It’s January 2009 and another round of New England Patriots coaching defections has occurred. Not since the departures of Romeo Crennel and Charlie Weis have the Patriots seen an exodus like this.
First, the young coaching protégé Josh McDaniels accepted the head coaching position in Denver and will be the fresh new face of the identity-less Broncos. Then after many rumors and supposedly ridiculous demands, Scott Pioli will take over as General Manager of the Kansas City Chiefs. Pioli spent nearly a decade in New England with Bill Belichick and helped to orchestrate three Super Bowl Championships.
Secondary coach Dom Capers is also rumored to be on his way out and special teams coach Brad Seely is probably off to Seattle.
Once again, it’s another year of picking fruit from the Patriots tree.
There was a time in New England where a coach would have a tough time being employed at the college or high school ranks after leaving New England. Now, it’s a fortuitous garden of seed and hope. Just look at the following partial list of notable Patriots coaching defections since 2001:
- Romeo Crennel (ex-Cleveland Browns head coach)
- Charlie Weis (Notre Dame head coach)
- Eric Mangini (ex-NY Jets head coach and current Browns head coach)
- Scott Pioli (Kansas City Chiefs GM)
- Josh McDaniels (Denver Broncos head coach)
- Brian Daboll (Cleveland Browns offensive coordinator)
- Thomas Dimitroff (Atlanta Falcons GM)
- Andrew Wasynczuk (Harvard Business School professor)
- Rob Ryan (Oakland Raiders defensive coordinator)
- Jeff Davidson (Carolina Panthers offensive coordinator)
- Markus Paul (NY Giants Strength and Conditioning Coach)
- John Hufnagle (ex-NY Giants offensive coordinator and current CFL head coach)
Time to Adjust
At this point, many Patriots fans are a little panicked – a complex brought on by years of enduring the many years of losing by both the Red Sox and Patriots. Pioli is a media face and is well-known to the general Patriots fan base. His true role within the organization is a little muddled, but most credit him with being responsible for bringing in “Belichick-type players,” managing the roster and handling the NFL draft. Fans will say the Patriots need to adjust now and many wonder what the impact of these important departures will bring. Can the Patriots win without Pioli? Who will run the offense? Is the dynasty over?
Yet down in the corridors and offices of Gillette Stadium, these changes were prepared for long ago.
Nick Caserio, a relative unknown outside of football circles, has already been named Vice President of Player Personnel and will replace Pioli. Caserio served as the Patriots Director of Player Personnel from 2004-2006 prior to being named wide receivers coach in 2007. In 2008, he returned to the personnel department as Director of Player Personnel.
At some point, the Patriots knew Pioli was going to leave New England. The Patriots don’t sit on their hands with their fingers crossed hoping for the best. They prepare for every plausible scenario. Caserio is proof of that. Caserio knows how the Patriots system works, what is being looked for and is known to be well-respected by Belichick. Don’t expect the personnel department to miss a beat.
In terms of the vacant offensive coordinator position, I would argue that it is not really vacant, but we just have not been told who the coordinator is yet. But the mysterious, yet-to-be-named coach has already been involved in play-calling. He has worked on the defensive side of the ball. He has broken down film. He has coached special teams. He has been an assistant coach with the quarterbacks. He has done and been doing all of the things needed and expected along the way to take over this position. We just don’t know who he is yet.
It is also very possible that the Patriots could steer away from the young prodigy route and promote a veteran coach from within. New England’s tight ends coach is Pete Mangurian and has worked with Belichick since 2005. Mangurian previously had been the head coach at Cornell University and served as the offensive coordinator in Atlanta under Dan Reeves. With Mangurian’s intricate understanding of the Patriots offense, he is a prime candidate for the position.
Also an option is Bill O’Brien, the Patriots wide receivers coach. O’Brien has served in many coaching roles at the collegiate level including stints with Georgia Tech, Maryland and Duke. In New England, O’Brien has been the wide receivers coach since 2007 and has experience on both sides of the ball.
But the dark horse, in my opinion, is Matt Patricia. Patricia has been with the Patriots since 2004. He served on the offensive side of the ball as an assistant offensive line/tight ends coach before moving to defense as the current linebackers coach. The 34-year-old graduated from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) and is highly regarded within the organization. This would be another case of the Patriots grooming their own people as was done with Caserio, Mangini and McDaniels.
Beneath these three candidates are levels of assistant coach and special assistants that are not publicly listed. Could one of them be in line for a job? Possibly. As it often seems that New England’s way of approaching football decisions is different that most others. However, it will likely come from one of the aforementioned three coaches as it seems a bit of a stretch to make a
leap of that nature.
The 2009 Season
The 2009 season may play out the same as it did in 2005 when “there was no offensive coordinator.” Belichick deflected questions about play-calling all season and avoided discussing specific coaching roles in general. Was it McDaniels? Was it Belichick? Would Brady make all the play calls?
The media tried plenty of clever ways to get Belichick to show his hand, but he never wavered. He would often say play-calling was handled by the coaching staff as a whole. It was a collaborative effort and subjective to game situations. All this is true but it was all done ultimately to protect the young Josh McDaniels.
McDaniels found success in New England. He is credited for one of the most potent offenses in NFL history with the 2007 team. He is highly regarded by many within the league and as now in a position to show the world what he learned under Belichick. McDaniels left the organization in a way that will always allow him an open door with Belichick. This, of course, is the polar opposite of Mangini’s departure to the Jets in 2006.
Everyone knows the success Pioli has brought and one can assume he will continue to do so with the Chiefs. The same can be said for McDaniels. But with these departures, more questions are raised. Are McDaniels and Pioli that good or is it really just Belichick?
The Man Behind the Curtain (And in Front of)
Detractors, critics and haters of Belichick will look to credit everyone except the head coach. “He is just another coach without Brady.” “He hasn’t won a Super Bowl without Crennel or Weis.” “He cheats.”
Many sports fans outside of New England simply do not like him, citing him as dry, abrasive and often times rude to the media. He is also very successful. He has been portrayed as a sore sport and a poor loser. To the rest of the nation, he is a jerk. But to Patriots nation, he is a god.
Fifty years from now, a statue of Bill Belichick will stand outside the Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, MA. It will portray him standing on the sidelines with a headset, a clipboard and his trademark hoodie. Grandparents will pose for photos in front of this monument with their grandchildren and tell great stories of the Patriots from the early part of the century. He is a modern day Vince Lombardi and is forever revered in New England.
2009 will bring changes to the New England Patriots. Players will leave for more money or retire. Coaches will come and go. Many already have. But the one constant is Belichick. As long as he roams the sidelines, your New England Patriots are in good hands.
Darryl Johnston is the New England Patriots beat writer for Small White Ball, an all-encompassing New England sports blog. He also contributes to Bruins blog Boston Rink Rats. He can be reached at dj@smallwhiteball.com.
Labels: 2009 New England Patriots, Bill Belichick, darryl johnston, Josh McDaniels, NFL, Scott Pioli
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