The New England Patriots usher in a new era with Bill Belichick out of Foxborough after decades at the helm. The six-time Super Bowl-winning head coach was believed to join the Falcons after two interviews, but they opted for Rams DC Raheem Morris instead. Other vacancies around the league were also filled very quickly, leaving Belichick waiting for the next hiring cycle. Meanwhile, his former team found their head man in Jerod Mayo, who has spent the better part of his career with the franchise. However, Belichick also oversaw the general manager position, which remained vacant until Eliot Wolf stepped up at the Combine.
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The Director of scouting for the Patriots, Eliot Wolf, might just be the unofficial GM for the club, who stepped up to the podium in Indianapolis on Tuesday ahead of the NFL Combine. While talking about the approach for the next season, Wolf admitted the challenging task of rebuilding a team that had just experienced a 4-13 season. The franchise has already established that it is poised to burn its salary cap this season to restructure the roster — but Wolf emphasized a more strategic approach to assist the team in any way possible.
“We’re going to aggressively try to help the team,” Wolf said. “Take that however you want it, but we will try to do what’s right, whether that means spending or saving,” as per Boston.com.
New era in New England: #Patriots director of scouting Eliot Wolf steps up to the podium in Indianapolis at the NFL Combine. He’s essentially acting as the GM as the team embarks on the post-Bill Belichick era. pic.twitter.com/28fPGvfbfN
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) February 27, 2024
The unofficial GM also emphasized the priority of Guard Mike Onwenu and safety Kyle Dugger in free agency, even labeling Mike as the cornerstone of the new game plan they are about to implement. He said,
“We definitely want to keep Mike and Kyle,” followed by, “Mike’s a core player for us.“
Surprisingly, Wolf also suggested that it would be “Less of a hard a** vibe,” in Foxborough, leading fans to speculate about a dig at Bill Belichick, who kept a very tight-knit circle. It’s clear that the new management intends to tackle their issues differently than the previous generation. But the question remains — will they be able to address the QB dilemma?
Quarterback Situation for New England Patriots in 2024
Mac Jones and Bailey Zappe have yet to make their mark on the gridiron as they failed to lead the team to any significant victories this season. In reference, Jones threw for a career-low 2,120 yards this season and tallied ten touchdowns in the 11 games he started. He also had a career-low 77.00 passer rating. Zappe, on the other hand — tallied six touchdowns and a rushing score in the 10 total games he played this season.
Both fans and pundits alike believe that the Patriots are well within their rights to look for a new shot-caller. However, Wolf stressed that the management wouldn’t be jumping to any rash decisions and would handle such matters behind the scenes. Both Jones and Zappe are in contracts with the club.
Furthermore, Wolf also informed the press that he and Jerod Mayo are the sole decision-makers for the draft picks and free agency. When asked if the Kraft family would interfere, the Director of scouting said that they never intervene in football decisions and fully support the decisions made by the management.
