Throughout the transition from former Patriots coach Bill Belichick to new head coach Jerod Mayo, Robert Kraft had made one thing clear.
Ownership was not going to be involved in final football decisions, as “you can’t hold them responsible and have them accountable.”
To this point, it had seemed like Eliot Wolf had been the one primarily running things leading up to Thurday night’s start to the NFL Draft. However, TheAthletic’s Dianna Russini reported on Monday that while the club is “listening and taking calls from teams” who are looking to make a deal at #3, Jonathan Kraft has been “heavily involved in the decision-making.”
What that exactly means is tough to say. By ‘heavily involved,’ that could very well mean that Wolf has kept him informed of who has called and what offers have been made, in terms of any potential trades, as well as where their intentions currently stand.
At the same time, it could also mean that Kraft is potentially overruling some of those same decisions. That would go against what his father suggested several months ago.
“It will be the same input we’ve had for the last three decades,” said Robert Kraft back in January. “We try to hire the best people we can find and let them do their job and hold them accountable. If you get involved, and tell them what to do or try to influence [them], then you can’t hold them responsible and have them accountable.”
“So it’ll be within the people’s discretion who are the decision makers to do it. And if we’ve hired the wrong people, then we’ll have to make a change. But we’re going to try to enjoy it as fans.”
Wolf suggested in a previous press conference ahead of the Scouting Combine that, “I think they have opinions, which they’ll share,” he said, referring to ownership, “But ultimately it’s down to Jerod and I.”
According to Wolf, the club is “open for business” as it pertains to the #3 overall pick, although reports have suggested that ownership would prefer to see them take a quarterback.
How much they’ve voiced that preference is obviously the big question. However, with that in mind, Scott Zolak said on Monday on Zolak & Bertrand on 98.5 The Sports Hub that he’s been told Jonathan Kraft is not involved, not at any level, at least as far as personnel decisions are concerned.
“I was told he is not involved,” said Zolak. “Jonathan Kraft is not involved in football. Football decisions are made by the football people. Eliot Wolf, Matt Groh, Jerod Mayo, and the football staff. Where I thought they would get involved was that, ‘OK, hey, this team is calling Mr. Kraft – or Jonathan Kraft – and they want our pick at #3.’ This is where I thought, they’re not going to get involved in telling you which quarterback to take or who we’re trading back to get. It would make sense to me, if it’s my organization and my team, and there’s this other team – an organization I know that I’m friends with – they’re offering up all this stuff, I would like to be involved in that. And I thought that’s where this report came from Russini where Jonathan is involved here. If there’s a big trade in the bag, we have to get it approved. We have to get it signed. We do. We have bosses. That would be normal operating procedure to me.”
“I was told that is not the case. This is all Eliot. This is all Jerod, and this is all football people. Jonathan is not running the football part of it. Business, yes. Football, no. Believe what you want.”
Hopefully, that’s indeed the case.
One other troubling factor is that while Kraft said recently, “I think Eliot [Wolf] has good training, good pedigree, and we actually have a good group of young people,” the plan still seems to be to interview potential GM options after the draft.
The fact the club hasn’t committed to Wolf and Highsmith, and if they were to experience any interference from ownership, it could affect their futures. If they come away with a solid haul this weekend and if ownership isn’t careful, the idea that the duo could move on if another team pursues them following this draft should be a concern.
Wolf was asked last week about the potential that he’s “on a trial” with the team, but he dismissed it and said, “I haven’t thought about it that way,” adding, “I’ve just kind of put my head down and tried to do things that I feel like are the best for the Patriots.”
One notable part of this is looking back at each of Wolf’s press conferences, he’s referenced “the Patriots” and not really “us” or “we.” Read into that what you want, but it feels a little strange and unsettling.
Considering how things have gone in the past, seeing him move on would be both disappointing yet not necessarily surprising. Both Wolf and Highsmith have been solid everywhere they’ve been, and not being firmly behind them could mean losing them to someone else. That would certainly hamper a team that absolutely needs smart minds in its front office.
For now, we’ll see what it all means tomorrow night when the Patriots either make a deal, or find themselves finally on the clock.
(EDITOR’S NOTE: Portions of the above appeared in a recent Daily Morning Patriots News and Notes column.)
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Ian Logue is a Seacoast native and owner and senior writer for PatsFans.com, an independent media site covering the New England Patriots and has been running this site in one form or another since 1997.
