PATRIOTS NEED TO GROOM
During his first two decades at the helm of the Patriots, Bill Belichick always had succession plans in place at positions of importance.
Specifically, from 2000-19, Belichick always had someone apprenticing in the system to take over in the event any of his key coaches, players or personnel heads were plucked away. When it came to his offensive and defensive coordinators in particular, there was always an answer for who’s next.
From Charlie Weis, to Josh McDaniels, to Bill O’Brien, back to McDaniels, there was always someone in-house ready to do the job and be the next offensive coordinator. Same on the defensive side, going from Romeo Crennel, to Eric Mangini, Dean Pees, Matt Patricia and then Brian Flores before having the Steve Belichick/ Jerod Mayo combo coordinating the unit.
The “who’s next in line” question always had an answer – until recently.
Belichick didn’t have a ready-made replacement when McDaniels left last offseason to become the head coach of the Las Vegas Raiders. He also didn’t have a builtin successor when he chose to move on from Tom Brady. Or when Rob Gronkowski initially retired, for that matter.
It’s been a factor in the Patriots’ failure to win a playoff game since Brady left.
There’s no question the Patriots have been hit hard in other areas, losing director of player personnel Nick Caserio, followed by his replacement, Dave Ziegler, and offensive coordinator McDaniels, then also having Ernie Adams, Dante Scarnecchia and Ivan Fears retire. Talk about brain drain.
In the past, those types of losses hurt, but were ultimately absorbed rather seamlessly. Only the cupboard has been bare of late. That’s part of the reason why the notso-dynamic duo of Matt Patricia and Joe Judge wound up in positions they didn’t belong last season.
Let’s just say this: while it’s great the Patriots have landed Bill O’Brien to run the offense, they can’t afford to leave themselves without an answer if his stay in New England is short-lived. It’s no secret O’Brien wants to get back to being a head coach, so if he successfully turns around Mac Jones and the Patriots offense, there will no doubt be some suitors.
That’s why the Patriots need to plan now and get their ducks in a row, so to speak. They need the coaching version of next man up. And, by the looks of it, they appear to be on that same wavelength.
Ross Douglas, who coached the wide receivers in 2022 and worked with the defense in the previous season, served as team’s offensive coordinator at the Shrine Bowl. Maybe there’s no correlation, but Douglas seems like a possibility for advancement. Players and coaches speak highly of him.
Richmond coach Russ Huesman, Douglas’ last boss before arriving in New England, told the Herald’s Andrew Callahan that he’s expecting bigger and better things from the Patriots wide receivers coach in a story done last year.
“You can just tell he’s an up-and-coming star in the business,” Huesman said.
If not Douglas, Nick Caley might also be a possibility. It’s unknown if Caley will return to his role as tight ends coach – his contract is up – but he would be another in that category. Prior to O’Brien being named, Caley interviewed for the offensive coordinator job both in New England and in New York with the Jets. And Wednesday, he reportedly met with the Texans for their OC job.
So if Caley remains with the Patriots, those
are two candidates who could develop under O’Brien and assume the offensive coordinator role should he leave (though Belichick has now twice passed over Caley for the position).
Wide receivers/returners coach Troy Brown could be another candidate.
He served as the head coach for the West team in the Shrine Bowl. If Brown has head-coaching aspirations, serving as an offensive coordinator would go a long way toward achieving that goal. Out in Las Vegas, Brown said he was happy to gain the experience.
“All the planning has been left up to me — everything from practices, to travel, itinerary,” he said. “So it puts me in a spot I’ve never been before and I couldn’t experience anywhere else. That is a valuable lesson I’m learning.”
Another lesson the Patriots have learned is continuity, especially with keeping the same system in place. In the past, Brady has spoken about the advantage of never having to change playbooks while he was in New England save for the new coordinator adding on or providing tweaks. An attempted change to a new system in 2022 under Patricia and Judge proved disastrous for Mac Jones.
Which brings us back to O’Brien. Whatever system he employs, be it the old Patriots system he’s taught, some mix of that and what he used at Alabama, it’s important to keep that system after he departs.
According to Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer, Belichick didn’t pursue O’Brien last year due to the “fear” that the coach would leave in a year if he did well enough to land a head-coaching job elsewhere. Even with him here, that narrative hasn’t changed. O’Brien might not be here for the long haul. That’s what ESPN analyst Damien Woody suspects.
“If they make the right moves, and O’Brien turns that offense around, guess who’s going to be right back in the mix for a head coaching job? Bill O’Brien,” said Woody. “If you look at the totality of his time in Houston, he did a pretty good job. So he’ll be sought after if that offense comes around.”
Whether O’Brien is here for the long haul, or not, it behooves the Patriots to plan ahead. As Belichick discovered early on, it’s good business to always have someone in place.