Eliot Wolf: Patriots had ‘varying levels of dysfunction’ before Mike Vrabel era

PHOENIX – Eliot Wolf had been dreaming about running a front office since he was a child. He used to hang around the scouting offices at Lambeau Field when his father, Ron Wolf, was the general manager of the Green Bay Packers. He got a chance to realize that dream in 2024 when Robert Kraft hired Wolf as the executive vice president of player personnel.

Of course, that job initially didn’t exactly make him pinch himself. Instead, the Patriots ' 2024 campaign with then-head coach Jerod Mayo was anything but a dream. Following another 4-win season, the Patriots moved on and hired Mike Vrabel.

That led to a productive offseason for Wolf and the Patriots’ front office. After a 14-win season, which ended in the Super Bowl, the Patriots’ de facto general manager admitted Monday that he’s having a lot more fun adding pieces to the roster as opposed to another rebuild. “I definitely think it’s more enjoyable.

We had varying levels of dysfunction over the last three years, before 2025, and it was kind of rewarding to be able to, first of all, we won, but we also had some stability for the first time in a few years,” Wolf said. “That’s always rewarding and just kind of understanding that for our staff, it’s easier for them to understand exactly what kind of players we’re looking for. So in those areas, it’s been fun.