Tag: Steve Belichick

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:

Mac Jones comments on facing monstrous Patriots defense at practice

Mac Jones knows firsthand just how good the Patriots’ defense can be

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Mac Jones is seeing just how dominant the New England Patriots’ defense can be firsthand. The unit itself is projected to be one of the best in the NFL this season.

And Jones can attest to that.

The unit was stellar last season. It ranked third in yards per play and had a knack for takeaways. The 30 takeaways ranked second in the entire league. The Patriots are returning several of the same names on the defensive side of football, with the recently retired Devin McCourty being the only player lost.

The addition of Christian Gonzalez in the draft, along with Keion White, among others, should help strengthen the unit. It also should make life miserable for opposing quarterbacks.

Jones recently spoke on the difficulties of facing the unit throughout the spring practices.

“They throw the kitchen sink at you,” said Jones, via ESPN’s Mike Reiss. “[Playcaller] Steve [Belichick] is in there all night drawing something up that looks like something you’ve seen, but it’s something else.”

If anything, this news bodes well for a Patriots team that has the second-hardest schedule in the NFL for 2023. We can only hope that iron sharpens iron, and it all ultimately works out in favor of both the offense and defense.

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Patriots coaching staff selected to coach 2023 East-West Shrine Bowl

The Patriots and Falcons’ coaching staffs will be working the 2023 East-West Shrine Bowl.

The New England Patriots and Atlanta Falcons’ coaching staffs have been chosen to work the upcoming 2023 East-West Shrine Bowl game on February 2.

It will be a game featuring the top senior collegiate football players across the country playing in front of NFL scouts. To put this opportunity into perspective, the Patriots drafted Tyquan Thornton, Sam Roberts, Pierre Strong Jr. and Jack Jones after all four played in the 2022 East-West game.

According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the Patriots and Falcons were chosen to work the game because they were the best fit to the criteria as the only non-playoff teams without head coaching or coordinator changes.

The irony behind all of this is the fact that coaching was at the center of New England’s problems throughout the 2022 season, particularly on offense and special teams.

But any opportunity for young players to pick the massive football brain of coach Bill Belichick could be considered invaluable.

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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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Steve Belichick calls Patriots Week 1 tackling ‘as low as it gets’

Steve Belichick had a big issue with the poor tackling on defense.

There were two plays that stuck out the most in the New England Patriots’ 20-7 loss to the Miami Dolphins on Sunday: Trent Brown missing a key block that led to a Mac Jones strip sack fumble recovery for a touchdown, and Dolphins receiver Jaylen Waddle blowing past a pair of defenders for a 42-yard touchdown on a fourth-down before halftime.

As a defensive coach, Steve Belichick’s frustrations lean more towards the latter.

But it wasn’t just on the Waddle play in particular. Sure, the Patriots got caught out of position, and Ja’Whaun Bentley and Kyle Dugger couldn’t corral the speedy receiver, who blew right past them and waddled in the end zone, literally.

It was the other plays where Dolphins players were making defenders miss on initial contact and pushing for extra yards. On Tuesday, Belichick had an opportunity to address the team’s performance on Sunday, and he admitted things got off to a rocky start.

“Usually, the tackling in Week 1 is as low as it gets,” said Belichick.

Of course, that comment leaves room for optimism that things will get better as the season goes on. For the most part, however, the Patriots looked great defensively.

The only touchdown they gave up was on the completely blown play to Waddle. Erase that play from existence, and we’re looking at a game where the unit didn’t give up a single touchdown.

It gives reason to hope things will get better in the coming weeks.

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Patriots announce titles for 2022 coaching staff, won’t have OC or DC

The Patriots gave titles to members of their coaching staff, but they won’t have an offensive or defensive coordinator

The New England Patriots will begin the 2022 season without a titled offensive or defensive coordinator on staff.

The organization will instead delegate responsibilities according to position. Joe Judge is the offensive assistant and quarterbacks coach. Matt Patricia will take on the role of senior football advisor, as well as work with the offensive line, per Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer.

Steve Belichick and Jerod Mayo will take on the duties of coaching the linebackers.

This news is just another piece in a barrage of changes the Patriots have made this offseason. Josh McDaniels departure to Las Vegas was perhaps one of the bigger ones. Now, New England will elect take care of offensive duties in-house.

Mayo has spent the last three seasons as the inside linebackers coach for the Patriots. The younger Belichick has been the outside linebackers coach since the 2020 season.

New England will have a chance to explore fresh ideas in what is a different-looking staff from last season.

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Steve Belichick shares intense saying the Patriots have entering playoffs

The Patriots have a saying entering the playoffs that lays out the hard truth.

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Bill Belichick carries himself with a very realistic and flexible mentality.

He’s accepts hard truths and is always willing to adapt — helping him transition with the ebbs and flows of the NFL. Belichick doesn’t sugarcoat things and it keeps transparency with his players and staff.

The New England Patriots do things one play at a time and that formula has helped fuel a dynasty over the course of two decades. Outside linebackers coach and Belichick’s son, Steve, has been on the inside and he understands how the Patriots operate.

Steve joined Chris Long on his Green Light podcast and they discussed various different topics. One question that came up was the Patriots’ mindset entering playoffs and Steve gave a very morbid response.

“We have a saying around here: ‘Once you get to the playoffs, only one plane lands — and everybody else crashes and burns in the ocean,’” Steve said, transcribed by masslive.com. “It’s the truth. Only one team’s plane is going to land and everybody else is going to crash and burn. That time of the year, it’s either a hat and t-shirt game or it’s a trash bag game. You’re cleaning out your locker with trash bags or you’re celebrating with some new hats and t-shirts.”

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What was the worst “plane crash” that Steve experienced with the Patriots?

“You guys beating us in the Philly Super Bowl in 2017,” Steve said. “That sucked.”

The Patriots realistic viewpoint keeps the expectations high and also prepares them for any disappointment that could likely come.

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Steve Belichick says Patriots LB Josh Uche is ‘an important piece to the puzzle’

Josh Uche needs to convert his immense potential into production in 2022.

After training camp in 2021, Josh Uche’s breakout game seemed inevitable. The speedy, pass-rushing linebacker flew around the field in practices and was a disruptive presence off the edge. He looked, at times, like a worthy counterpart to outside linebacker Matthew Judon.

And yet Uche never played more than 48% of defensive snaps in any one game and finished the year taking the field for just 22% of the team’s defensive snaps. The breakout game never came. He had 12 tackles and three sacks. It wasn’t the second-year leap that many anticipated.

He has a massive opportunity in 2022, however. With the Patriots trimming away their veteran linebackers like Dont’a Hightower, Jamie Collins and Kyle Can Noy, New England figures to ask more of Uche.

“I see him (as) part of the blueprint, and I see him being an important piece to the puzzle for us going forward,” Patriots outside linebackers coach Steve Belichick said Tuesday. “There’s a lot of other factors to it besides just what he’s going to do. We’ve got to see what everybody else does and work the pieces around from there, but I see Josh being a big part of this defense.”

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To some degree, the Patriots didn’t give Uche a path to the field with the signings of Matthew Judon and the return of Van Noy and Collins. But at the same time, the team might not have considered those additions in 2021 if Uche had developed at a more accelerated pace. Either way, Uche was a 2020 second-round pick and figures to be in the prove-it phase of his career. There’s a void of snaps and leadership in that linebacker group.

“You also miss the presence of a guy like Hightower, Kyle, Jamie. They’ve played a lot of football for us,” Patriots inside linebackers coach Jerod Mayo said. “With that being said, I would say this group — they bring a lot of energy to the table. They bring a lot of energy to the classroom. We all miss those guys but at the same time, we have to move on.”

Uche has no one in front of him on the roster. He needs to make good on his draft status and immense potential. He needs to convert it all into production.

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Steve Belichick pleased with potential of LB Cameron McGrone

Steve Belichick is impressed with what he’s seen from linebacker Cameron McGrone.

New England Patriots linebacker Cameron McGrone did not play a single game in his rookie season last year. However, he is giving the Patriots a reason for optimism as he heads into his second year.

McGrone came into the NFL with a torn ACL he suffered at Michigan. His 2021 season seemed like a medical redshirt year, as he worked on getting healthy and learning the playbook during that timeframe.

Despite limited on-field work, he was able to impress outside linebackers coach Steve Belichick. He was able to make a lasting impression on the coach in the few weeks before he was put on the PUP list, as transcribed by Zach Cox of NESN.com.

“It was exciting to have him on the field last year for those couple weeks before he reverted to IR or PUP,” Belichick said Tuesday in a video conference. “When he was practicing, it was really exciting to see him out there. One thing that I noticed is that all the other guys on the field had been playing football for months, and then he had been coming off of a year or whatever of not playing football, and he really didn’t look in any sort of way out of place on the field, which I thought was impressive.”

As the Patriots undergo a bit of change at the linebacker position, McGrone could be a key piece as he works to get back healthy and in a position to contribute. There is little doubt he has skill, as he was once an All-Big Ten honoree. Health and opportunity will be paramount as he looks for a productive sophomore campaign.

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