Patriots Personnel Director Matt Groh Says Bill Belichick Is In Charge
BOSTON (CBS) -- During Bill Belichick's tenure running the Patriots, there's always been an air of ambiguity with the way the team does business. Titles can be murky, responsibilities can be unknown to the public, and the general operation can be difficult to dissect from the outside.
A layer of that operation was peeled back on Friday, when new Patriots director of player personnel Matt Groh spoke to the media to discuss the forthcoming NFL draft.
"Obviously, Coach is the general manager, Coach is in charge," Groh said. "He's been doing this a long time. The more I can learn from Coach Belichick and a lot of the other guys around here, I'm gonna do that."
That much has been largely known, but perhaps not fully acknowledged by Groh's predecessors -- Dave Ziegler last year, Nick Caserio from 2008-20 and Scott Pioli before him. Groh doesn't have the same experience running pro personnel that Caserio and Pioli did, but he nevertheless got the job that was vacated by Ziegler, who held the job for just one year before taking the Las Vegas Raiders' GM job.
Groh said he's leaned on Nancy Meier (director of scouting administration), Richard Miller (director of research) and Brian Smith (personnel coordinator) for guidance, while describing the front-office approach as a collaborative effort.
"It's definitely a collaborative process. It's great working with Coach. Absolutely love it," Groh said. "With all the input that he asks from us, and just getting his ideas, and the information that he has on these players through his different relationships across the country at different schools, it's been fantastic. I definitely take it as a huge honor, given the people who I'm working with and the people who have sat in this chair before me -- to Scott Pioli, Nick Caserio, Dave Ziegler. I think a lot of all those people, and to be in this chair is an honor, knowing that Dave sat in it, and then really to be sitting here with all the people who I'm so fortunate to work along with."
