Scar backs Brown move
Longtime Pats OL coach liked working with him
If anyone has the book on Trent Brown, it’s Dante Scarnecchia.
The former Patriots offensive line coach made a star out of Brown during his one season with the Patriots.
Scarnecchia’s brand of tough love worked wonders for the offensive tackle, and he sees no reason that Brown won’t be able to recapture that form back in Foxboro with the current coaching staff.
“I like Trent. I think he’s got talent, I think he’s got immense talent,” Scarnecchia told the Herald Wednesday. “I really enjoyed our time together. It definitely had some growing pains, but it was a very good time.”
Brown will be rejoining the Patriots, who made a trade to acquire him from the Raiders on Tuesday, although the deal won’t be finalized until the first day of the league year on Wednesday. Brown will arrive with an adjusted contract, restructured to a one-year deal worth up to $11 million.
While it’s still to be determined if he’ll be back in his old role at left tackle, or moved to the right side, Scarnecchia didn’t see a downside no matter what side he played.
“I think he can be a guy that you can run behind. He can make the tough blocks on the back side, and he’s a really good pass-blocker for multiple reasons,” said Scar.
“He’s so big, and he’s so long. He’s just a big guy to run around, and he’s really a hard guy to rush through. And, I think he loves challenges. The better the players, the more attention he pays. He really gets into it.”
Raiders general manager Mike Mayock saw Brown as being a “dominant” tackle, but after signing a mega-contract (four years, $66 million) in 2019, there were issues with Brown’s readiness, weight, and being in shape.
Scarnecchia didn’t dispute Brown being a challenge, saying: “I think he needs to be pushed.”
But he also found Brown did get his act together with a little prompting from the coaches.
“I think what happened early on, you could just see in the way he was moving around to start practice where his mindset was, ‘I’m taking this day off,’ ’’ said Scarnecchia. “If allowed to do that, he would do it. But, we just didn’t allow him to do that. We’d tell him, ‘Hey look, this ain’t going to be the way it’s going to happen.’ It may have been said in a different tone, and not as nice as that, but once he got beyond all that, it was an absolute pleasure to be around him, and to coach him, especially the way he played for us.
“The last two-thirds of the year, and in particular in the playoffs, I think he was really exceptional in the playoffs.”
In 2018, Brown was one of the best left tackles in the league, if not the best. He was that dominant.
Scarnecchia agreed Brown has the flexibility to play either the right or left side, but once he saw the talent, thought left was the best fit.
The former offensive line guru said when the Patriots moved him to the left side, there were some rumblings challenging the switch. Brown had been a right tackle with the 49ers, but once Scarnecchia watched him daily in practice, the move to the left side was obvious.
“Once you saw him on oneon-ones, you could see you could play him anywhere you wanted to put him,” said Scarnecchia. “And he was really good when we put him at left tackle. Whoever he was up against, he’d block ’em.
“I always say you gotta make ’em prove it, whether they can or whether they can’t, and he certainly proved that he could.”
The legendary former Patriots coach said he really had no idea what the plan would be for Brown with his expected return to Foxboro. Scarnecchia indicated he’s not been in touch with Brown or the Patriots.
His last act with the team before retiring was evaluating over 50 players from last year’s draft, with Michael Onwenu and Justin Herron in the group. He said he hasn’t spoken with anyone since then.
So, at this point, he hasn’t been asked to provide assistance with the massive tackle, even if only on a consulting basis.
Either way, Scarnecchia was confident the coaching staff would still be able to get the best out of Brown. They would get the job done without having him bark in Brown’s ear.
Scarnecchia believes the culture in New England, and Brown’s understanding of that culture, should once again bring out the best in the 6-foot-8, 380-pound lineman.
“One thing he did say, and this isn’t a comparison between Las Vegas and here, but towards the end of our time together, he said this was a good place for him to be,” said Scarnecchia. “Sixty million (his contract with the Raiders) changed that, but I’m glad for him, and I’m glad for the Patriots.
“I think it’s a nice situation to be in. I’m sure they’ll come up with a great plan to determine who can play where, and I’m anxious to see how it will all work out,” said Scarnecchia. “I’m sure it will work out great … Any time you can add a talented guy, that doesn’t have many miles on him, who’s that young, and has proven he can play in the league, it makes a lot of sense right now.
“I think depending if they can get David (Andrews) signed again, that could be a really good line with talented players who are still pretty young.”