Here’s your first look at Ryan Cowden as Patriots personnel exec
The hiring of head coach Mike Vrabel has brought a lot of faces new and old to New England. One of the most unfamiliar to Patriots fans is new Vice President of Player Personnel Ryan Cowden.
Cowden made his first introduction to New England in a video posted by the Patriots’ official X account from the Senior Bowl in Mobile, Alabama. Cowden has had a long career in the NFL, starting as a scouting assistant for the Carolina Panthers in 2000. He worked for three NFL organizations (Panthers, Titans, and Giants) in various player personnel roles prior to beginning his tenure in New England in 2025.
However, the team that is most pertinent to his hiring in New England was the Titans, where he and Vrabel worked hand-in-hand. Cowden began his tenure with the Titans in 2016 as their director of player personnel. In 2018, the same year Vrabel became head coach at Tennessee, Cowden was promoted to vice president of player personnel.
The two worked closely together during their tenures in Tennessee, particularly in 2022, when Cowden became the Titans’ interim general manager following the firing of Jon Robinson.
“I like to think of the personnel group: the scouts, pro [or] college, we’re kind of a team, and it’s our locker room,” Cowden said in the aforementioned video.
Cowden will collaborate with Executive Vice President of Player Personnel Eliot Wolf to build the 2025 Patriots roster. Considering his rapport with Vrabel, the three will try to work in unison to construct a more competitive team in 2025.
Luke Graham is a digital sports content co-op for 98.5 the Sports Hub. He is currently a sophomore communications student at Northeastern University. Follow him on X @LukeGraham05.
