Should the Jaguars Consider Former Browns’ Executives Alonzo Highsmith or Eliot Wolf for Front Office Positions?

Each January brings front office shakeups throughout the NFL, and this year is no different. As teams realign their power structures to move in new directions or overhaul holdover staff from previous regimes as a new group of decision-makers move in, there is a shifting of personnel executives from team to team.

This week alone has seen several franchises change the complexions of their front offices, with the Cleveland Browns being at the forefront. Earlier this week, the Browns' new regime tapped Philadelphia vice president of football operations Andrew Berry as the team's newest general manager, replacing John Dorsey.

In correspondence with the move to hire Berry, Cleveland also parted ways with two highly-respected executives in vice president of player personnel Alonzo Highsmith and assistant general manager Eliot Wolf.

The @Browns have decided to officially part ways with assistant GM Elliot Wolf and VP/personnel Alonzo Highsmith now that Andrew Berry has been hired as GM, per sources
— Chris Mortensen (@mortreport) January 29, 2020

Joining the Browns in front office changes is the Jacksonville Jaguars, though Jacksonville's shakeup is hardly comparable to Cleveland's. Jacksonville presently no longer employs Chris Polian, who had been a key member of the team's front office since 2013, as the team's director of player personnel.

With Wolf and Highsmith now each on the lookout for openings around the league, should Jaguars general manager Dave Caldwell consider adding either to his front office in a crucial year?

Browns VP of Player Personnel Alonzo Highsmith to me on mutually parting ways w/ team: "I wanted to go in a different direction because my philosophy on football is different from theirs. I may go to Aruba, or go to the Masters. I'm going to take some time to do some fun stuff."
— JosinaAnderson (@JosinaAnderson) January 29, 2020

Highsmith continued to me: "I may also clean my garage, who knows. As far as football goes, I'll just have to wait to see what happens. I love all parts of the game. I've never been a title guy, working & contributing has always been my goal. So I do hope to return to the NFL."
— JosinaAnderson (@JosinaAnderson) January 29, 2020

When examining the hypothetical of adding Highsmith or Wolf in any capacity, it has to be considered that it is already almost February. The Jaguars' front office has already been hard at work preparing for free agency and the NFL Draft, and anyone who joins the staff now will be playing catchup.

But we have seen it happen before. Executives have been hired even closer to the offseason's pivotal dates, so it is not exactly out of the realm of possibilities. The Jaguars also have to replace Polian and fill the key vacancy his departure created, either by making an in-house hire or by reaching out to executives outside of the offices of TIAA Bank Field.

If the Jaguars were to make an outside hire to either fill Polian's role or just add to their front office and scouting department, Highsmith and Wolf could be two interesting names to consider due to the experience of each.

Highsmith, 54, began working for the Packers as a college scout in 1999 after being hired by former Packers general manager Ron Wolf, the father of Eliot Wolf. Highsmith was promoted to senior personnel executive under Ted Thompson in 2012 and became a key member of a respected and successful Packers' front office before departing for Cleveland in 2018.

As for Wolf, 37, he originally joined the Packers as a pro personnel assistant in 2004, where he remained through 2008. He eventually climbed the ladder in Green Bay, serving as the assistant director of pro personnel (2008-2011), assistant director of player personnel (2011-2012), director of pro personnel (2012-2015), director of player personnel (2015-2016), and finally director of football operations (2016-2017).

Wolf was considered for the Packers' general manager position in 2018 as the successor to Ted Thompson, but the position was given to Brian Gutekunst instead.

Wolf specifically has experience in the role Polian left in Jacksonville, making him a sensible fit for the Jaguars' organization considering he knows what the position entails and has risen through the ranks in part because of the job he did at the position in Green Bay.

Either Highsmith or Wolf would also give the Jaguars something extremely valuable in a pivotal year for the Jaguars' front office: a fresh set of eyes and ears. Neither would hold any biases to current players on the roster and could objectively evaluate the state of the team without having anything cloud their views.

But in what is a make or break year for Caldwell and head coach Doug Marrone's regime, it would also make sense for Caldwell and co. to trust "their guys". Caldwell has never worked with either Highsmith or Wolf, so there is no connection between the parties aside from the fact the Jaguars have a vacancy and Highsmith and Wolf are now available.

Adding either of the executives to the Jaguars' front office would be a big move since it would demonstrate the team's willingness to go all in on winning in 2020, since the more experience the better. Experience is something the Jaguars lost with Polian's departure, coupled with the firing of former executive vice president of football operations Tom Coughlin.

But the Jaguars could still be invested in winning in 2020 without adding fresh faces to the front office. Caldwell trusting either Highsmith or Wolf as a top lieutenant in a crucial season could be seen as an understandable risk. Either way, it is a hypothetical worth considering.