Tag: Mike Pellegrino

Patriots CB coach adds context to recent drama surrounding Jack Jones

Is the Jack Jones situation being blown out of proportion? Patriots CB coach Mike Pellegrino cautioned people against it.

Initial assumptions was that the mess on the football field had spilled over into the New England Patriots’ locker room, following Sunday’s odd benching of cornerbacks Jack Jones and J.C. Jackson against the Washington Commanders.

Granted, both players did eventually come into the game, but they were sitting on pine when the defense took the field for the first time with cornerback Shaun Wade as a starter.

Patriots cornerbacks coach Mike Pellegrino cautioned people from blowing the situation out of proportion, when speaking with media members on Tuesday.

“I think the narrative should be really pushed toward ‘What did Shaun do right to earn that opportunity,'” Pellegrino said, via NESN’s Zack Cox.

The mysterious benching even seemed to be lost on coach Bill Belichick, who pretended like it wasn’t even a thing after the game.

Jones reportedly exited the building and wasn’t made available to reporters to comment after the game, while Jackson declined to speak. It was a strange situation that even led to Jones liking this tweet after the Patriots fell to 2-7 on the season in a 20-17 loss to the Commanders.

It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to see there’s trouble brewing in New England right now. Could cooler heads prevail and everyone gets back to work without incident this week? Absolutely.

But there’s also the truth that nothing good comes from losing as much as the Patriots have lost this year. Frustrations are boiling over with the team ranking amongst the worst in football.

It’s hard to envision that improving given the current trajectory of the team is a top-five draft pick in 2024 and the ugliest season in Bill Belichick’s entire coaching career 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:

What to make of four Patriots coaches sent to NFL Scouting Combine

The Patriots sent four coaches to the NFL Scouting Combine this year.

The New England Patriots sent four members of their coaching staff to the NFL combine this week.

Wide receivers coach Troy Brown, corners coach Mike Pellegrino, special teams coordinator Cam Achord, and special teams assistant Joe Houston were all traveling down for the combine, per the Boston Herald’s Andrew Callahan.

This is a slight change from last year, as New England kept their offensive assistants in New England, and did not send them down. The organization has been busy with offseason work, as several members of the coaching staff worked the East-West Shrine Bowl. Bill Belichick headlined a group that included defensive line coach DeMarcus Covington.

This is certainly an interesting tidbit of news, given that these coaches will probably work closely with New England’s draft picks. It is worth noting that director of player personnel Matt Groh also made the trip. The latter has seen an increase in duties this off-season, including signing Matthew Slater’s contract.

It will be intriguing to see what tidbits come out from the Combine, as this coaching staff gets ready to prep for the draft. It appears as though they have several bases covered positionally, in what could be a crucial draft for a team looking to take the next step.

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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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