The New England Patriots have hired Mike Vrabel as their new head coach, and many are wondering what level of personnel control the former linebacker is going to have. One front office move that the team made may have offered a hint about that.
The Patriots on Monday hired New York Giants senior advisor Ryan Cowden, according to multiple reports. Cowden was still under contract with the Giants, but New York let him out of the deal so he could reunite with Vrabel.
Cowden worked in the player personnel department with the Tennessee Titans from 2016-2022. He was the vice president of player personnel for the five seasons that Vrabel was the head coach in Tennessee. Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated expects Cowden to have a similar title in New England and serve as the de facto No. 2 under Patriots general manager Eliot Wolf.
Giants senior advisor Ryan Cowden has accepted a job with the Patriots, per sources. Cowden will have a big role in the New England front office, and be reunited with Mike Vrabel.
Title will be along the lines of VP of player personnel. He'll be de facto No. 2 to Eliot Wolf.
— Albert Breer (@AlbertBreer) January 13, 2025
Vrabel mentioned Wolf multiple times during the coach’s introductory press conference on Monday. Vrabel said he is looking forward to sitting down with Wolf and working together with him.
#Patriots HC Mike Vrabel on the roster:
“[I’m] excited to sit down with Eliot [Wolf] and his staff… figure out where we're at and what we want to do. I'm confident all of those types of decisions will sort themselves out."
I recommended listening to the full response: pic.twitter.com/S979r2wmW2
— Carlos A. Lopez (@LosTalksPats) January 13, 2025
Patriots owner Robert Kraft had also said previously that Wolf would remain with the team even after Jerod Mayo was fired. Wolf has been with the Patriots since 2020 and was promoted after Bill Belichick — the team’s previous de facto GM — was pushed out.
From the look of it, Kraft has his own player personnel guy in Wolf, while Vrabel now has his guy in Cowden. It is possible everyone will coexist and rebuild one of the worst rosters in football, but the environment is certainly ripe for a power struggle.
