From the moment that Robert Kraft hired Mike Vrabel to be the next head coach of the New England Patriots, there were high expectations about who he would choose to make up his coaching staff after a rough season under Jerod Mayo. It was crucial that he brought in an experienced group to help get the team back on track, and it was clear he did just that.
One of the more prominent names Vrabel hired was Ryan Cowden, who began his scouting career with the Panthers in 2000. Since then, he has spent time with several teams in the NFL, rising to director of player personnel with the Titans in 2016, working alongside Vrabel at the start of his head coaching tenure.
His 25 years of experience is exactly what the Patriots needed last year, and his connection with Vrabel made it an even better hire. Although most of what he does is behind the scenes, he has been a great addition to the staff, but now the Patriots are at risk of losing him after just one season in Foxboro.
To make matters worse, the team that might poach him is in the division.
The Patriots could already lose a key member of their staff at the end of the 2025 season
When discussing the latest happenings with the Dolphins after they fired their GM, Chris Grier, Jordan Rodrigue of The Athletic wrote about potential candidates to fill that vital role.
She mentioned Cowden among the top names, citing his vast experience as a leading reason Miami would be interested. Not to mention, the Patriots' success in Year 1 of Vrabel's rebuild would certainly make him a top candidate.
“Cowden, who has served as an interim general manager in Tennessee while also undergoing multiple GM interviews over the last eight seasons, has an extensive scouting and personnel executive background with the Panthers (2001-14), Titans (2016-22), and Giants (executive advisor, 2023-24). Cowden, Patriots executive VP of personnel Eliot Wolf, and Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel have rebuilt the flailing Patriots into a 7-2 team in less than one season together.”
Besides the impressive resurgence of the Patriots this year obviously becoming an intriguing factor that the Dolphins will be interested in, Cowden has also been a highly sought after GM candidate for a few years now, and has had several interviews with teams during that time.
That shows he has been considered for the role for a long time before next offseason, so it would be unsurprising for the Dolphins to pursue him after the absolute disaster that Grier created within the organization for far too long.
If he wants to fulfill that role at some point in his career, there's a good chance that he will accept the opportunity in Miami if presented with the job. However, there's a chance that his connection to Vrabel will be enough to keep him in New England long-term, even if there isn't a future for him as the GM with Eliot Wolf still around.
It will certainly be something worth monitoring between now and the end of the year, especially once the offseason begins.