Coaches wait and wonder
Patriots’ staff up in the air as season — and Belichick’s fate — plays out
Should the Patriots choose to part ways with coach Bill Belichick, the question becomes: How many exits will follow?
The team has already lost one assistant, wide receivers coach Ross Douglas, who is leaving for the same position at Syracuse. Douglas, 29, had spent three seasons as a full-time member of Belichick’s staff, after arriving in New England as part of the NFL’s Bill Walsh Diversity Coaching Fellowship.
Asked if the Patriots could have prevented Douglas from leaving, Belichick said technically no.
“It’s a college position,” he said. “It’s not an NFL team.”
For Douglas, the new job is an opportunity to reunite with new Syracuse head coach Fran Brown, whom he met at Rutgers in 2020, and take on an expanded role within the offense.
“I’m happy for him,” said Patriots wide receivers coach Troy Brown. “He obviously wouldn’t have taken the job if it wasn’t something he wanted to do. Hopefully, he’s happy. I’m pretty sure he’s happy he’s taking the job. He’ll be missed around here.”
For the Patriots, the departure is potentially the first of several to come.
If owner Robert Kraft chooses to move on from Belichick, changes to the coaching staff are inevitable. Belichick, now four games away from finishing his 24th season in New England, has built a staff filled with connections to him or those close to him.
Brown spent his entire 15-year NFL career with the Patriots. Offensive line coach Adrian Klemm was Belichick’s first draft pick in New England in 2000. Belichick’s two sons, Steve and Brian, coach the linebackers and safeties, respectively.
Vinnie Sunseri, a safety who played primarily on special teams at Alabama, is responsible for the running backs. His only coaching experience prior to joining the staff in 2020 was a year working as a graduate assistant for Nick Saban. Sunseri also had a brief stint with the Patriots as a practice squad player in 2016.
Mike Pellegrino, who played lacrosse at Johns Hopkins for Belichick’s close friend, Dave Pietramala, is in his ninth season with the team. He is in charge of the cornerbacks. He had no professional or college football credentials prior to joining Belichick’s staff.
Evan Rothstein, assistant quarterbacks coach, joined the organization in 2021 at the recommendation of Belichick’s longtime colleague, Matt Patricia.
Tight ends coach Will Lawing, who arrived this year, has worked with offensive coordinator Bill O’Brien in his many stops since 2013.
And then there’s linebackers coach Jerod Mayo, who played eight seasons for Belichick and is largely viewed as Belichick’s successor. Mayo had no coaching experience prior to joining the staff as an inside linebackers coach in 2019, but has quickly established himself as a coveted coaching candidate across the league.
The Broncos, Eagles, and Raiders have all interviewed Mayo for head-coaching gigs. The Panthers also requested an interview this past offseason before Mayo turned it down after the Patriots announced they were in contract extension talks that would keep him in New England “long term.”
Kraft spoke glowingly of the 37-year-old Mayo during the owners’ meetings in March. Of Belichick’s current assistants, he certainly seems to stand alone.
If Mayo ends up as head coach, how much of the team’s staff would he feel compelled to keep?
Some of the decisions would likely be contingent upon Belichick’s future. If he continues to coach in the NFL, would his sons and other assistants join him at his next stop? If not, how many of these coaches would look elsewhere?
Several of Belichick’s past assistants have gone on to become head coaches. Rarely, though, have they also had success.
Former Belichick assistants have a combined record of 219-306-2, with several flaming out in embarrassing fashion.
Of the 10 members of Belichick’s coaching tree, the only two to finish with a career record above .500 were Al Groh, who went 9-7 in his lone season with the Jets before resigning, and O’Brien, who went 52-48 before getting fired by the Texans after six-plus seasons.
Asked this week about the possibility of succeeding Belichick, Mayo reiterated both his interest in becoming a head coach and his love for New England.
“I bet you can say the answer that I’m about to give you: We’re 100 percent focused on the Chiefs,” he said. “I only try to control the controllables and that’s out of my control. Hopefully, as you guys all know, one day I want to be a head coach. Where that is, I don’t know.
“But at the same time, I would say I have a lot of love for New England. I have a lot of love for the fans, the people around the building. My family, they love it here as well. So, that would be great if I could stay here and continue to progress throughout my career, but we’ll see.”