Out to make a difference
Patrick Pass won three Super Bowls during his NFL career, the majority of it spent with the New England Patriots. So why is he coaching the Villa Novans? The former fullback sees the opportunity as a prime chance to make sure the WHS players stay on the s
Barry Field would seem an unlikely setting for a three-time NFL Super Bowl champion.
Don’t strain your eyes because this is not a misprint. N-F-L. Not one Lombardi Trophy to his name, but three.
These days, Patrick Pass goes by the title of defensive coordinator for the Woonsocket High School football team. It’s his second go-round as an assistant with the program, having spent the 2014 season under then-head coach Brian Bouley.
It’s also a post-career landing spot that Pass readily admits is the perfect match for what the 39-year-old Pass wishes to accomplish.
There are plenty of former NFL Sunday foot soldiers who are paying it forward in the same fashion that Pass is with the Villa Novans – imparting their wisdom and experience to the next generation. Some may have enjoyed more productive careers stats-wise, yet the cachet that Pass brings to the table as it relates to these parts stems from spending 78 of the 79 games he logged in the NFL with the New England Patriots from 2000 to 2006.
What also distinguishes Pass from those like himself who elect to dive headfirst into what can be an unforgiving world is that at the end of the day, X’s and O’s are a secondary concern. Pass fancies himself more as a life coach than a football coach. He sees the Woonsocket players and it reminds him of how he came of age in a single- family home located 20 minutes outside of Atlanta, one infested by gangs, drugs and violence.
“I saw my mom working two or three jobs just to support us. I wanted to help out, but I also knew I wanted to get out of the neighborhood,” Pass said after the conclusion of last Thursday’s practice. “I guess you could say I had a mature brain for a young age. I knew what I wanted to do.”
His desire was to go to college, which he did at the University of Georgia. He wanted to get his degree, which he did in sociology. He also excelled in baseball and played several seasons in the minors after being drafted by the Florida Marlins in 1996. Pass made darn sure that he wasn’t going to become another sad statistic.
Taking a deep breath, Pass unveils his true reasoning as to why he opts to spend his afternoons twirling a whistle for an inner-city public high school. He has firm ties to the first three championships the Patriots won in the first decade of this century, a distinction that surely would open doors to more exotic and glitzy football locales.
Pass is nothing but optimistic and grateful for the level of the game he’s found a home in, a claim he made no bones about. Here at Woonsocket, he feels he can make a difference. As a youngster, he avoided pitfalls and emerged as a better person/success story because of it. His
“I have a voice, so why not use it?” — Patrick Pass, former New England Patriots fullback & current defensive coordinator at Woonsocket High School
message to the Novans is to follow his lead.
“I didn’t have this type of leadership growing up, but I know it’s important to go back in the neighborhood and give these kids love, appreciation and respect,” said Pass, part of the same 2000 New England draft class as Tom Brady. “It’s about getting them on the straight and narrow now because there’s a lot of distractions.
“I have a voice, so why not use it?” he adds.
As he speaks, the Woonsocket players sprint with great ferocity to the Barry Field clubhouse where a dozen Domino’s pizzas await. The tab was picked up by Pass, who was keeping a promise he made after the Novans opened Division I play with a 27-21 overtime win at Barrington on Sept. 15.
“We were so hard on the kids leading up to that game and I didn’t want to be known as a Scrooge,” Pass said. “I do have a soft side.”
Told the pizza pledge sounds like a chip off the old Bill Belichick block when the Patriots head coach would enter the locker room after a win and exclaim, “See you on Wednesday,” which in NFL circles is code for a job well done, Pass smiled.
“Maybe we’ll have to start a tradition of Pizza Thursdays,” he said.
First-year WHS head coach Charlie Bibeault made it a point to keep in touch with Pass during the two seasons he wasn’t on the Novan staff. The relationship has a playful ribbing side to it, stemming from Bibeault being a fan of the St. Louis-turned-Los Angeles Rams and Pass part of the 2001 New England squad that staged a memorable last-second win in Super Bowl XXXVI. From time to time, Pass will show Bibeault his ring that serves as a definite reminder of the team that won.
Over the summer, Bibeault planted the seeds for a Pass/Woonsocket reunion. Not much pleading was needed.
“If I get the head coaching job, would you be my defensive coordinator?” Bibeault asked Pass. “Absolutely,” was the reply.
Bibeault was getting a coach with a NFL background who cares just as much about the players off the field as how they perform on Fridays and Saturdays.
“I know I have a lot to give to the kids, but it’s not even about coaching. It’s about getting them on the straight and narrow,” said Pass, who presently lives in North Providence. “I feel like the maturity for these young men starts right now. If I can get them to think maturely now, they’ll be better served going forward.
“It goes way beyond football. It’s about life experiences,” Pass delves further. “Some of these kids won’t be able to go to college after high school. They’ll have to get a job. It’s about teaching them to be respectful and that accountability will carry you a long way.”
Listed as a 5-10 fullback with four career NFL touchdowns and 526 rushing yards on 128 carries, Pass is very active as the vice president of the Patriots Alumni Club; he estimates he takes part in close to 200 events ranging from clinics to speaking engagements per year.
Each weekday, you can count on him making a beeline to Barry Field, offering guidance to a group of Woonsocket youngsters who are benefitting from his tutelage.
“To see him so committed is awesome. The kids believe in him,” Bibeault said. “He’s a great influence on them.”
Pass has also been an asset to Bibeault and his coaching staff. Citing his good friendship with current New England defensive coordinator Matt Patricia, Pass on occasion will ask Bibeault if he wants him to arrange a dinner meeting. More than a decade has passed since played a down for the Pats, yet he still has all his New England playbooks. He’s offered the Woonsocket coaches the chance to see and comprehend actual NFL terminology.
“He’s here to make us better coaches. Obviously, we pick his brain on everything,” Bibeault said.
On game days, Pass prefers to stand at the top of the bleachers. With the headset on, he will relay what he sees and call the defense to WHS assistant Marc Piette, who stands on the sideline.
Again, Pass reiterates that he has no desire to make coaching a living.
“I know the grind behind it … guys in the NFL spending 20-hour days. Plus, I like watching from the sidelines. It keeps me from thinking that I can still play,” he said with a hearty chuckle. “This is pure enjoyment and makes you smile when they do exactly what you ask them to do.”
Before leaving Barry Field on Thursday, Pass hands Bibeault a 15-question quiz that is to be distributed and answered by the Woonsocket players. The purpose is to make sure everyone comprehends what was discussed leading up to Saturday’s game against Portsmouth. There is some pressure attached – a player stands the chance of not playing if he fails.
Sounds like a move straight out of the Belichick playbook? Perhaps, but Pass isn’t here to share war stories from his New England career. He has shown his three Super Bowl rings to the WHS players. When it comes to reminiscing, that’s as close as Pass will get.
“The more I can let them know what they need to do, it can only help,” he said about his primary mission – to ensure the Woonsocket players don’t stray from the path he always wanted to take when he was their age.