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Patriots Considering Moving Matt Patricia To Offensive Staff?

February 17th, 2022 at 8:54am CST by Adam La Rose

The Patriots have undergone plenty of change on the sidelines and in the front office recently. In trying to reshape the coaching staff, in particular on the offensive side of the ball, there seems to be a growing chance of Matt Patricia becoming more involved. 

[Related: Raiders Hire Josh McDaniels As HC]

As ESPN’s Mike Reiss writes, “the possibility of Patricia joining the offensive staff in some capacity has come up” within NFL circles. He served under the title of senior football advisor last year, following his return to New England.

The 47-year-old only spent his first two seasons (2004 and 2005) with the Patriots as a member of the offensive staff, and in a minor capacity at that. He is, of course, best known for his six years as the team’s defensive coordinator, which ultimately landed him his first head coaching job in Detroit. That certainly didn’t go according to plan, as the Lions finished last in the NFC North in his two full seasons, and he was fired in November 2020.

Still, Patricia is a trusted lieutenant of Bill Belichick, just like Joe Judge. It was announced last week that the latter is being brought back into the fold, also on the offensive staff. As Reiss notes, however, Judge’s only experience on that side of the ball came during one year as the Patriots’ wide receivers coach in 2019 before his similarly ill-fated stint as head coach of the Giants. Not surprisingly, given their inexperience, neither he nor Patricia have called plays on offense at the NFL level.

After losing not only longtime OC Josh McDaniels to the Raiders, but also a host of valued assistants on the offensive staff, many feel Patricia and Judge could help ease the transition to a new power structure on the sidelines. While Reiss stresses it surely isn’t the primary motivation, he also notes how both of them are still being paid by their former teams after initially signing five-year deals, which reduces the cost of their services for the Patriots.

Whatever changes New England makes, it could of course have a domino effect throughout the staff. As PFF’s Doug Kyed tweets, either Patricia or Belichick himself taking on a workload on offense would likely shift more defensive responsibility to position coaches Steve Belichick or Jerod Mayo. In any event, Reiss writes, Patricia shifting from a quasi-front office role back to purely coaching is a “scenario that bears watching”.

Patriots Promote Matt Groh To Director Of Player Personnel

February 15th, 2022 at 2:44pm CST by Adam La Rose

The departure of Dave Ziegler left a vacancy in the Patriots’ front office. Today, they filled it with an internal promotion, naming Matt Groh their new director of player personnel (Twitter link via Ian Rapoport of NFL Network).

[Related: Raiders Hire Dave Ziegler]

Groh has spent the last 11 years with New England. After a decade in the team’s scouting department, he served as their college scouting director in 2021. The son of former coach Al (who formerly worked with Bill Belichick), and the brother of recently-named Giants wide receivers coach Mike, he is continuing to climb the ladder in New England.

As Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated tweets, Groh played a large role in re-shaping the scouting department in New England last season. With Ziegler out of the picture, Groh will no doubt take on an even larger role in overseeing the department he has so much experience in. Being able to do so would be helpful for the Patriots, as their recent drop off to the middle of the pack in the league has coincided with some less successful drafts than the team is accustomed to.

While there will be an inevitable change of some sort on the coaching staff, following offensive coordinator Josh McDaniel’s departure, the Patriots will at least have a good deal of continuity in the front office.

Updated 2022 NFL Draft Order

February 14th, 2022 at 8:57am CST by Adam La Rose

With Super Bowl LVI finished, the final two places in the 2022 Draft have been finalized. The Bengals’ top pick is locked into 31st, while the Rams will not have a selection until the third round. For the rest of the league, the focus has already shifted to free agency and the draft, of course, so now all eyes will be on the offseason maneuvering teams do to reshape their rosters.

For non-playoff teams, the draft order is determined by the inverted 2021 standings, plus a series of tiebreakers, starting with strength of schedule. For playoff teams, the order is determined by their postseason outcome and regular season record.

Pending trades, here is the final first round order of the 2022 Draft:

  1. Jacksonville Jaguars: 3-14
  2. Detroit Lions: 3-13-1
  3. Houston Texans: 4-13
  4. New York Jets: 4-13
  5. New York Giants: 4-13
  6. Carolina Panthers: 5-12
  7. New York Giants(via Bears)
  8. Atlanta Falcons: 7-10
  9. Denver Broncos: 7-10
  10. New York Jets (via Seahawks)
  11. Washington Football Team: 7-10
  12. Minnesota Vikings: 8-9
  13. Cleveland Browns: 8-9
  14. Baltimore Ravens: 8-9
  15. Philadelphia Eagles (via Dolphins)
  16. Philadelphia Eagles (via Colts)
  17. Los Angeles Chargers: 9-8
  18. New Orleans Saints: 9-8
  19. Philadelphia Eagles: 9-8
  20. Pittsburgh Steelers: 9-7-1
  21. New England Patriots: 10-7
  22. Las Vegas Raiders: 10-7
  23. Arizona Cardinals: 11-6
  24. Dallas Cowboys: 12-5
  25. Buffalo Bills: 11-6
  26. Tennessee Titans: 12-5
  27. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: 13-4
  28. Green Bay Packers: 13-4
  29. Miami Dolphins (via 49ers)
  30. Kansas City Chiefs: 12-5
  31. Cincinnati Bengals: 10-7
  32. Detroit Lions (via Rams)

Raiders Hire Mick Lombardi As OC

February 13th, 2022 at 11:47am CST by Rory Parks

The Raiders have hired Mick Lombardi as their new offensive coordinator, per ESPN’s Adam Schefter. Lombardi, who spent the 2019 season as the Patriots’ assistant quarterbacks coach and the past two years as New England’s wide receivers coach, will join Josh McDaniels on the trek from Foxborough to Las Vegas.

McDaniels, the longtime Patriots OC who was hired as the Raiders’ new head coach at the end of January, is expected to serve as the team’s offensive play-caller. Still, this represents quite a promotion for Lombardi, the 33-year-old son of former NFL exec Michael Lombardi. As Schefter writes, the younger Lombardi handled the Pats’ red zone game plan in 2021, and he and McDaniels are aligned in their offensive philosophies.

Lombardi will replace Greg Olson, who worked as the Raiders’ OC from 2018-21 (we recently heard that Olson is expected to rejoin the Rams’ staff in some capacity in 2022). He will inherit a unit that finished 11th in the league in total offense last season and that features a quality starting QB in Derek Carr (assuming, of course, that Las Vegas elects to retain Carr, who is entering a contract year).

Schefter adds that Patriots offensive line coach Carmen Bricillo will join the Raiders in the same capacity. With the departures of McDaniels, Lombardi, Bricillo, and Bo Hardegree — who was recently hired as Las Vegas’ new QB coach — New England is experiencing quite a brain drain on the offensive side of the ball. That is to say nothing of the expected retirement of RB coach Ivan Fears, who has been in his post since 2002. Of course, the club did recently reunite with Joe Judge, who is returning as an offensive assistant.

In related news, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets that the Raiders are adding longtime NFL scout Andy Dengler to their college scouting department. Dengler had served as the Jaguars’ assistant director of player personnel from 2013-20. As part of the continuing transition under new GM Dave Ziegler, the Raiders are also parting ways with assistant director of player personnel Trey Scott, who had been with the team for a decade (Twitter link via Tom Pelissero of the NFL Network).

Aaron Wilson of Pro Football Network offers more details on Las Vegas’ front office overhaul.

Position Coaching Notes: Giants, Broncos, Jaguars

February 10th, 2022 at 11:53am CST by Adam La Rose

As the days go by, more and more position coaches are finalizing jobs with new teams. One of the busiest clubs remains the Giants. According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the team is hiring former Vikings assistant head coach and co-defensive coordinator Andre Patterson as its defensive line coach (Twitter link). The 61-year-old has a wealth of coaching experience at the NCAA and NFL ranks. While he has a defensive background, Patterson also served as a head coach at two stops along the way to the pro level.

His first NFL coaching gig came in 1997 with the Patriots. After stints with the Vikings, Cowboys, Browns and Broncos, he returned to the college ranks. Following seven additional seasons, six of which were spread across three colleges, he came back to Minnesota in 2014. He remained there until now, serving as the team’s d-line coach, but also holding the co-DC title for the past two campaigns.

Here are some other updates to Brian Daboll‘s new staff, along with those of the Broncos and Jaguars:

  • According to Jonathan Alexander of The Observer, Tony Sparano Jr. is making a lateral move from the Panthers to the Giants as their new assistant offensive line coach (Twitter link). The 35-year old already has a decade of coaching experience in the NFL spent with five different teams.
  • One hire the Giants won’t be making is that of Adam Henry for the role of wide receivers coach. NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo tweets that the team will be heading “in another direction” after they interviewed Henry earlier. The 49-year old coached the position at LSU for three years, then at the NFL level with the 49ers, Giants, Browns and Cowboys. Many felt a reunion in East Rutherford was likely, but that won’t be the case.
  • As for the Broncos, they will be adding to their defensive staff from the college ranks. ESPN’s Pete Thamel tweets that Ola Adams is coming aboard as an assistant secondary coach. Adams spent spent seven seasons at Villanova, and his success there earned him a promotion to co-defensive coordinator at Temple recently. Now, he will be on the move again, but this time up to the NFL level.
  • Finally, the Jaguars are hiring Brentson Buckner as their d-line coach (Twitter link via Pro Football Network’s Aaron Wilson). It had been reported earlier this week that the 50-year-old was a candidate for the position, so the move is not a surprising one. Buckner has coached the position with three NFL teams previously, dating back to 2013.

 

Odell Beckham Jr. Nearly Signed With Patriots, Saints

February 8th, 2022 at 1:41pm CST by Adam La Rose

Odell Beckham Jr. is squarely focused on the upcoming Super Bowl with the Rams, but he was very close to ending up elsewhere when he was briefly a free agent. According to a pair of tweets from PFF’s Doug Kyed, the wideout nearly joined the Patriots, as well as the Saints, after he cleared waivers earlier this season. 

The 29-year-old’s time in Cleveland came to an end in November, after increasing tensions with other members of the team, in particular quarterback Baker Mayfield, came to a boiling point. After a disappointing two-and-a-half-year stint with the Browns, he ultimately signed with the Rams in an attempt to go on a championship run, filling in admirably for the injured Robert Woods along the way. His time in LA. has been so successful to this point that the team wants to keep him there beyond this season.

However, things very nearly turned out much differently for Beckham. According to Kyed, he was “close” to signing in New England after speaking with Bill Belichick. He adds that Beckham believes the fit would have been “ideal” a few years earlier, when Tom Brady was still with the Pats.

Another receiver-need team was the Saints, with whom Beckham came “very close” to signing. He added, “It just didn’t feel like the right time. Right place, wrong time”. In large part due to injuries to new starting QB Jameis Winston and top WR Michael Thomas, the Saints finished dead last in the league in passing yards per game in 2012 with 202.2.

Ultimately, Beckham clearly made the right choice up to this point. After the end of the season, though, the Patriots and Saints may represent destinations he is familiar with, not to mention ones that could benefit from the caliber of play he has put forth with the Rams.

Patriots To Bring Back Joe Judge

February 8th, 2022 at 10:48am CST by Adam La Rose

Joe Judge looks to have found a new home in what was once his old home. The Patriots are bringing him back, this time as an offensive assistant (Twitter link via Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer). 

Breer states that the team is “working on a deal” which is “expected to get done in the coming days”, so nothing is official as of now, but it seems as though Judge is heading back to Foxborough. The 40-year-old began his NFL coaching career with the Patriots in 2012. He always worked on special teams, coordinating the unit from 2015-2019, the year before he left to become head coach of the Giants.

His final year with New England also included the title of wide receivers coach, however. That means that this new position, whatever it ends up being, won’t in fact be his first role on the offensive side of the ball. Judge had been linked to the special teams coordinator vacancy in Vegas, in large part due to the presence of Josh McDaniels as the Raiders’ new head coach. Instead, he will now take a position on a rebuilding Patriots offensive staff.

Since the position isn’t that of offensive coordinator, New England’s search for a direct McDaniels replacement will continue. So far, the two names linked to the vacancy are Bill O’Brien and Adam Gase.

NFL Reserve/Futures Contracts: 2/7/22

February 7th, 2022 at 2:42pm CST by Adam La Rose

Today’s Reserve/Futures contracts signed around the league:

Buffalo Bills

Cincinnati Bengals

Green Bay Packers

Jacksonville Jaguars

Kansas City Chiefs

New York Giants 

New England Patriots

2022 NFL Head Coaching Search Tracker

February 6th, 2022 at 10:15pm CST by Zachary Links

Last year, seven NFL teams opted to make a head coaching change. Sean Payton stepping away from the Saints created nine full-time vacancies available this year.

Listed below are the head coaching candidates that have been linked to each of the teams with vacancies, along with their current status. If and when other teams decide to make head coaching changes, they’ll be added to this list. Here is the current breakdown:

Updated 2-7-22 (1:45pm CT)

Chicago Bears

Denver Broncos

Houston Texans

Jacksonville Jaguars

Las Vegas Raiders

Miami Dolphins

Minnesota Vikings

New Orleans Saints

New York Giants

Bill O’Brien, Adam Gase Candidates For Patriots’ OC Vacancy

February 4th, 2022 at 10:45am CST by Adam La Rose

With Josh McDaniels on his way to Las Vegas, there is a vacancy in New England for an offensive coordinator for the first time in a decade. Two of the names being circulated as potential replacements, according to NFL Network’s Mike Giardi, are ex-head coaches Bill O’Brien and Adam Gase (Twitter link). 

[Related: Raiders Hire Josh McDaniels As HC]

O’Brien has been busy since being dismissed from the Texans in 2020. He spent 2021 as the OC at Alabama, reaching the National Championship game. Following the college season, he interviewed with the Jaguars for their HC vacancy. That was somewhat surprising, given that he wasn’t thought to be on the NFL radar at this time.

O’Brien, 52, made the playoffs four times during his six full seasons in Houston. However, a total of just two postseason wins – along with an increasingly disastrous tenure as the team’s general manager – saw him out of the league two years ago. Given his experience in New England (stretching from 2007 to 2011, in various roles) prior to that, it wouldn’t come as a surprise to see him reunite with Bill Belichick.

Gase, meanwhile, is a candidate whose “name keeps popping up when speaking to league sources” with regards to the Patriots’ OC opening. He has experience at the NFL level dating back to 2005, but is of course better remembered for his time with the Dolphins and Jets as a head coach. After an impressive turnaround in 2019, there was optimism he and QB Sam Darnold could take the latter team a step forward in 2020. Instead, the Jets had their worst start in franchise history (0-13) and Gase was fired at the end of the year, while Darnold was traded away. The 43-year-old spent 2021 away from the sidelines.

Giardi adds that “there’s hope for an internal promotion” from within the organization, though any in-house candidates likely wouldn’t hold the title of OC. If the Patriots do elect to hire an external candidate, either of these two would bring plenty of experience – along with some raised eyebrows, in all likelihood – to the table.

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