One of the biggest questions being asked since Mike Vrabel was hired last month has been where things will stand when it comes to personnel for the New England Patriots.
Last offseason, with Jerod Mayo in just his first season as an NFL head coach, Eliot Wolf took the reins and said he had the final say when it came to players, although the word we heard quite a bit last offseason was the word “collaborative” when it came to those decisions.
This time around, Wolf is working with Vrabel, along with newly hired Ryan Cowden and John Streicher when it comes to building this year’s version of the football team. Vrabel was asked on Tuesday during a side session with the local media whether or not he had the final say when it came to players.
While Vrabel didn’t come right out with a definitive answer, he also admitted that he wouldn’t be here if he didn’t believe he had the power he needed to build his roster.
“Well, I wouldn’t be here, and I wouldn’t have wanted to be the head coach here if I wasn’t comfortable in my impact on the roster,” said Vrabel. “We want to continue to have great conversations with the personnel staff, with me, with Stretch [John Streicher], with coaching.”
“We’re all just trying to find ways to bring the right players in here, whether that’s first part of free agency, middle free agency like we talked about, or the draft, or there’s going to be players who get released that we’ll have to pivot to and have options. So again, we need to strengthen the roster. We understand that. And again, have some really good conversations about how we get there.”
While Wolf remains at the top of that hierarchy when it comes to his official role, there was still some question about whether or not the power had shifted given those changes.
On Wednesday, Wolf essentially told the media during his press conference that on paper, it’s his call, but he discounted that fact, adding that the approach is that Vrabel and everyone else will be a part of the process.
“Ultimately, it’s my final say,” said Wolf. “But again, Mike and I, again, Mike said it yesterday, Mike wouldn’t have taken this job – and this is something we talked about in the interview process – Mike wouldn’t have taken this job if we weren’t comfortable with each other.”
That aside, Wolf also added that there won’t be any dissension when it comes to which players were taken by which person. They’ll all make the decision when they find themselves on the clock in April.
Until then, Wolf said he’s looking forward to working with Vrabel and the rest of their staff on improving the group they have, which is what he’ll be focusing on during these coming weeks.
“There’s not going to be ‘Mike’s guys’ or Eliot’s guys,’” said Wolf. “They’re going to be ‘Patriot guys.’ We’re excited to share the vision to work together to improve the roster. ”
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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.
As long as Wolf and Vrabel (plus scouts etc) are collaborating, who cares accept for the media blame game needs. It may be Wolfs job that owns the decision but Wolf is likely taking menu orders from Vrabel. That’s probably the norm on every team in the league. These NFL teams are not huge organizations that work in silos. Again, it’s all about the blame-pie games. Ultimately, if the players brought in are busts, Wolf will take the hit, but so to will Vrabel as he accountable for W’s and all know that Vrabel will be a heavy handed part… Read more »