“We’re excited to share the vision to work together to improve the roster,” Wolf said this week.
The New England Patriots may not fully be back to square one, but they do have returned to an unfamiliar territory.
One year after handing the keys to the franchise over to Jerod Mayo and Eliot Wolf as head coach and quasi-general manager, respectively, only the latter remains. Mayo was fired after a 4-13 campaign Wolf later also shouldered the blame for, with Mike Vrabel being brought aboard as the new HC.
With a new coach come new priorities, and the need for a recalibrated vision: Vrabel and Wolf both know that their relationship and ability to get on the same page will help determine the success of this new phase of the Patriots’ rebuild.
The team is counting on that process going smoothly.
“We’re excited to share the vision to work together to improve the roster,” Wolf told the media at the NFL Scouting Combine on Wednesday.
“Mike wouldn’t have taken this job — and this is something we talked about in the interview process — if we weren’t comfortable with each other. There’s not going to be ‘Mike’s guys’ or ‘Eliot’s guys.’ There are going to be ‘Patriot guys.’”
Despite the pair publicly being aligned in that regard, there is some room for friction. Unlike when Bill Belichick was running the show atop the Patriots’ football operations, the group is still split in two: Wolf sitting atop the personnel department and having final say on the roster, as he reaffirmed Tuesday, and Vrabel being the head coach.
Despite the division, Vrabel said this week that he too wants — and will have — his fair share of input on matters related to player acquisition.
“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,” Vrabel explained. “We want to continue to have great conversations with the personnel staff, with me, with [John Streicher], with coaching. We’re all just trying to find ways to bring the right players in here.”
Wolf seems to be happy with that process so far.
“It’s been really cool and rewarding so far working with Coach Vrabel,” he said. “He has a lot of great ideas, a vision for the team, an effort that we’re all working together. He’s met with the scouts, he’s met with me, he’s met with everybody. It’s all authentic and genuine, and it’s really good to see just how he’s developed and how we’re all going to develop this thing together moving forward.”
The togetherness will also be part of the selling strategy with free agency coming up. The Patriots, who are projected to have upwards of $130 million available, are expected to be quite active and potentially in play for some of the big hitters to enter the market.
Obviously, money will do most of the talking. As Vrabel pointed out, however, presenting a clear vision will also be key.
“You talk about our program and what we want to do and the people that we have in our building and the vision that we have for it and how we’re going to use them,” Vrabel said about pitching the Patriots to prospective free agents.
“‘Here’s what we’ve done. Here’s what we will do. Here’s where we see you fitting in. If that works for you, then let’s make it happen, if it’s good for both sides.’”
A vision is not all the Patriots can offer heading toward free agency; they also have considerable money and a potential franchise quarterback. However, the market will be competitive and New England needs to be able to present a good package.
Vrabel and Wolf being aligned is the starting point for that.