Tag: Brian Belichick

Patriots DC DeMarcus Covington explains why team kept some members of Bill Belichick’s staff

Here’s one reason why the Patriots opted to keep Brian Belichick and others from the previous regime

After 24 years, the Bill Belichick era in New England ended last month, but a few coaches from the Belichick regime have remained on the staff.

One of those coaches is his son, safeties coach Brian Belichick.

The younger Belichick has been with the organization since 2016, when he joined the team as a scouting assistant. He was promoted to safeties coach in 2020.

The safety position has been a strong one for the Patriots organization in recent years. Kyle Dugger and Jabrill Peppers formed a formidable duo last season. Dugger has been a stalwart at safety since the Patriots drafted him in 2020, while Peppers had a monster year in his second year with the team in 2023, recording two interceptions, 78 tackles and a sack.

Patriots defensive coordinator DeMarcus Covington spoke to the media on Wednesday and offered reasons why Brian Belichick, among several other assistants from the former regime, were kept on the staff, as transcribed by NESN.com’s Sean T. McGuire.

“They’re familiar with the players. Our players are familiar with them,” Covington said. “They’re familiar with our philosophy on what we wanted to do, and then they’ve also worked with me and know what I want to do.

“And then also the foundation, they have been here, too. We all came in here pretty much together. And so, I think, when you look at those things, and you look at how the players and the coaches combine, and how we get the best out of our players, that’s what’s important to me. Who can do that, who can coach their players good, who can get their players to go out there and play at a high level, and execute to the standard we want to have.”

Familiarity could be extremely important with New England undergoing massive changes, both on the coaching staff and the roster.

At the very least, the Belichick name will remain in New England.

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Safeties coach Brian Belichick reportedly staying with Patriots

One Belichick still remains in New England

There’s still one Belichick left standing for the New England Patriots.

With Bill Belichick gone and Steve Belichick taking on a new coaching role at the University of Washington, safeties coach Brian Belichick is officially the last Belichick standing in New England. ESPN’s Mike Reiss reported Brian was staying with the Patriots on Wednesday.

Both Steve and Brian were offered open opportunities to return as coaches, if they decided to stick around with the team. Brian has worked extensively with Patriots coach Jerod Mayo on the defensive side of the ball. So there’s clearly a significant level of comfort between the two.

The Patriots are moving forward with former defensive line coach DeMarcus Covington as their new defensive coordinator. Along with Brian and Mayo, Covington helped make the Patriots one of the top defensive units in the NFL in 2023.

It could be a tough transitional year in the defensive backfield, if the team loses Kyle Dugger in free agency. Devin McCourty retired before the season, and Dugger will test the free agent market in March.

Brian will have his work cut out for him in keeping the unit from falling off a cliff during an obvious rebuild.

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More information on Jerod Mayo extending coaching opportunities to Bill Belichick’s sons

Jerod Mayo reportedly made hiring Bill Belichick’s sons a priority

New England Patriots coach Jerod Mayo made an offer to Bill Belichick’s sons to stay on the coaching staff, according to the Boston Herald’s Andrew Callahan.

Steve Belichick has been with the organization since 2012. He has served as the team’s outside linebackers coach since the 2020 season. Brian Belichck has been the safeties coach for the organization since 2020. He first joined the Patriots as a scouting assistant in 2016.

The defensive unit shined for the Patriots throughout the 2023 season, despite dealing with numerous injuries. They ranked first in the NFL with only 13.9 points allowed per game. They also were second in the NFL with only 27 touchdowns allowed on the season.

Callahan indicated that the Belichicks were high on Mayo’s priority list, as transcribed by NESN.com’s Adam London:

Offering the Belichicks was one of Mayo’s first moves, a source confirmed to the Herald, and those coaches have support elsewhere in the building, should they choose to stay.

The defensive side of the football has been one of the bright spots for the Patriots over the past couple of seasons. Keeping the Belichicks on staff would certainly be a positive move to aid in that success continuing.

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Report: Bill Belichick’s sons offered opportunity to stay on Patriots’ coaching staff in 2024

Could Steve Belichick and Brian Belichick return to the Patriots in 2024?

There could be familiar faces on Jerod Mayo’s coaching staff, as Steve Belichick and Brian Belichick have both been offered the opportunity to return to the team for 2024.

This was reported by Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer.

Steve has been the outside linebackers coach for the organization since 2020, while Brian has served as the team’s safeties coach since 2020. Both began their careers with the Patriots as assistants in different capacities before joining the coaching staff.

The Patriots defense was a source of strength last season. Steve, along with newly-hired head coach Jerod Mayo, helped a unit that ranked seventh in total defense. This included ranking fourth in rushing yards allowed per game (89.3). The unit remained a source of strength, despite significant injuries in October to starting cornerback Christian Gonzalez and linebacker Matthew Judon.

Here’s what Breer had to say about the possibility of Bill’s sons staying on staff:

[anyclip-media thumbnail=”undefined” playlistId=”undefined” content=”dW5kZWZpbmVk”][/anyclip-media]Belichick’s sons, defensive play-caller and linebackers coach Steve, and safeties coach Brian, have both already been offered the opportunity to return to the team for 2024. Mayo and the elder son (Steve) have grown close as they’ve collaborated to run the Patriots’ defense the past five years.

Continuity and familiarity wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world, as Mayo looks to make his mark early with the Patriots.

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Patriots’ 2023 coaching staff with job titles

Here’s the Patriots’ 2023 coaching staff with job titles

New England Patriots training camp starts next week, and the organization revealed the roles for the coaches in the upcoming season.

There are several familiar faces back on the coaching staff, as well as new additions. Some of the more notable roles include Joe Judge as the assistant head coach and Evan Rothstein as the assistant quarterbacks coach.

The staff shakeup comes on the heels of a difficult 2022 season for New England, who missed the playoffs for the second time in three years. They’re hopeful the new-look staff can create the necessary changes to get the Patriots back into postseason contention.

Here’s the coaching staff expected to lead the way to change in 2023:

Brian Belichick discusses DB versatility with reference to Jalen Mills

Brian Belichick talks positionless football in the defensive backfield.

New England Patriots defensive back Jalen Mills can play in a variety of roles.

He tweeted in mid-March that he “really plays safety”, although recent history suggests his versatility. He played 227 snaps at the wide corner position, as well as 182 snaps at slot corner. He played 236 snaps at free safety and was in the box for 329 snaps.

With New England, he has been able to play as a defensive back in certain situations. He recorded 31 tackles and five pass deflections in 10 games for New England last season. He made all 10 starts in the process.

Now, it appears he could have the opportunity to play safety once again. Brian Belichick recently spoke to the media and talked about the role of a defensive back in the Patriots defense, as transcribed by NESN.com’s Zack Cox.

“For our defense, we categorize everyone on the back end as DBs,” Belichick said. “We’re pretty position-flexible. Whatever people want to call the guys, whatever they want to call themselves, that isn’t important to us. It’s more (about) the roles that they can help us with on the back end, and Jalen Mills, just like a lot of our guys, has been a guy who can help us in multiple different roles doing multiple different jobs.

“Like a lot of guys who have come through here — Devin McCourty, Jason McCourty, Myles Bryant, (Kyle) Dugger, (Adrian) Phillips. They all played different roles — outside, inside, covered different guys. Those are the types of guys that we want on our defense.”

Mills’ versatility certainly lends him to being able to be switched around defensively. Nevertheless, it’s clear that he has a favorite position on the field.

New England’s defense played at a high level last season, and it will be intriguing to see if they can replicate that performance in 2023. Mills will obviously be a big part in whatever role he ends up playing.

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The Morning After: Patriots’ postseason bid comes up short

The offense was clicking, but it was too little, too late for the Patriots in Sunday’s 35-23 loss to the Bills.

The New England Patriots have finished the year 8-9 and have missed the playoffs for the second time in three seasons. They fought hard but ultimately fell short in a 35-23 loss against the 13-3 Buffalo Bills, who clinched the No. 2 seed in the AFC with the win.

The Patriots still had a chance to make the playoffs with a loss, but they needed the Pittsburgh Steelers and Miami Dolphins to lose as well. However, both teams pulled out Week 18 victories, which helped the Dolphins clinch the final wild card spot in the AFC.

New England has had an up and down season led by their elite defense that showed how good they can be on Sunday by forcing three turnovers by the Bills.

What ultimately went against the Patriots’ efforts was not one, but two kickoffs returned for touchdowns by Bills return man Nyheim Hines, including one on the very first play of the game. The Patriots special teams were horrid all game, even outside of the returns, and ultimately cost the team a victory on a day when the defense and offense both played well.

This season came to a frustrating end, as there was hardly a single game where all three facets—offense, defense, and special teams—played like a cohesive football team for the Patriots. If anything, that speaks volumes to the level of engagement the players have and the level of coaching we have seen.

Let’s get into the leftover notes from Sunday’s game.

Did Patriots CB Jack Jones call out positional coach in cryptic tweet?

Patriots rookie CB Jack Jones’ recent tweet has people talking.

New England Patriots rookie CB Jack Jones, who has had a sensational rookie season, and looks like one of the 2022 NFL draft’s best corners, tweeted a cryptic tweet Saturday morning that could be taken as a shot.

It is no secret that the offensive coaching staff has been criticized by fans and media all season long, with some tongue and cheek comments from some players in interviews.

But Jones tweeted what many read to be a shot taken at someone on the Patriots coaching staff.

If Jones is talking about a coach for the Patriots, who could he possibly be talking about in a post like this?

Could it be defensive backs coach Mike Pellegrino?

Pellegrino has been with the Patriots for the past eight seasons and has spent the past four years as a cornerbacks coach. Coincidentally, he has never played in the NFL. In fact, he’s a former college lacrosse star and Major League Lacrosse pro.

With all the uncertainty and criticism from fans, media, and some players about the coaching structure on offense, it is hard not to believe this was a shot at the Patriots corners coach. But in defense of Pellegrino, the Patriots corners always seem to be well-coached and have been in the top-half of the league statistically each year he has been a coach.

This is pure speculation, as Jones could be referring to a high school coach, college coach, or even fans trying to give advice on his tackling, which due to his frame is still developing at the NFL level.

Jones went on to praise head coach Bill Belichick publicly, so there is no ill-will there for the rookie CB that was selected in the fourth round of the 2022 NFL draft.

Even if Pellegrino wasn’t the target of the shot, it still shines a light on the Patriots’ coaching decisions, where many coaches are given chances for positions they have never played or coached, which is a frustrating structure for those still searching for answers for what happened in 2022.

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Brian Belichick says Patriots have ‘no excuses’ for this ‘unacceptable’ coaching error

Brian Belichick reacted to two major coaching errors from the defensive staff over the last two weeks.

The New England Patriots have had a handful of uncharacteristic issues this season, from fumbles to penalties. Bill Belichick is known for avoiding mistakes, and his coaching staff tends to follow his lead. But the Patriots defense has had two instances of having the wrong number of players on the field over the last two weeks.

Against the New Orleans Saints in Week 3, the Patriots had just 10 players on the field for running back Alvin Kamara’s receiving touchdown. Against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 4, New England had the opposite problem: with 12 men in the huddle, a penalty. The Patriots defense committed that 5-yard penalty on a 3rd-and-6, and they gave the Bucs a 3rd-and-1, which they converted with a three-yard run.

Patriots safeties coach Brian Belichick said he had “no excuses.”

“It is just something that’s unacceptable,” Belichick said during a videoconference with the media on Tuesday. “We all need to know who needs to be on the field, regardless of the group or situation.”

The Patriots (1-3) have lost two of their games by a margin of two points or fewer. That’s the kind of defeat where the little mental errors end up changing the game. That’s why these two mistakes stood out.

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