The Patriots have begun the search to hire a new football operations chief. Director of scouting Eliot Wolf has served as the de facto General Manager since Bill Belichick’s departure earlier this offseason and is expected to be a candidate for the role.

The Patriots, though, have to comply with the Rooney Rule by interviewing two external minority candidates.

Bengals senior personnel executive Trey Brown has declined an interview request from the Patriots, Tom Pelissero of NFL Media reports. The reason is unknown, though with Wolf seen as the leading contender for the job, it might not be the last time the Patriots’ interview request is rejected.

Brown has interviewed for G.M. jobs three times — with the Bills in May 2017, with the Raiders in December 2018 and with the Raiders in January 2022.

He was the Eagles’ director of college scouting and worked for both the AAF and XFL before joining the Bengals in 2021.