Tag: Ivan Fears

Ivan Fears has high expectations for Patriots RB Ty Montgomery

Former Patriots RB coach Ivan Fears sees a defined role for Ty Montgomery in New England.

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The New England Patriots need all hands on deck for the 2023 season, and that includes running back Ty Montgomery.

Montgomery was thought of as a potential key piece for the running back room last season, but his year was cut short when he suffered a knee injury in Week 1 against the Miami Dolphins. It ended up being a season-ending injury, and he was placed on injured reserve.

Montgomery’s return will be a welcome development for Rhamondre Stevenson, who was forced to carry most of the load in 2022. Stevenson exceeded 90 percent of the snaps three times over the course of the season.

The Patriots will have several capable backs in the room in addition to Stevenson. The addition of James Robinson in free agency and Montgomery should provide New England with the versatility and depth they didn’t have last season.

Former running backs coach Ivan Fears is optimistic about Montgomery’s return to the organization, as he spoke about it on the “6 Rings & Football Things” podcast, as transcribed by Mike Reiss.

“I think he has a great chance to be the third-down back and take some of the load off Rhamondre [Stevenson], so [Rhamondre] can be fresh when we really need him on first and second down carrying the ball as the featured guy,” said Fears. “We need some help for Rhamondre, and I think Ty is looking really good right now. He’s healthy.”

Montgomery’s role will be an intriguing one, as he tries to work his way back from injury and into the rotation fully.

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Patriots RB Rhamondre Stevenson gets another challenge from Ivan Fears

Former Patriots running backs coach Ivan Fears is eager to see Rhamondre Stevenson take things to another level in 2023.

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Former New England Patriots running backs coach Ivan Fears issued a challenge to running back Rhamondre Stevenson during a podcast earlier this week.

Stevenson had a solid season in 2022. He recorded 1,040 yards on 210 carries with five touchdowns. So far, he has had a productive career for New England overall. He has 1,646 yards and 10 touchdowns in two seasons of play.

However, Fears wants to see Stevenson in an even bigger role as a leader. The coach gave Stevenson criticism as a rookie, and he was able to answer the call.

Now, he will have to become the face of a running back room that features a newcomer in James Robinson and second-year players in Pierre Strong and Kevin Harris. Fears wants Stevenson to take charge, as transcribed by NESN.com’s Dakota Randall.

“The kid has worked hard to do the things we’ve asked him to do,” Fears said, when appearing on WEEI’s “6 Rings” podcast. “To learn, and to prepare, and to train. He’s gotta continue in that mode, because, right now, he’s about to become a leader. He’s the veteran guy in the room. It’s one thing to say you’re gonna lead on Sunday. But, if you’re gonna be successful, you’ve gotta lead every day of the week. And he’s gotta step up in that area. He’s gotta step up to being there when they need him Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday.”

A successful rushing attack will be key to a Patriots offense looking to rebound from a difficult 2022 season.

Stevenson has shown he can be a productive player when given the chance. Now, it’s about taking lessons he learned from his first two seasons and applying them. The Patriots will need him to play at a high level, as they look to make noise in 2023.

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Patriots longtime RBs coach Ivan Fears confirms retirement – sort of

Ivan Fears is retiring after 46 years of coaching, but he won’t be completely out of the loop.

Longtime New England Patriots coach Ivan Fears confirmed his retirement while catching up with Karen Guregian of the Boston Herald.

Fears, 67, has coached for 46 years and he’s spent 23 of them in the NFL with the Patriots. He was the wide receivers coach for multiple stints in the late 90s and he coached the running back crew from 2002-21. Fears has six Super Bowl wins from his time with the Patriots and he’s been the running back guru throughout the entire dynasty run.

His presence will be missed in numerous ways, but it sounds like he’ll still be actively involved with the team in some capacity. Fears told Guregian that he’s still keeping tabs and offering “tidbits” — while saying he like the term “running backs consultant.”

Rhamondre Stevenson, who had a stellar rookie year with the Patriots, discussed Fears’ presence heading into 2022.

“He loves the game,” Stevenson said, transcribed by NESN. “It wouldn’t be right if I didn’t see him … honestly. It’s just great seeing him around. I still talk to him. He’s still in everyone’s ear, things like that.”

The Patriots have dealt with a ton of turnover with offensive coaches and they’re looking at Matt Patricia and Joe Judge to pick up the pieces.

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Sony Michel viewed Patriots RBs coach Ivan Fears as a father figure

Sony Michel had high praise for Ivan Fears earlier this week.

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Los Angeles Rams running backs Sony Michel is very appreciative of his time in New England.

Earlier this week, he talked about his experience with Bill Belichick and Tom Brady. In addition to those two, he has a tremendous amount of respect and admiration for Ivan Fears — New England’s running backs coach who is reportedly set to retire in the 2022 calendar year.

Michel spent his first three seasons with the Patriots before he was traded at the start of the 2021 season. Fears was there for him every step of the way during his time in New England and Michel thought of him like a father figure.

The former Georgia star ended up rushing for 2,292 yards during his time in New England. In the process, Fears was a big part of his development.

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Report: Patriots RBs coach Ivan Fears expected to retire

Running backs coach Ivan Fears is expected to retire from the game in 2022.

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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Patriots RB coach Ivan Fears confident Rhamondre Stevenson will ‘turn it loose’

“He’s going to turn it loose and we’re going to be all right.”

Damien Harris’ injury-riddled day against the Houston Texans leaves a cause for concern at the running back position for the New England Patriots.

The third-year back, who’s the team’s outright starter, left the game early with a chest injury and exited for good later on with a rib injury. There’s no official update yet, but the feeling around the team is that Harris will be fine moving forward.

Taking Harris out the equation, the Patriots are left with Rhamondre Stevenson, Brandon Bolden and J.J. Taylor at the position.

Stevenson, who was benched after a Week 1 fumble, didn’t play with the same intensity against the Texans that he had in the preseason. Running back coach Ivan Fears chimed in on the topic during a press conference on Tuesday.

Fears also elaborated on Harris’ ball security that has been an issue in key moments this season.

The Patriots’ pass attack is coming alive, but the rushing attack will need to relevant also for Mac Jones to put points on the board this season.

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Patriots RBs coach shares lofty comparison for J.J. Taylor

J.J. Taylor is getting high praise after a small but impressive role in Week 1.

The New England Patriots did something they don’t typically do with a rookie running back drafted anywhere but the first round — let alone an undrafted free agent. Bill Belichick put J.J. Taylor to work in Week 1.

It wasn’t a huge workload: nine snaps, four carries for 28 yards and one catch for four yards. But it was enough for Taylor to flash the talent that landed him on the game day roster for the team’s season opener after he went undrafted out of Arizona. His yards per carry (7) were the most on the team aside from Julian Edelman, who had one carry for 23 yards.

It surprised folks around the NFL — but not in the Patriots’ building.

“(His performance was) about what I hoped for and actually what I expected,” Patriots running backs coach Ivan Fears told the media on Wednesday. “The guy is a pretty good player, really a good runner. He’s sort of fits into that mold of small backs like (Darren) Sproles and those guys that’ve been successful. But it’s early. It really is early to tag any kind of title on him or anything like that. But I tell you what, we’re really happy to have him out there.”

The Patriots have fostered growth for a few smaller running backs, like Taylor. They’ve had Dion Lewis and Danny Woodhead. Taylor, at 5-foot-5, 185 pounds, is definitely undersized for a running back.

“Well, let’s put it this way. He can play hide and seek really well with the guys. He’s really hard to find,” Fears said.

Taylor isn’t quite as impressive of a pass-catcher as Lewis or Woodhead, but Taylor seemed to make a concerted effort to develop in that phase of the game in college, with his final college season being his most productive with receptions (32 catches, 289 yards). Otherwise, he was an elusive and powerful player between the tackles. But it’s a testament to his abilities that he’s been able to get on the field. Fears said they were deeply impressed with Taylor since the first day of training camp.

Fears was asked how Taylor got playing playing time on a team that typically keeps rookie running backs out of the mix.

“I think you’re looking at it the wrong way. We don’t hold them back,” Fears said. “We let them tell us what they’re going to be. That’s the way we’ve always been,” Fears said. “We let them determine it by what they do in practice. They show us.”

Apparently, Taylor showed the Patriots something special.

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