Browns hiring Eliot Wolf as assistant G.M.

Getty Images

When the Packers announced changes to their personnel department this week, they named Brian Gutekunst their General Manager and gave Russ Ball the title of director of football operations.

They didn’t mention anything about Eliot Wolf, who interviewed for Gutekunst’s job and had Ball’s title during the 2017 season. That suggested Wolf was on his way out of Green Bay and Wolf lined up a couple of interviews with other teams to further that impression.

Now we have word that Wolf is moving on to Cleveland. According to multiple reports, Wolf has agreed to become the Browns’ assistant General Manager in a front office that has a Packers tinge to it. General Manager John Dorsey worked for Green Bay before moving to the Chiefs and Alonzo Highsmith recently made a move from the Packers to the Browns.

Wolf also reportedly had a job opportunity in Oakland to work with another former Packers exec in General Manager Reggie McKenzie, but he’ll be working to try to get the Browns their second win since the start of the 2016 season instead.

47 responses to “Browns hiring Eliot Wolf as assistant G.M.

  1. A good move for him. He can get credit for putting them on the right path. But his specialty is pro scouting, and they have so many draft choices that draft has to be the top priority – so he has work to do.
    Someday he’ll end up back in Green Bay as GM.

  2. Right now it appears that the new front office has more quarterbacking talent than the QB room. And that’s not good. Look for big changes soon! (If the Kizerceptor throws a clipboard and it is intercepted by the opposition does it show in the stats?)

  3. Viking troll once again. Things are excellent in Green Bay. Things are so excellent in Green bay that we didn’t have room for this excellent young man at this time. Good luck to him in Cleveland. We in Green Bay wish him the best and thank him for his time here.

  4. Given how many pick the Browns have all you have to do is buy ESPN insider and follow their recommendations and you are bound to get some worthwhile players, even if you are below average in talent evaluation.

    And how well have the Packers drafted recently anyway?

  5. Having worked for the Packers, Dorsey, Highsmith, and Wolf have a clear vision of what needs to be done to turn things around in Cleveland.

    Step 1: Find a Hall of Fame quarterback
    Step 2: Let’s go to happy hour

  6. Good riddance. Always was a fan and had hoped he would stay in the organization but I sure as hell won’t miss hearing about Ron’s saltiness. Really interested in hearing more behind the scenes stuff on Elliot. Is he the next coming? Is it just hype because of his last name? At only 35 and without his last name, I can’t imagine not getting the Packers GM job would be perceived as a slight like it has.

  7. I don’t blame him for leaving GB. Gutekunst’s promotion left him in scouting limbo. The Packers could have given him the same title but remember, It’s always about the money.

  8. Despite Haslam retaining the Browns power structure with him at the top, maybe he has finally realized he has to let more experienced and more qualified people run football operations and decide on personnel. I’ve always believed the analytics approach was cover for Jimmy wanting to retain the ultimate authority on personnel. Somebody said not long ago that Haslam was another Jerry Jones but without the football knowledge. Maybe, just maybe, he finally realizes this. This may be the actual silver lining to 1-31. We’ll see…

  9. Like the Cleveland FO moves. As long as they don’t take one of these overhyped QBs with a top pick. Trade for Alex Smith…and take one of the QBs. Just don’t lose your mind with the #1/4 picks…think QBs will be there later. Since most of the guys are from GB…just remember how they got Rodgers. Waiting. Patience.

  10. cabosan1978 says:
    January 10, 2018 at 11:41 am
    Viking troll once again. Things are excellent in Green Bay.
    ///////////
    Strange comment. Obviously things aren’t even good. If they were, why the shake up? AR went down and we all saw what we all already thought. The team is a shell without him. The Packers saw the obvious, and are now making the changes they think they need to make.

    And since Wolf was told he’s not part of that plan, he understandably moved on. And this can only improve the Browns. Ok, literally anything would improve the Browns.

  11. Eliot Wolf has had a lot of good things said about him.

    BUT, he kinda reminds me of an entitled millennial who thinks that his last name is a birthright that’s all he needs for success.

    Go out and prove yourself, kid, and show us what you got. Hope you get things turned around in Cleveland.

  12. cabosan1978 says:
    January 10, 2018 at 11:41 am

    Viking troll once again. Things are excellent in Green Bay. Things are so excellent in Green bay that we didn’t have room for this excellent young man at this time. Good luck to him in Cleveland. We in Green Bay wish him the best and thank him for his time here.
    _______

    It appears the definition of “excellence” has changed a bit over the years in Green Bay.

  13. Our Packers have turned on the Wolfs. We turned on Favre. We will turn on Aaron. Like his assistant did.

  14. Rogers gets hurt and all the dominoes fall. If anyone didn’t think QB was important see Green Bay. Rogers next contract could be as insane as he wants it to be.

    Look at all the people Rogers got fired this year. Even when injured he is a jerk.

  15. In Teddy We Trust says:
    January 10, 2018 at 11:43 am
    Having worked for the Packers, Dorsey, Highsmith, and Wolf have a clear vision of what needs to be done to turn things around in Cleveland.

    Step 1: Find a Hall of Fame quarterback
    Step 2: Let’s go to happy hour
    —–
    You forgot the step where they trade away 1st, 2nd, and 3rd round picks for a bounty of 6th and 7th rounders in hopes of finding that one diamond in the rough receiver which they can convert to an offensive guard.

    Afterall, its the Packer way.

  16. Congrats, Browns fans. Dorsey and Wolf together should be quite a tandem. With Dorsey being 57 and Wolf 35 I would imagine there could even be a smooth transition from one to the other down the road (if Wolf doesn’t become GM elsewhere in the meantime). I’d say things are looking up in Cleveland.

  17. In Teddy We Trust says:
    January 10, 2018 at 11:43 am
    Having worked for the Packers, Dorsey, Highsmith, and Wolf have a clear vision of what needs to be done to turn things around in Cleveland.

    Step 1: Find a Hall of Fame quarterback
    Step 2: Let’s go to happy hour

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    Actually, it’s:

    Step 1. Develop a hall of fame quarterback.
    Step 2. Don’t waste 3 first round draft picks on quarterbacks in 7 years, only to watch all of them do a grand total of nothing.

    There’s a reason execs from the Wolf/Thompson tree are successful in several places while there are none from the Spielman tree, even with the “dynasty” that’s been about to happen ever since he got to Minnesota in ’06.

    As always, just the actual facts.

  18. I love it but Dorsey can’t fire the carryover personnel staff fast enough to suit me ,right down to the most junior scout. Then again,Dorsey might be keeping them on just to do the exact opposite of their recommendations and also to let them leak like Steve Bannon for draft smokescreens.

  19. Do some commenters really believe McCarthy forced Wolf out? If anything, it was Mark Murphy who made the decision and then Gute making comments that Wolf was free to go elsewhere. Also, Wolf wasn’t responsible for not setting the Packers up for success – that was Ted Thompson. Let Wolf prove himself instead of reciting the “millineal mentality” line.

  20. Eliot burn those uniforms and go back to what they originally had. Don’t listen to Nike. They make you like clowns just like the win loss record on the field.

  21. Basically the packers canned Elliot Wolf. They removed his title and gave it to Russ Ball. I cannot believe Speilman has been with the Queens since 06? That is amazing this man has lasted this long after such bad seasons. Baffling to say the least. Go Saints!

  22. pmars64 says:
    January 10, 2018 at 11:51 am
    Despite Haslam retaining the Browns power structure with him at the top, maybe he has finally realized he has to let more experienced and more qualified people run football operations and decide on personnel. I’ve always believed the analytics approach was cover for Jimmy wanting to retain the ultimate authority on personnel. Somebody said not long ago that Haslam was another Jerry Jones but without the football knowledge. Maybe, just maybe, he finally realizes this. This may be the actual silver lining to 1-31. We’ll see…
    ________________
    It wasn’t that they could not or did not know how to select great talent. It was more they followed their cap management to a tee and held to the system of building via the draft. The fatal flaw was that plan would take 3 to 5 years and they did not factor I that you were not going to win at all until a team of rookies grew up. They got rid of too many veterans in favor of draft picks and THAT was the primary reason they failed the first two years. The crops would not begin to come up until year 3-But he losing was intolerable and worse than they thought. Had they had pulled out 4 wins this year-they would have been allowed to continue. They knew how to select talent, they just had another plan of developing their own instead of free agency.

  23. Awesome, the Browns’ rebuild efforts towards a competent franchise has just eclipsed the 2% complete milestone.

  24. Good luck to him and to the Browns. Not sure they have the right coach but I think they’ll soon have a pretty good roster. Their defense wasn’t bad this year. They sort of remind me of Jacksonville a couple of years ago.

  25. Somebody on the inside please write a book about who (TT, MM, Wolf, Gutekunst, Highsmith) wanted whom in the past 5-10 drafts. How much second-guessing and I-told-ya-so’s went on?

  26. Hopefully wolf turned the last page of that gb book & threw it in the burning barrel. I would if I got shafted the way he did.

  27. My guess is the picks Thompson missed on were selections recommended by Wolf. Why else would he be passed over?

    One other thing; The doomsayers are expressing the same sentiments they do every year. Regardless how the Vikings do this postseason, including winning the SuperBowl, the experts and prognosticators will still rank the Packers ahead of them next preseason.

    Watch and see. Don’t take my word for it,

  28. If he learned anything watching his father, then the Browns made a heck of a hire. Dorsey certainly doesn’t hurt them either.

  29. stellarperformance says:

    January 10, 2018 at 6:31 pm

    My guess is the picks Thompson missed on were selections recommended by Wolf. Why else would he be passed over?

    One other thing; The doomsayers are expressing the same sentiments they do every year. Regardless how the Vikings do this postseason, including winning the SuperBowl, the experts and prognosticators will still rank the Packers ahead of them next preseason.

    Watch and see. Don’t take my word for it
    ===========================================
    I don’t take your word for anything.

    2019 super bowl odds released

    Packers 12-1
    Vikings 12-1

    So much for your theory.

    Don’t you ever tire of being wrong?

Leave a Reply

You must be logged in to leave a comment. Not a member? Register now!

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.