NFL insider shares interesting nugget on Patriots’ front office dynamics

In a recent "NFL Mailbag" article posted Wednesday at Sports Illustrated, Albert Breer gave an intriguing piece of insight to the Patriots' front office dynamics, and what the future holds for Eliot Wolf and Ryan Cowden.

It began when an emailer asked Breer the following question: "Is Ryan Cowden going to take Eliot Wolf's job/title at the end of the upcoming season?"

"I don’t think things are nearly as bad in New England as you may have been led to believe," Breer said. "I think the proof of it is in the hire of A.J. Highsmith as the team’s new pro scouting director. Highsmith is the son of Alonzo Highsmith, who is the right-hand man to EVP of player personnel Eliot Wolf. Hiring someone that close to Wolf into a vital director’s role is a good indication that Wolf's going nowhere.

"The connection many people didn't make is Mike Vrabel's link to fellow Ohioan Chad Brinker," he continued. "Brinker and Vrabel worked together for a year in Tennessee and had a strong relationship. Brinker is very close to Wolf, with whom he spent nearly a decade with in Green Bay. Vrabel learned the Packers' scouting system in his time with Brinker and talked to Brinker about Wolf before taking the Patriots job."

The aforementioned 'Chad Brinker connection,' seems to be Breer's way of saying that Vrabel and Wolf are much more in line with each other than one may expect. Wolf and Brinker worked together in Green Bay from 2009 - when Brinker was a scouting inter and Wolf was the assistant director of pro personnel - until 2018 when Wolf became the Browns assisted general manager. Vrabel worked with Brinker in 2023.

"Could things go wrong from here? Sure. That's always a possibility when you have a scouting chief inheriting a coach or vice versa," Breer concluded. "But I think Vrabel, Wolf and VP of player personnel Ryan Cowden, who got close to Vrabel in Tennessee, are on the same page now."

So at least for now, the Patriots' front office seems to be operating smoothly. Who knows what sour dynamics may arise, but fans can rest assured that ill will hasn't reared its ugly head yet, nor are the guys in charge at odds with each other.

Luke Graham is a digital sports content co-op for 98.5 the Sports Hub. He is currently a sophomore at Northeastern University studying communications and media studies. Read all his articles here, and follow him on X @LukeGraham05.