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Callahan: Eliot Wolf isn’t holding back on the Patriots’ rebuild

Published

11 months ago

February 28, 2024

Callahan: Eliot Wolf isn’t holding back on the Patriots’ rebuild

INDIANAPOLIS — From wherever his office inside the Patriots’ facility last season, Eliot Wolf must have gazed out his window and shook his head.

There was the talent-starved roster. The overworked, politicking coaching staff. The culture that grated members instead of building them up.

How do I know Wolf felt this way?

Well, setting aside the 4-13 record, he said as much Tuesday.

The Patriots’ old culture? Too punishing.

“Certainly,” he said at the NFL Scouting Combine, “there’s more of an open, less hard-ass type vibe in the building that we can move forward with.”

The offense? Not dangerous enough.

“We need to weaponize the offense,” Wolf said.

The defense? Too slow.

“We need to be faster and more explosive on defense,” he added.

Credit to him. The Patriots’ de facto GM is not running from the truth, nor the task at hand, nor the long, Bill Belichick-shaped shadow over his upcoming rebuild. That shadow, in the end, fostered an environment that accelerated the Patriots’ downfall after their competitive margins shrank to virtually nothing.

The coaching staff fractured, and the quarterback broke, while his own defense pointed fingers from across the locker room. Wolf saw it, and so did Mayo. That’s why they’re publicly shining a light on the darkness and looking ahead.

Patriots to meet with top three quarterback prospects at combine

Now before the Belichick defenders charge over the hill, swords out and shields ready to defend the greatest coach of all time, remember that Belichick earned the nickname “Doom” more than a decade before he took over in New England. Belichick’s greatness, his genius, was inseparable from the doom persona that birthed a hardline, thankless work environment in Foxboro. That environment worked because it was authentic to Belichick, and perpetuated by talented inferiors who believed in him, including the greatest quarterback to ever play.

Then, the quarterback left, more talent followed him out the door, the beatings continued, morale didn’t improve, and Belichick was gone, too.

The Krafts clearly believe Belichick was at the heart of their problems, and viewed Wolf as part of the solution.

Wolf is an outsider the team adopted in 2020, a 20-year veteran of NFL front offices who understands their football operations intimately but has maintained a professional identity and belief system separate from The Patriot Way. Or, as director of player personnel Matt Groh once described Patriot lifers, he hasn’t been “institutionalized.”

Wolf began to free his colleagues in recent weeks, encouraging them to speak more openly in a recent series of meetings that introduced a new scouting system and grading scale that he’s implemented from Green Bay.

“I was actually really encouraged by everybody willing to just say their opinion, even if it was different from the previous person,” Wolf said. “Having those open, honest meetings and working together to determine the best outcome is definitely what’s important.”

He later added: “This process is a lot more collaborative. We hear from the scouts more. We’re going to be able to determine together what’s the best thing for the team at the end of the day.”

Eliot Wolf: Patriots ‘definitely’ want to re-sign Kyle Dugger, Mike Onwenu

That last line should ring familiar. It was a Belichick go-to, the center square in his press conference bingo card. But as far as Belichick’s scouting processes? Those are getting ripped out by the roots.

More from Wolf: “The previous Patriots system was more, ‘This is what the role is,’ and this is more value-based. I think it makes it a lot easier for scouts to rate guys and put them in a stack of, ‘This guy’s the best, this guy’s the worst,’ and everything in between falls into place.

“Rather than more nuanced approaches. I just think it accounts for value better, and it also makes it easier for the scouts in the fall, as well as in the spring, where guys are going to be drafted.”

Naturally, such sweeping change is being met with pockets of resistance. Wolf’s stated goal of returning the Patriots to “respectability” also irked some. But not those inside the building.

One Patriots personnel evaluator later admitted to the Herald that the front office feels a loss of respect across the league. Player agents have insisted privately the Patriots must pay top dollar to sign their clients this offseason, a tax for being a losing team in a small market. Wolf did not commit to a free-agent spending spree, but shared part of his pitch to those players.

“This is a new program,” he said. “We’re heading in the right direction. It’s a new era.”

A new era founded on old ideas from Green Bay, where Wolf contributed to a Super Bowl-winning team in 2010. During that time, Wolf learned what a championship team feels like, sounds like, plays like. Wolf described The Packer Way as a belief system rooted in drafting and development, honesty and respect.

It’s a slow build, with a long-term payoff. Though Wolf didn’t sidestep expectations for 2024. He met them head-on, like every other aspect of his job to date.

What will a successful season look like for the Patriots?

“Really just showing good progress and turning the culture around,” he said. “And competing for the playoffs is something we’re not going to shy away from.”

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Greater Boston enjoys a light snow, travel not significantly impacted – The Boston Globe

Published

6 hours ago

January 11, 2025

Press Room

Greater Boston enjoys a light snow, travel not significantly impacted – The Boston Globe

The snow showers come from a weakening system approaching from the Great Lakes that tapped into some of the moisture from a strong storm passing south of New England.

The region was spared the worst precipitation of the storm thanks to persistent sub-freezing temperatures earlier this week, which pushed it south toward its current location off the coast of North Carolina, Nocera said. New England’s light snowfall is on the northern fringes of the storm.

Nocera added that this weekend’s “decorative snow” will not significantly impact ground travel.

The Massachusetts Port Authority issued a travel advisory for flight delays at Boston Logan International Airport. According to the flight tracking website Flight Aware, as of around 1:00 p.m. 212 flights were delayed at Boston Logan and another 15 were cancelled.

Margo Griffin, a teaching associate at the University of Cambridge in England, was initially worried about driving through the snow on her way to get coffee in Cambridge, but said the view from the Charles River was worth the trek.

“I thought it might be a problem, but I just decided to go ahead with the plan, and I’m enjoying walking through the snow,” Griffin said.

People walked along a snow-covered path at the Arnold Arboretum in Boston Saturday, as a winter storm brought light accumulation to New England.

Erin Clark / Globe Staff

Other Boston-area residents who spoke to the Globe Saturday morning were happy to wake up to the winter scene on Saturday.

“I am feeling wonderful about the snow. I haven’t seen it in a long time,” said Barbara Delollis, a communications lead at Harvard Business School.

Delollis already made snow day plans.

“We want to go out and have some fun in the snow, and take a lot of pictures and just remember this moment, because we don’t know how much more snowfall we’re going to see in the Boston area anymore with climate change,” Delollis said.

Talia, a Cambridge resident, said that the snow had no effect on her plans to attend synagogue with her two-year-old son Saturday morning.

“It feels nice and seasonal, which is cool because climate change is terrifying,” she said.

Snowstorms can still occur, despite warming temperatures from climate change, Nocera said. Although Saturday’s snowfall cannot guarantee heavy snow this winter, there is a slightly higher chance of snow towards the end of the month as cold temperatures ease.

A frostbite sailor passed snow covered houseboats while headed out to race on the Annisquam River in Gloucester, Mass. Jan. 11, 2025. John Blanding/Globe Staff/The Boston Globe

Materials from previous Globe stories were used in this report.

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Boston College drops Hockey East contest to Merrimack

Published

18 hours ago

January 11, 2025

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Boston College drops Hockey East contest to Merrimack

The second-ranked Boston College men’s hockey team suffered its first home loss of the season, falling to Merrimack by a score of 5-2 in Hockey East action on Friday night at Kelley Rink. The Eagles jumped out to a 2-0 lead early in the second, but the Warriors scored the next five. BC falls to 12-4-1 overall and 6-3-1 in Hockey East, while Merrimack improves to 8-10-1 overall and 4-5-1 in league play. The Eagles opened the scoring midway through the first period when Oskar Jellvik one-timed the rebound off an Aram Minnetian shot that was saved by the Merrimack goaltender. Minnetian’s shot fell right into the path of Jellvik for the quick shot into the open net to put the Eagles in front. BC added to its lead shortly into the second period when Brady Berard scored a short-handed goal. Merrimack responded 32 seconds later with a power-play goal to get on the board, before scoring the game-tying goal less than one minute after that. The Warriors took the lead nearly three minutes later when Merrimack scored its third goal of the period. The Warriors scored twice in the third period to push their lead to three. Jacob Fowler made 23 saves while Nils Wallstrom had 27 stops for Merrimack.

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Syracuse men’s basketball: predictions and poll vs Boston College

Published

1 day ago

January 10, 2025

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Syracuse men’s basketball: predictions and poll vs Boston College

The Syracuse Orange (7-8, 1-3) are back on the road tomorrow to face the Boston College Eagles (9-6, 1-3). The game tips off at 3:00 ET on The CW and here’s what we’re predicting in this #OrangeEagle battle:

Kevin: Syracuse 82, Boston College 80

I’m thinking this is higher scoring than the metrics suggest because neither team defends well. I also have a feeling that Elijah Moore hits double-figures in this one. Moore didn’t make a shot against Georgia Tech, but he didn’t commit a turnover and I’m looking for him to get an early 3 to drop and for him to find space as the Eagles try and contain JJ Starling and Eddie Lampkin. It’s not going to be pretty, but I’m taking Syracuse to get their 1st road win of the year.

Max: Syracuse 72, Boston College 65

The Orange finally have some momentum going into this one and a lowly Eagles team is just what the doctor ordered for another win. Believe it or not, Syracuse’s offense shoots better from the field and commits fewer turnovers than BC (and most of those numbers are without Starling). We’ll see if Donnie Freeman suits up, but hopefully, it doesn’t matter against a Boston College defense that allows its opponents to shoot over 57% in conference play (worst rate in ACC).

Dom: Syracuse 79, Boston College 73

BC’s offense over the course of the year is very much hot or cold, but I don’t expect a repeat performance of the Orange’s defense compared to how things turned out against Georgia Tech. That being said, if both defenses are going to be suspect, Syracuse will have the best scorer on the floor and I think this is the game we see J.J. Starling have a pre-injury-like performance that propels Syracuse to the win column once again.

Szuba: Syracuse 78, Boston College 71

Syracuse has certainly struggled and has been shorthanded this year, but it still hasn’t fallen to the Boston College threshold. BC doesn’t do much of anything well — it rebounds decently, it shoots from three at a fair clip but overall the offense is poor and its defense is worse. I would think Syracuse should be able to score the ball more effectively in this game as opposed to last. Starling leads the way once more with solid contributions from Lampkin and the supporting cast as the Orange win its second straight conference game.

Sam: Boston College 72, Syracuse 70

This prediction hinges on Donnie Freeman not playing, if he does, I’d probably lean towards Syracuse by a point or two. Without him, I’m just not confident enough to pick the Orange on the road – a building they lost in last year – even against a bad Boston College team. There’s undoubtedly a path to a win, specifically, if the Orange can force about 15 or more turnovers, and convert off of them. A true toss-up game for me.

Mike: Syracuse 78, Boston College 70

Two really bad defenses should make these not-so-great offenses look better for one afternoon. Like Sam said this is the definition of a toss-up and I really think it’ll be close all the way through. This should be a time where Lampkin can use his size in the paint and be the one to break the stalemate.

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