Green Bay Roots to Foxborough Glory and a Super Bowl Run

Eliot Wolf has lived a football life that feels almost mythic. It’s part NFL apprenticeship with his Green Bay roots, and now, a leadership role bringing Foxborough glory and propelling the Patriots back onto the sport’s biggest stage. Wolf is the Executive Vice President of Player Personnel for New England. And just two years after being named to the team’s top spot, the Patriots are on a Super Bowl run.

But Sports Reporter Mike Clemens says what stands out most while talking with Wolf isn’t the résumé.

It’s the gratitude.

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Listen to the complete discussion here:

A Green Bay Childhood That Sparked a Career

Wolf grew up in Green Bay and attended Notre Dame Academy, a place he still speaks about with warmth.

He says he keeps in touch with more high school friends than college ones. A testament to how deeply those early years shaped him.

And then there’s the legendary Ted Thompson story.

For years, people joked that Thompson — a future Hall of Fame–level executive and Wolf’s longtime mentor —used to babysit him. Wolf laughs that off.

“He never babysat me,” Wolf says. “I’d just go into his office after school and watch film with him.”

That “babysitting” apparently included helping set the Packers’ draft board as a young teenager. Wolf remembers it as a time he was fascinated by the process, not realizing he was getting a head start on his future career.

And now, he’s also paying it forward. The son of Patriots college scouting director Tony Kinkela occasionally comes by to watch film—just like Wolf once did in Green Bay.

Lessons From Ted Thompson That Still Guide Him

Wolf spent years working alongside Thompson after he came from Seattle to run the Packers. Those lessons stuck.

Wolf says he still asks himself: What would Ted do?

Patience. Methodical thinking. Deliberate decision-making.

Those traits echo in his own approach, especially when he catches himself overthinking a decision.

A Fast Rise—But Built on Years of Work

Moving from Cleveland to New England, Wolf’s ascent to de facto GM has felt quick from the outside. But he credits the people around him, including:

• Coach Mike Vrabel, whose leadership and identity have shaped the team
• Players who’ve bought into the vision
• A front office aligned on long-term success

And of course, the Kraft family.

“Their support’s unbelievable,” he explains, “always positive, always asking what you need.”

The New England Reality and the Packers Shadow

Many assumed Wolf would eventually succeed Thompson as the Packers’ GM. He heard the chatter for years, too. Yet he remains nothing but appreciative of his time in Green Bay.

He also pushes back on the idea that the Packers are falling behind.

“Brian’s doing a great job. They have a great team,” Wolf says.

Still, the irony isn’t lost on fans. John Schneider left Green Bay and built a Super Bowl winner in Seattle. And Wolf has the Patriots in the big game after just two seasons. But he doesn’t hide from the truth. The two hardest decisions in football are hiring the right head coach and drafting the right quarterback.

And Wolf believes the Patriots nailed both.

• Mike Vrabel, hired after his release from Tennessee
• Drake Maye, the quarterback they believe can lead for years

“Those choices,” Wolf says, “set the foundation for everything else.”

A Network of Mentors—and a Family Moment

Wolf still leans on longtime Seahawks GM John Schneider for advice, just as he did in Cleveland and early in New England. He says Schneider always picks up the phone.

And if this Super Bowl run isn’t already special, something is making it extra special. His father, Ron Wolf—Hall of Fame executive and architect of the Brett Favre era—is there to see all of it.