It’s been a long time since we’ve seen the New England Patriots have had to look for a new general manager to run their football operations, but it seems like that time has finally come after a quarter century under Bill Belichick’s direction.

According to insider Jonathan Jones of CBS Sports, the Patriots have officially gone underway with an outside search for their new prospective GM, otherwise known as their “top football executive”:

“Sources tell CBS Sports the Patriots are moving forward with a search for their next top football executive, a role that would amount to what’s typically known in the NFL as a general manager. It’s unclear what the title would be, but sources believe the position would outrank all other football positions in the building.”

Once the 2022-23 season came to a close, the departure of Coach Belichick signaled the search for a new GM to soon come to form, but it was unclear as to when that would happen. Eliot Wolf, the team’s director of scouting, then assumed the role of de facto GM ahead of the NFL Draft, where he was the conductor of the Patriots’ operation.

It resulted in a notably successful draft, where New England opted to bring in a new franchise quarterback, a few weapons to assist, and some depth on the offensive line. Wolf made a compelling case for himself to retain his role as the head of football operations, but it won’t come without a look at the market from New England.

With a few experienced and tested names likely available, it could put New England in an opportunity to secure their next guy running the show, but Patriots owner Robert Kraft has also remained notably loyal to his current internal staff, one in which he spoke very highly about before this year’s draft.

“We have a lot of people internally who have had a chance to train and learn under the greatest coach of all-time and a man whose football intellect is very special,” Kraft said. “Our team has a tremendous opportunity to position itself right, given our salary cap space, and we’ve never drafted, in my 30 years of ownership, we’ve never been drafting as [high] as we’re drafting.

Now, with a healthy sample size of what to expect with Wolf at the helm, it’ll be interesting to see where ownership decides to take the direction of this squad’s front office moving forward. Needless to say, now armed with a strong rookie quarterback and coach to move into the future with, this position is one likely to have its fair share of takers.