Long-time New England Patriots running backs coach Ivan Fears is expected to retire this offseason, according to ESPN’s Mike Reiss.
Fears first began working with the Patriots in the running backs role in 1999. He initially coached New England’s wide receivers from 1999 to 2001 and 1991 to 1992. Fears has worked with some key cogs in New England’s offense over the years, including running backs Corey Dillon, Kevin Faulk, James White and Damien Harris.
He retires with an impressive resume. New England has finished in the top 10 in offense 13 times in the last 19 seasons. The Patriots finished first in offense in the 2007, 2012 and 2017 seasons. The running games played a big part in the success of those seasons. Most recently, New England ranked eighth with 124.4 rushing yards per game in 2021.
Now New England will have to find a candidate to replace Fears. The Patriots could look internally, as Vinny Sunseri has been named as a potential possibility. The latter currently works as New England’s assistant running backs coach. In any event, the replacement will have big shoes to fill.
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