Patriots Senior Bowl Attendees Hints At Regime’s Power Structure

Mike Vrabel brought in his loyal confidants after he was hired by the New England Patriots, but it might not be a complete overhaul.

One notable hire Vrabel made was naming Ryan Cowden as a personnel executive. Cowden worked closely with Vrabel while the two were with the Tennesee Titans, but it added questions regarding the power hierarchy at Foxboro, Mass.

Those questions might have been answered Tuesday when the Patriots arrived in Mobile, Ala., for the 2025 Senior Bowl. Vrabel, Cowden vice president of player personnel Eliot Wolf and director of player personnel Matt Groh were in attendance, per Evan Lazar of Patriots.com and Taylor Kyles of CLNS Media.

That all but confirms that Wolf and Groh will maintain control of the New England front office in some capacity. Vrabel is expected to lead the charge in executing his vision for his team, but he noted in his introductory news conference he planned to collaborate with Wolf and the existing front office.

Senior personnel executive Alonzo Highsmith was sent to scout the East-West Shrine Bowl in Dallas last week, per the Boston Sports Journal. So there don’t seem to be that many dramatic changes to the front office despite speculated belief.