More than a month after the NFL Draft, the New England Patriots are making more changes to their front office.
According to The MMQB’s Albert Breer, Patriots national scout Tony Kinkela is being promoted as the new director of college scouting. This comes after Camren Williams, who was with the team since 2016, left to become the Denver Bronco’s co-director of player personnel back in May.
Kinkela is in his third season with the Patriots after joining the team in 2022. Prior to New England, he worked for 11 years as an area scout with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Kinkela was with the Buccaneers for a total of 13 seasons.
Prior to his time in the NFL, he started out as a student assistant at Washington State University from 2001 to 2004. Kinkela then worked as the assistant director of football operations at WSU in 2004 and 2005.
He then served as the director of football operations at Tulane University from 2006 to 2008, before making the leap to the NFL.
The move by Patriots general manager Eliot Wolf comes after hiring A.J. Highsmith to become the director of pro scouting a month ago.
It is clear that hiring in Vrabel and the new coaching staff is coinciding with vital changes in the Patriots’ front office. Wolf is entering his second season as general manager and his fourth with the team, and likely sees an opportunity to establish a new future for the organization.
With Kinkela and Highsmith heading the scouting department, it will be important to watch how draft and free agency acquisitions perform compared to previous years under Bill Belicheck.
