No Surprise To See Candidates Turn Down Patriots’ GM Interviews

Personnel leaders around the NFL likely view Eliot Wolf as the next head honcho of the Patriots football operations department, and because of that they’re not willing to waste their time interviewing for New England’s “open” position.

The Patriots reportedly requested to interview three external candidates. All three reportedly turned down the chance to interview with Robert Kraft and company.

According to multiple reports, Cincinnati Bengals senior personnel executive Trey Brown declined, former Arizona Cardinals vice president of player personnel Quentin Harris declined and Buffalo Bills director of player personnel Terrance Gray also turned them down.

The Patriots still have to satisfy the league’s processes before they can hire their next head of personnel, whether it be Wolf or someone else. Among those processes is the Rooney Rule, which requires the Patriots to conduct in-person interviews with at least two external, minority and/or female candidates. A candidate declining an interview does not qualify as an interview.

The exact title of New England’s open position is not yet known, but CBS Sports’ Jonathan Jones reported Monday it is expected to outrank all other positions in football operations. It’s expected to the position will be similar to the role as an NFL general manager, Jones reported.

The Patriots have not revealed whether or not they have conducted an in-person interview with any external candidates. Multiple reports have surfaced, however, that Wolf is viewed as the favorite inside the organization and inside league circles.

It’s ultimately why others are not interested, and might make it difficult on New England to find candidates willing to interview.