‘Longtime’ Patriots O-line coach Scarnecchia retires
Hall of Fame DE Doleman dies
FOXBOROUGH, Massachusetts, Jan 29, (AP): New England offensive line coach Dante Scarnecchia, the league’s longest-tenured coach with the same team, has retired.
Considered one of the best Oline coaches in NFL history, he spent 34 seasons with the Patriots and 36 in the league.
“Dante Scarnecchia has been unbelievable in every way. As a coach, he was extraordinarily talented at teaching his players and bringing the most out of each of them,” Patriots owner Robert Kraft said. “Dante put everything he had into helping his players achieve their maximum potential, the mark of a great coach. His contributions to our team and to the game of football are unprecedented over the last four decades.
“Yet even more remarkable is the impact Dante has had on countless players, coaches and staff members who have walked through our doors. He modeled the principles he believed in through his hard work, diligence and integrity. He held himself accountable. He trained alongside his players. He treated everyone with respect.’’
Scarnecchia left the game in 2014 and 2015 but returned to New England in 2016. He had other hiatuses from the Patriots after being hired in 1982, moving to the Indianapolis Colts with coach Ron Meyer in 1989 for two years. He then went back to the Patriots.
In all, he worked under six head coaches, including Hall of Famer Bill Parcells.
“There truly is no way to sum up the incredible career he’s had, the positive impact he’s made on our franchise or how much he will be missed,’’ Kraft said.
Scarnecchia
Hall of Fame defensive end Chris Doleman, who became one of the NFL’s most feared pass rushers during 15 seasons in the league, has died. He was 58.
The Minnesota Vikings and Pro Football Hall of Fame president and CEO David Baker offered their condolences in separate statements late Tuesday night. There was no word on the timing of Doleman’s death, but he had surgery in January 2018 to remove a brain tumor and Baker said he passed away “after a prolonged and courageous battle against cancer.”
Doleman played college ball for Pittsburgh before he was selected by Minnesota in the first round of the 1985 NFL draft. He spent his first nine seasons with the Vikings, collecting a league-high 21 sacks in 1989.
The 6-foot-5 Doleman also played for Atlanta and San Francisco before finishing his career with Minnesota in 1999. He had 150 1/2 sacks in 232 games. He was a first-team All-Pro selection on two occasions and made eight Pro Bowls.
Doleman, an Indianapolis native, was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2012.
The Denver Broncos completed their U-turn on offense Tuesday by hiring veteran NFL assistant Mike Shula as their quarterbacks coach.
Shula and new offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur bring more than four decades of combined NFL coaching experience to Denver, where they’ll shepherd QB Drew Lock into his second season in 2020.
Shula and Shurmur, who are both 54 years old, replaced T.C. McCartney, 29, and Rich Scangarello, 47, respectively.
Scangarello and McCartney both brought zero experience into their roles a year ago as the Broncos tried to modernize their longlanguishing offense. The Broncos (7-9) averaged 17.6 points and didn’t display the innovation that was expected but they did finish on a high note with Lock starting the final five weeks and going 4-1 in those starts.
A Florida judge freed NFL free agent Antonio Brown from house arrest Tuesday, allowing him to travel freely as he awaits trial on charges that he attacked the driver of a moving truck.
Circuit Judge Michael Usan agreed to let Brown travel freely within the United States so he can fulfill contractual obligations with ESPN and comedian Kevin Hart, according to news reports. Instead of wearing an ankle GPS monitor, Brown, 31, will have to check in with court personnel daily.
His $110,000 bail remains in place and he still must surrender his passport, possess no weapons or ammunition and submit to a mental health evaluation and random drug testing.
The Browns have a new general manager, and they don’t any need time to get to know him.
Andrew Berry was named Cleveland’s GM and executive vice-president on Tuesday, returning to the team after a one-year stint in the Philadelphia Eagles’ front office. Berry was the Browns’ vice president of player personnel from 2016-18, when the team went 1-31 over two seasons and was mired in dysfunction.
In this May 1, 1985 file photo, Minnesota Vikings head coach Bud Grant holds up the new jersey to their first-round draft pick Chris Doleman at a press conference to introduce the linebacker from
Pittsburgh in Eden Prairie, Minnesota. (AP)