Mike Vrabel bringing new exec to Patriots front office

Mike Vrabel is bringing a new voice into the Patriots front office.

According to a source, the expectation is that Ryan Cowden will join New England’s front office in some capacity. A long-time executive, Cowden, 46, spent the last two seasons with the Giants as an executive advisor to general manager Joe Schoen. It’s unknown what Cowden’s exact title will be in Foxborough, but Charles Robinson of Yahoo reports executive vice president of player personnel Eliot Wolf will retain personnel control.

Cowden’s connection with Vrabel goes back to their time in Tennessee where he was the Titans director of player personnel (2016–2017), vice president of player personnel (2018–2022), and interim general manager (2022). According to The Athletic, Vrabel wanted Cowden to be the Titans general manager in 2023, but owner Amy Adams Strunk hired Ran Carthon instead.

In his press conference after firing Jerod Mayo, Patriots owner Robert Kraft indicated New England’s next coach would have a significant say in personnel matters.

“Obviously, (the next coach) is going to have big input on who the players are and who the coaches are. It’ll be his decision,” Kraft said last week. “We move fast and we’re going to let him make those decisions.”

Cowden is expected to work with the Patriots current front office setup. Wolf was hired to be the team’s executive vice president of player personnel last offseason. He led a group that included Matt Groh (director of player personnel), Pat Stewart (director of pro personnel) and Alonzo Highsmith (senior personnel executive).

Wolf and Highsmith assisted Patriots ownership with their search for a new head coach.

Cowden started his NFL career in Carolina as a scouting assistant in 2000. He worked his way up as an area scout (2001-2007), a national scout (2008-2012), a national scout/senior college scout (2012-2014) and as the assistant director of college scouting (2014-2015) for the Panthers.

The Patriots hired Vrabel to be the franchise’s 16th head coach on Sunday morning. He’ll be introduced in a press conference at Gillette Stadium on Monday afternoon.

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