The New England Patriots seem to have seen the end of their coaching turnover following the 2019 season. They lost special teams coordinator and receivers coach Joe Judge to the New York Giants, who made him their next head coach. Judge then hired Patriots defensive line coach Bret Bielema.
Because Judge was doing two jobs for the Patriots, that leaves three vacancies on staff. Considering the Patriots never named a defensive coordinator in 2019, they could also fill that role in 2020. Here are a few coaches on staff who could get promotions from Bill Belichick.
Steve Belichick, assistant: The safeties coach clearly earned more responsibilities in 2019 as the apparent defensive play-caller. Players also said the cornerbacks and safeties were meeting together more often in 2019, which meant that Belichick was serving as a secondary coach. It seems Belichick did a nice job this season with one of the NFL’s best defenses. He may be due for the defensive coordinator title.
Cam Achord, assistant: When special teams coordinator Joe Judge took on additional work as the receivers coach in 2019, he leaned heavily upon Achord. And the special teams unit was sensational, with big plays on blocks and fumble recoveries. Achord may step into the coordinator role that Judge vacated when he took the head coaching job with the New York Giants.
Troy Brown, assistant: Similarly with Achord on special teams, Brown was assisting Judge with the the receivers. So again, Brown could elevate to a bigger role. He certainly has an understanding of the offense, with his knowledge as a player from the early 2000s and his recent understanding from 2019. Perhaps Brown, who told ESPN he loved his rookie year as a coach, will get the receivers positional coach opening.
Nick Caserio, director of player personnel: Here’s a tricky one. Caserio does it all for the Patriots. He helps with coaching. And he runs the entire scouting department (pro and college). Belichick relies upon Caserio’s hard work as Belichick makes decisions about additions and subtractions from the roster. But Caserio doesn’t have final say, so far as we know. Perhaps he has earned a bigger say on personnel decisions after another impressive season.
Jerod Mayo/DeMarcus Covington, assistants: They split the linebacker position this season, with Mayo taking inside linebackers and Covington working with the outside linebackers. Perhaps Mayo will take on the whole linebacker position in 2019 while Covington moves to the defensive line.
Brian Belichick, assistant: He’s in his fourth year on staff, with work in the scouting and coaching departments. Steve touted his brother’s cerebral approach to the game. Other than that, we have no true barometer of the quality of his work. But his tenure in the organization typically lends itself to a positional group. Perhaps he’ll get one in 2020.
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