No GM? Here’s Who Reportedly Will Run Patriots’ Draft, Free Agency

The New England Patriots moved swiftly in hiring their on-field replacement for Bill Belichick, announcing Jerod Mayo’s promotion just one day after mutually parting ways with the legendary head coach.

Robert Kraft and company are taking their time in finding an off-field replacement, however.

The Patriots are “in no rush” to hire a general manager, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN. That comes as quite a surprise, as New England has a pretty pivotal selection to make in the 2024 NFL Draft. In holding the No. 3 pick, many believed the Patriots would want to hire someone as quickly as possible to prepare for the draft, but they’re instead going to hold steady with the people they have in place.

Who are those people, you ask? Matt Groh and Eliot Wolf.

Groh, the director of player personnel, and Wolf, the director of scouting, likely will lead the charge, according to The Athletic’s Jeff Howe, though there’s always the chance things could change as we move further into Jerod Mayo’s tenure. Groh’s background comes in the draft, where he essentially was Belichick’s No. 2 over the last couple of seasons. Wolf, who spent the majority of his career with the Green Bay Packers and Cleveland Browns before coming to New England in 2020, has an extensive background at the professional scouting level.

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It could be as simple as: Groh gets the draft, while Wolf gets free agency. That’s just conjecture, though, as Mayo will have “some real input” when it comes to the team’s personnel department, according to MassLive.

The Patriots have the majority of their personnel staff in place from Belichick’s tenure, as Steve Cargile (pro scouting director), Camren Williams (college scouting director) Patrick Stewart (senior personnel advisor) and Brian Smith (personnel coordinator) all expect to stick around through the draft. Those are the people, along with the rest of New England’s scouting department, who have put in the heavy lifting on draft preparation.

It remains to be seen how the Patriots divvy things up with Mayo in place as the head coach, as he’ll likely have an opinion on the structure of the front office. Those moves apparently will have to wait, as it’s business as usual in New England.