leading the Patriots’ front office is a bit more desirable than their offensive coordinator gig.
While it’s unclear whether the Patriots will hire a general manager, the job of running their player personnel department is “viewed as an attractive job opening,” The Athletic‘s Jeff Howe reported Saturday.
“They’ll have a blank slate with a new head coach and an owner, Robert Kraft, who is highly regarded by league executives,” Howe wrote.
As Howe mentioned, the Patriots are starting pretty fresh after parting ways with Bill Belichick. The Patriots already named Jerod Mayo as their next head coach, so whoever gets the job of running the front office won’t get to pick their head coach.
However, they do have some valuable assets at their disposal. The biggest asset the Patriots hold is the No. 3 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, putting them in range to possibly select their next franchise quarterback. The Patriots also have one of the first four picks in each of the first six rounds of the draft, holding nine total selections.
The fact the Patriots have two selections within the first 34 picks of the draft bodes well for filling a pair of their biggest needs. The 2024 NFL Draft has been viewed as a deep class for quarterback and offensive tackle prospects at the top. Quarterbacks Caleb Williams, Drake Maye, and Jayden Daniels have all commonly been top-five, if not top-three, picks in mock drafts.
There is one in-house candidate for the Patriots’ top front office job who might opt not to pick a quarterback at No. 3.
“If it’s [Eliot] Wolf running the show, expect the Patriots to give a long, hard look at drafting a left tackle with the No. 3 pick,” Howe wrote.
Wolf, who has been the Patriots’ director of scouting since 2022, has been speculated to be a top candidate to run the Patriots’ front office since Belichick’s departure. If he ends up getting the job and wants an offensive tackle, Notre Dame’s Joe Alt and Penn State’s Olu Fashanu have been viewed as possible top selections by draft analysts and scouts.
On top of holding one of the top picks in this year’s draft, another potential asset for whoever runs the Patriots’ player personnel department is their cap space. New England will likely be one of the teams with the most amount of cap room available this offseason as it’s projected to have nearly $70 million in cap space.
Mayo has reached out to possible candidates for the job as it’s “likely” someone will be added to the team’s personnel department in some capacity, Howe reported, adding intrigue on what the Patriots might do.
“So, while sources around the league are curious about the process of hiring a department head, it’s also because they’re hoping to get in on the action,” Howe wrote.
Mayo has begun to formalize his coaching staff, making their three coordinator hires official on Thursday. The most notable of the group was the hiring of former Browns assistant Alex Van Pelt to be their offensive coordinator. The Patriots’ hiring of Van Pelt came after they interviewed at least 11 other candidates, as it was reported that the job was “not highly coveted.”
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