INDIANAPOLIS – One way to describe Eliot Wolf’s response to reporters about whether he continues to have final say over the Patriots roster?
A verbal tap dance.
During his first media session since training camp last year, it sure sounded like Wolf couldn’t decide what to say about his level of control, or the best way to say it.
He said he did have final say, but then he sort of didn’t. He said he did, but Mike Vrabel was also involved.
So which is it?
“Ultimately, it’s my final say, but again, Mike again … Mike said it yesterday: Mike wouldn’t have taken this job,“ Wolf said pausing, before finishing his thought. ”And this is something we talked about in the interview process; Mike wouldn’t have taken this job if we weren’t comfortable with each other.“
Comfortable, as in knowing everyone’s place in the pecking order.
Vrabel wouldn’t have taken the job if he couldn’t make the call on draft day, or any day when it came to the Patriots roster.
He wouldn’t have taken the job if he couldn’t usurp the de facto GM who brought Chuks Okorafor into the Patriots’ existence.
Vrabel wouldn’t have signed on, if Wolf, who took responsibility for all of his failures last season, still had the final word.
Wolf did his best, however, to make it sound like a collaborative effort, something that had been preached ad nauseam with the prior regime.
“There’s not going to be Mike’s guys or Eliot’s guys,” Wolf said. “There are going to be Patriot guys, and we’re excited to share the vision to work together to improve the roster.”
The reality?
The delineation of power is clear and present.
It’s Vrabel. Then the rest.
Wolf is certainly in the mix for now. He has a voice. So does veteran personnel man Alonzo Highsmith.
Wolf still operates with the executive VP of personnel title, and he and his staff have done most of the work on the prospects in the upcoming draft.
But Vrabel’s hand-picked personnel man, Ryan Cowden, is also working alongside Wolf.
John Streicher, Vrabel’s master of everything, is also in the coach’s ear.
Bottom line: This is Vrabel’s show, and everyone else is following his lead.
On Tuesday Vrabel didn’t pull any punches. He drew the line in the sand.
“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 said.
For Vrabel, impact equals control. His voice is the loudest on the issues that matter most.
The Patriots coach is certainly going to listen to what others have to say. He’ll value everyone’s input. But if there isn’t a consensus, or if there’s a need for a tie-breaking vote, Vrabel owns it.
“We want to continue to have great conversations with the personnel staff, with me, with Stretch, with coaching,” Vrabel said. “We’re all just trying to find ways to bring the right players in here, whether that’s the first part of free agency, [the] middle free agency like we talked about, or the draft.
“There’s going to be players who get released that we’ll have to pivot to and have options. So again, we need to strengthen the roster. We understand that. And have some really good conversations as to how we get there.”
Wolf, once again not sounding like a man in charge, suggested he wouldn’t add players the coaching staff doesn’t want.
“I would just say, listening to coach Vrabel, there’s not a lot of GMs, or people in my position in this business, that are going to force players on a coaching staff,” Wolf said. “Certainly the best decisions are made together, and going to continue to work with Mike, and (vice president of player personnel) Ryan (Cowden) and (vice president of football operations and strategy John Streicher), and the scouting staff, (director of research) Richard Miller and everybody, to make those decisions the best we can for the team.”
In truth, Wolf characterized the situation perfectly. He has the final say, but …
Filling in the blank, he has final say but will stand down if Vrabel doesn’t agree.
Jerod Mayo claimed to have that kind of veto power last year, but didn’t exercise it. Or was afraid to use it.
Vrabel won’t be shy. He didn’t sign on to take over the head job to lose, or lay blame elsewhere.
“We all want to win. That’s why we’re here. That’s why I got hired,” Vrabel said Tuesday. “It’s to win, to put a product on the field that (the fans) can be excited about, that they can care about, and they can support. Like that’s the whole goal. And, … they shouldn’t have to wait very long, you know.”
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