“It’s almost like a party trick,” Berry said. “We can pull up a player — ‘What’s this guy’s height? What’s this guy’s weight?’ And Eliot could just rattle them off like that. He can remember everything.”
The Patriots now hope that Wolf remembers the lessons he learned in nearly three decades spent around the Packers — first as a football brat, being the son of Hall of Fame general manager Ron Wolf, then in 14 years as a scout and personnel executive.
The Patriots haven’t just made Wolf the leader of the new front office following Bill Belichick’s departure — Wolf said Tuesday he will have final say on draft decisions — they are hoping he can implement the “Packer Way” in Foxborough and make it the new “Patriot Way.”
“The Packer Way to me is just sort of draft and develop, extend your core performers from within, and it’s about honesty, respect, and treating people the right way,” Wolf said. “It’s about people and developing people.”
In other words, the opposite of what the Patriots were under Belichick — secretive, dictatorial, with a “do your job” ethos that discouraged professional growth.
There are worse organizations to emulate than the Packers. Since 1991, when Ron Wolf arrived as general manager, they have had 23 playoff appearances in 33 seasons; two Super Bowl wins, plus one loss; nine NFC Championship games; the third-best win percentage in the NFL (.618); and most impressively, just three starting quarterbacks (Brett Favre, Aaron Rodgers, and Jordan Love).
Eliot Wolf, now 41, was 9 when his father took the Packers job. He has been going to the NFL Scouting Combine since he was 10, skipping school against his mother’s wishes to help his father scout prospects.
“My dad used to sit down at the start of the 40s,” Wolf said. “It was him, Bill Parcells, and Al Davis, and I was just sitting there soaking it up.”
He has lived and breathed the philosophies and principles that Ron Wolf implemented and passed down to coaches Mike Holmgren, Mike Sherman, Jon Gruden, Mike McCarthy, and Matt LaFleur, and future general managers Ted Thompson, Brian Gutekunst, John Dorsey, and John Schneider.
“My time in Green Bay meant everything,” Wolf said. “It’s where I learned my foundation of scouting, leadership, how to treat people, how to deal with people. It’s prepared me for this moment to help the New England Patriots get back to where we need to go.”
Wolf has already made one big change, scrapping Belichick’s prospect grading system for the Packers system. Belichick’s system attempted to pigeonhole players for specific roles, often resulting in the Patriots making picks that left draftniks scratching their heads. Wolf says his system “accounts for value better.”
“I think it makes it a lot easier for scouts to rate guys and put them in a stack of, like, ‘This guy’s the best, this guy’s the worst,’ and everything in between falls into place,” Wolf said. “It’s actually been really encouraging. The scouts have been really open to it; some guys have been here 20 years with the old system.”
What else does the Packer Way entail? The concept of collaboration comes up time and again. The Patriots’ drafting woes over the past decade can be traced largely to Belichick ignoring scouts and draft boards and going with his gut.
“We had a series of meetings last week that were tremendous for us as we all got on the same page in terms of what our team needs are,” Wolf said. “I was actually really encouraged by everybody just willing to say their opinion, even if it was different from the previous person.”
Wolf said position coaches will be empowered to give opinions on draft prospects and free agents.
“We don’t want to force players on them that they don’t like,” Wolf said.
The Patriots will emphasize the draft over free agency, and retaining core players for their second contracts. Not only did the Patriots struggle in the draft over the last decade, but they let most players leave in free agency when it was time to get paid.
The Packers haven’t completely avoided free agency — Reggie White, Charles Woodson, Julius Peppers, and Za’Darius Smith were among their high-profile signings — but they usually strike strategically after building through the draft.
The Packer Way puts outsized importance on the quarterback position. Even after trading for Favre in 1991, Ron Wolf still drafted a quarterback in seven of the next eight years. Not all of them hit, but that group included Matt Hasselbeck, Aaron Brooks, and Mark Brunell (plus undrafted free agent Kurt Warner).
Wolf said “all options are on the table” for the Patriots with the No. 3 pick, but all signs point to him taking a quarterback, likely Jayden Daniels or Drake Maye.
“I think it’s a really good year for quarterbacks,” Wolf said. “We have to determine who can handle being the quarterback of the New England Patriots.”
And the Packer Way means being patient at quarterback. Both Rodgers and Love sat for three years before taking over. Three years on the bench is extreme and not likely to be replicated in New England, but don’t be surprised if the Patriots draft a quarterback at No. 3 and then park him on the bench for a year (or at least attempt to).
Wolf left Green Bay in 2018 after being passed over for the general manager job, and has spent the last six years working as a top personnel scout for the Browns and Patriots. His colleagues believe he’s ready to implement the principles that have guided the Packers for 33 years and helped send his father to the Hall of Fame.
“Honestly, it’s probably long overdue for him to have his shot,” said Berry, the Browns GM. “Eliot is incredibly smart, he’s a very strong evaluator, and he has fantastic people skills. He’ll be able to relate to scouts, support people, players. The Patriots are in good hands.”
Ben Volin can be reached at [email protected].
