A Wolf in Scout’s Clothing? — Eliot Wolf’s New Title May Indicate an Extended Stay with Patriots

Wolf has been promoted to Patriots’ Director of Scouting, while Camren Williams has been given the title of Director of College Scouting.

It has been an interesting offseason for the New England Patriots. While the team has retained some key would-be free agents for 2022, the Pats have seen their share of departures, both from the field, as well as the front office. In addition to saying double to cornerback J.C. Jackson, offensive lineman Shaq Mason and others, New England also lost offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels and Director of Player Personnel Dave Ziegler to the Las Vegas Raiders.

In short, the Pats will have a new look for the upcoming season.

Still, not everything in Foxboro will be changing. The Pats will continue to place a great deal of value in scouting, both at the college and the pro level.Beginning in 2022, a pair of Patriots front office execs will have new roles, as well as new titles within New England’s scouting department.

In the Patriots Media Departement latest offering in the video series “Do Your Job: Patriots Scouting Department”, the team revealed that former front office consultant Eliot Wolf has been given the title, Director of Scouting. Wolf is the first to hold the title in the Patriots' organization.

For the Patriots scouting department, countless meetings, hours of film work, college pro days and the NFL Combine are all pieces of the pre-draft puzzle.

Go behind the scenes as they navigate the process in the latest episode of Do Your Job, presented by @Bose. pic.twitter.com/buf8yj8frw

— New England Patriots (@Patriots) March 25, 2022

In the wake of Ziegler’s departure from New England, Wolf was considered a top choice to fill the vacated role of Director of Player Personnel. However, the position was given to Matt Groh, who had been the Pats’ college scouting director.

Worthy Wolf

Wolf enters his new role with a great deal of scouting experience, as well as football pedigree. He is the son of former Green Bay Packers general manager Ron Wolf; the architect of the Packers’ 1996 Championship team, which defeated the Patriots in Super Bowl XXXI.

The younger Wolf joined the Packers as a pro personnel assistant in 2004. He became assistant director of pro personnel in 2008 and assistant director of player personnel in 2011 before assuming the position of director of pro personnel in 2012, and eventually director of player personnel in 2015.

Wolf gained his first taste of the national spotlight in 2016. In April, he was promoted to director-football operations. Despite several reports connecting him as a candidate for the then-vacant Detroit Lions general manager position, the Packers denied the Lions' request to interview him. Following the final regular season game of the 2016 season the San Francisco 49ers fired general manager Trent Baalke. Shortly thereafter, Wolf was highlighted as a potential candidate, with the Niners interviewing Wolf for their general manager position.

Since that time, Wolf has reportedly been on the "short list" of candidates for general manager positions throughout the NFL. He was strongly considered to succeed Ted Thompson as Packers’ general manager in 2018. However, the position was eventually given to current GM Brian Gutekunst. Following his departure from Green Bay, Wolf spent two seasons as the Cleveland Browns' assistant GM under John Dorsey.

Prior to the 2020 season, Wolf joined the Patriots, where he has worked alongside Bill Belichick in the team’s front office. He has handled scouting duties, as well as holding the role of player personnel consultant. According to those within the organization, Wolf worked closely with both Belichick and Ziegler in constructing New England’s 2021 roster. In addition to acting as a key Draft consultant, Wolf was heavily involved in the Pats’ pursuit of several notable free agents, including linebacker Matthew Judon, wide receiver Kendrick Bourne and tight end Hunter Henry.

A Director, by another name

While Groh was unquestionably qualified for the position, many had considered Wolf to be a potentially better fit, due to his experience in both collegiate and pro-level scouting. In fact, there had been some speculation among fans and media that Wolf’s likelihood of receiving an offer to become a general manager may have caused the Patriots caution in promoting him to the position.

However, his promotion to Director of Scouting may indicate that both he and the Patriots may have plans to continue their collaboration beyond 2022. While well-deserved, independent of the reason for which it was provided, a ‘Director’s’ title may help to entice Wolf to remain in New England for the foreseeable future.

For the Patriots, Wolf’s expertise is an asset, which the Patriots are undoubtedly happy to retain. According to Belichick, Wolf's insight offered a fresh and welcomed perspective for the team.

“When you come from a different organization, or two organizations in the last couple years, [you] have a fairly recent background of other philosophies, other ways of doing things,” Belichick said during the 2020 season.

“Certainly, he’s been able to help me in terms of, ‘Take a look at this. Here’s the way we did this.’ It might be something we tried and we don’t want to do it that way — or, it might be something like, ‘No, I hadn’t really looked at it that way, that’s a pretty good idea.’ It’s good to generate new ideas like that.”

As such, he has earned an impeccable reputation throughout the league. This undoubtedly led to his receiving serious consideration for GM openings with both the Minnesota Vikings and the Chicago Bears.

With the Pats expected to place a premium on the upcoming NFL Draft, as well as remaining active in free agency, Wolf’s new title will serve him well in New England. He will be working closely with former national scout, Camren Williams, who has also received a promotion to Director of College Scouting. The former Ohio State linebacker joined the Patriots in 2016 as a scouting assistant. He has previously held roles as an area scout and national scout, and is expected to play a notable role in the upcoming 2022 NFL Draft.

At the pro level, Wolf will collaborate with Steve Cargile, who will continue to serve as New England’s pro scouting director. Each will join head coach Bill Belichick in helping to craft the personnel decision for the Pats throughout this upcoming season.

Whether it will be enough to extend the working relationship beyond this season is still a question which will be answered in the coming months.