Extra Points: Patriots, Gostkowski, Redskins

The Patriots have had a ton of turnover on their staff, particularly on the defensive side of the ball, the past couple of years, and that got even more pronounced today. “Defensive line coach Brendan Daly is leaving for a spot on the Kansas City Chiefs’ staff”, a source told Jim McBride of The Boston Globe (Twitter link). Daly, 43, had been with the team since the 2014 season. The team lost defensive coordinator Matt Patricia last year, who left to become head coach of the Lions.

This year, they lost defensive play-caller Brian Flores, who left to become the head coach of the Dolphins. Flores took several Patriots assistants with him to Miami, and New England’s staff will look radically different. It’s a notable occurrence for an organization known for their stability, although Bill Belichick shouldn’t have any issue building a new quality staff. The team is reportedly hiring former Buccaneers head coach and Ohio State defensive coordinator Greg Schiano to replace Flores.

Here’s more from around the league:

  • Speaking of the Patriots, the champs will have some tough decisions to make this offseason. The team has a bunch of impending free agents, and likely won’t be able to keep them all. While the Patriots have a few players who could possibly be franchise tagged, kicker Stephen Gostkowski “makes the most sense”, according to Ben Volin of The Boston Globe. Volin writes that left tackle Trent Brown is another candidate, but that it’s “more likely the Patriots would let him walk and insert Isaiah Wynn into the lineup” in his place. Wynn was New England’s first round pick in the 2018 draft, but missed his entire rookie campaign after tearing his Achilles during the preseason.
  • We heard Thursday that the Redskins were interviewing Tim Rattay for their quarterbacks coach opening, and the team is indeed hiring him, they announced via Twitter. Rattay will be the replacement for former quarterbacks coach Kevin O’Connell, who earlier this month was promoted to offensive coordinator. He’s never coached in the NFL before, and has spent the previous six seasons as an assistant at Louisiana Tech. He did interview for the Raiders’ QBs coach position last offseason. As such, it’s possible Oakland head coach Jon Gruden put in a good word for Rattay with his brother, Redskins head coach Jay Gruden.
  • In case you missed it yesterday, you can check out the latest update in the Antonio Brown domestic dispute case here.
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