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When it comes to hiring for the coaching staff and the front office, the New England Patriots seem to keep their circle tight. The organization has hired and re-hired several of Bill Belichick-groomed assistants for the coaching staff.
The team is now hiring the sons of Belichick’s longtime friends and colleagues. With Dave Ziegler leaving the Patriots to become the new general manager of the Las Vegas Raiders, New England had to fill his old post of Director of Player Personnel.
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The man who replaces him will be Matt Groh, the son of Al Groh, who has worked alongside Belichick at every NFL team the Hoodie has ever called home. The Patriots aren’t hiring the younger Groh from out of nowhere. This is a promote-from-within situation as Groh has been with the Patriots organization for 11 years.
In 2021, Groh served as the team’s college scouting director, so the promotion to the director of player personnel was a natural move. Groh originally joined the Patriots organization as a scouting assistant and he remained in that role for 2 seasons before graduating to the role of area scout and then national scout. Groh is also a Hingham, Mass. native, so he was raised in Patriots country before heading to Princeton where he played quarterback before graduating in 2003. Groh also earned a law degree from the University of Virginia in 2008.
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The Patriots Have Had 3 DOPP in As Many Seasons
While promoting from within stands to keep continuity in an organization that has thrived on that concept for decades, the consistent changes at the Director of Player Personnel spot might create some hiccups.
Groh will be the third man to occupy that role in as many seasons. Nick Caserio was the DOPP in 2019 before he was hired away by the Houston Texans to be their general manager ahead of the 2020 season.
Caserio was replaced by Dave Zeigler, but the latter took the general manager job with the Las Vegas Raiders and hired former Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels. Now Groh is replacing Zeigler. The DOPP job has become a perfect stepping stone into a general manager position. With Groh’s steady progression through front office roles, it is just a matter of time before Groh is on the list for a GM hire–assuming he has success in his current role.
Who Will Replace Josh McDaniels as the Play-Caller on Offense?
Groh probably won’t have a ton of say in the decision, but many are waiting to see which member of the Patriots’ coaching staff takes on McDaniels’ play-calling responsibilities. It is obviously a crucial job for the team.
There are a few in-house possibilities including the recently-returning Joe Judge. He served as the New York Giants’ head coach for the last three years, but he has no prior experience calling plays. That’s an important thing to consider. The Patriots don’t currently have a person on their staff with that experience which could be a little troubling considering they will still have a relatively young quarterback in Mac Jones.
This is why it would be wise to retain veteran backup quarterback Brian Hoyer as he can continue to mentor Jones as he hopefully continues his upward trek.
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