The New England Patriots' first season with Jerod Mayo as head coach and Eliot Wolf leading the front office hasn't gone smoothly. As the Patriots limp into Week 16 with a 3-11 record, some are clamoring for owner Robert Kraft to consider a change in leadership within the organization.
The alternative? Add an experienced "football overlord" to the operation. NBC Sports Boston's Patriots insider Tom E. Curran pitched the idea after a Patriots Talk Podcast conversation with former Pats exec Scott Pioli. Perhaps someone like Pioli, former Atlanta Falcons general manager Thomas Dimitroff, or another veteran front-office leader could set the current inexperienced group straight.
That proposition sparked a debate on the latest episode of the Patriots Talk Podcast between Curran and fellow Patriots insider Phil Perry, who played devil's advocate.
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"In addition to the notion of a football overlord, I look at Scott Pioli and go, well, he just articulated everything," Curran said. "He is experienced enough to know it's a business. And if he has to come in, doesn't matter if he knows Eliot Wolf, doesn't matter if he knows Jerod Mayo, doesn't matter which assistants he knows, doesn't matter if it's ownership.
"I think that he is emboldened enough as a guy having known him to say, 'You guys need to stop yelling at these guys down here, and you guys gotta fix this draft, and you have no plan, Mr. Assistant Coach; sorry, it's been great I'm sure, but we're gonna replace you.' That's why I think it's good."
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While Perry isn't completely opposed to the idea of a "football overlord," he's reluctant to add another decision-maker to the existing front office. Doing so could make Wolf and/or Mayo redundant.
"Does the football overlord have final say on things like the draft, on things like game planning? Can he march into any office and say, 'This is how it's gonna be?" Perry asked.
"If you're telling me that he can stop a disaster from happening but he also can't whisper to him on a Wednesday when they're getting ready for the Bills, 'I don't love that blitz that we have in here. Just FYI, I've seen Josh Allen kill that blitz. Don't put that blitz in there.' ... If he does have final say, this overlord, if I'm ownership, why am I paying all this money to the guys directly beneath him? If it's a Scott Pioli type, why am I paying Eliot Wolf? If it's a Bill Parcells type, why am I paying Jerod Mayo?"
Also in the episode:
- Our wish list for the Patriots on Sunday
- Getting Jerod Mayo and Alex Van Pelt on the same page
