Patriots Hire Front Office Executive to Pair With New Head Coach Mike Vrabel

Ryan Cowden worked with Vrabel in Tennessee from 2018 to '22.

Cowden will now work in the Patriots' front office. / George Walker IV/The Tennessean-Imagn Images

The New England Patriots are making moves following the hiring of head coach Mike Vrabel.

According to Sports Illustrated's Albert Breer, former Giants senior advisor Ryan Cowden has accepted a job in the Patriots' front office.

"He wll have a big role..." Breer wrote in a post on X (formerly Twitter). "Title will be along the lines of VP of player personnel. He'll be de facto No. 2 to Eliot Wolf."

Wolf is currently New England's executive vice president of player personnel—a role he's been in since the spring of 2024.

Giants senior advisor Ryan Cowden has accepted a job with the Patriots, per sources. Cowden will have a big role in the New England front office, and be reunited with Mike Vrabel.

Title will be along the lines of VP of player personnel. He'll be de facto No. 2 to Eliot Wolf.

— Albert Breer (@AlbertBreer) January 13, 2025

The hiring of Cowden reunites him with Vrabel. The two worked together with the Tennessee Titans from 2018 to '22.

Cowden was the Titans' director of player personnel from 2016 to '17 before being promoted to vice president of player personnel in '18. When Tennessee fired general manager Jon Robinson in 2022, Cowden was promoted to interim general manager. He was then passed over for Ran Carthon in 2023 when they filled the role permanently. Carthon has worked with the New York Giants for the last two seasons as an executive advisor to general manager Joe Schoen.

Vrabel was asked on Monday about the Patriots potentially adding Cowden to the front office:

"Eliot [Wolf] and I will have conversations," the head coach explained. "As it relates to the staff, nothing's been finalized. Nothing's been determined. As with any staff, there's going to be turnover. There's going to be new coaches and new faces, some that I will have history with and some that I won't."

Wolf was mentioned several times throughout Monday's press conference, making it sound like—at least for now—he'll remain on board and work with Cowden toward what Vrabel described as a "shared organizational vision."

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