Tag Archives: Greg Schiano

Prime Candidates for the Patriots Defensive Coordinator Role Next Year

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There hasn’t been a defensive coordinator since Matt Patricia left for the Lions roughly two years ago. This year Bill Belichick will once again take the role of defensive play-caller while he continues to search for the perfect person for the job. Here we will look at the most likely candidates to have the role of defensive coordinator.

These are ranked by likeliness, not by who would be the best in the role.

5. Brian Flores

Belichick is VERY picky when choosing a new defensive coordinator. To even be considered you must have some experience with the Patriots system. That moves a lot of candidates off the table. But say that Flores struggles with coaching a terrible Dolphins squad and gets fired by the offseason. Belichick would not be afraid to bring him back. Flores was solid with the Pats the year prior as the defensive assistant, so he knows what it takes to be the defensive coordinator. He also has been with them for 15 years in different capacities. He knows what it takes to be successful for the Patriots, and Belichick will not hold the fact that Flores left against him.

4. Greg Schiano

Yes, he resigned before he was even hired last year because he wanted to spend time with his family. But the way I see it, is this was just a break before he gets back into coaching. He wants to evaluate the Patriots defensive talent to see if he has enough to work with so he doesn’t get another Buccaneers situation. Plus any successful football coach won’t retire until they are very old. The game will pull them back in just like it did with Scarnecchia. Schiano is a long time friend of BB. He is also a successful coach when given talent. While his short experience in the NFL wasn’t pretty, it was with a horrid Buccaneers team. Schiano is a solid option for the role, and definitely one one Bill’s radar.

3. Bill Belichick

While it would be a first for him to have play calling duties for three straight years, it is not impossible. He needs a D-coordinator that he can trust, and who better than himself. We know he won’t rush into any decision, so he may take another year if he strikes out of options. In the years Bill has been the play-caller the Patriots defense has been top notch. He has had three stints as the Patriots defensive play-caller, and he has been able to diminish the damage of losing crucial D-Coordinators like Pees and Patricia. I mean, just last year he managed a defense which is arguably responsible for their Super Bowl win. Bill might be the most likely option for defensive coordinator next year. The Pats will be more than fine if he is.

2. Matt Patricia

Is this surprising to anyone that he is on the list? He was with the Patriots for six years, leading a top ten defense to a championship twice. In 2016 his defense was the best in the entire NFL. He is a man who, like Belichick, gets the most out of his guys. Unfortunately for him, his tenure with the Lions isn’t going to well. His defense was average at best, and his offense was horrible. In my opinion Patricia, like McDaniels, is not cut out to be a head coach. I don’t think many would be too surprised if, after a second bad campaign, he gets fired and runs back to the Patriots. He can take the defense almost exactly the same as he left it and continue right where he left off.

He has shown some joy and skill in developing young players into stars, so Winovich, Bentley, and J.C. Jackson would be a project that could lure him back to the Pats. It would be putting it nice to say that he has struggled in his short time with the Lions, so perhaps it is time to go back to what he knows best: leading the Patriots defense to another ring.

1. Bret Bielema

You may be a little confused here with my #1 choice. I was too at first. But I researched past Belichick hirings, and this would be the most Belichick-like choice possible. Dean Pees, former Patriots defensive coordinator from 2006-2009, starting in college before joining the Pats as a position coach. When Mangini left, Pees took over and was pretty successful. Pees had a defense ranked top five in three of his four years, and of course was the DC during the undefeated run of 2007. Oh yeah, and don’t forget he only was a coach for two years with the Pats before getting the job. Bielema has followed that path up to this point. I believe that the only reason Belichick didn’t give him the job this year is because Bielema is relatively new to the Pats organization. But this year would mark his second with the club, the same amount of time as Pees had before becoming coordinator.

But Belichick is already preparing for him to become the new DC. Just this year he moved to defensive line coach from his consulting position, now marking him as a defensive coach. He was widely successful in college, at one point he was even considered for coach of the year in 2010. He was fired in 2017 because he couldn’t turn a bad Arizona team into a contender, but in the Pats’ case they already are contenders. Bielema may be a surprising pick, but Belichick has already started grooming him to be the next Patricia.

Potential Patriots: Dre’Mont Jones

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The combine has officially ended and now everyone can start to get a better sense on where each player will land in the draft. The value that a scout should hold in the combine is an age old debate that should be left for another time.

Not a good day for Mr. Jones

Dre’Mont Jones was on my mock draft and big board before the combine. Jones, the Ohio State product, dramatically underwhelmed scouts and evaluators. However, that could be a good thing for Patriots fans, as Dre’Mont could now slide further down draft boards.

Sliding down mock drafts

Before the combine, Dre’Mont had some saying that the Patriots would pick him with their 32nd selection. Now, it seems more likely that he will be available for one, if not both, of their second round selections.

Familiarity with Schiano

The idea of drafting Dre’Mont with a second round draft pick would certainly be worth the Patriots while. Dre’Mont was a dominant force at defensive tackle during his time at Ohio State. With Greg Schiano, one of his former coaches, becoming the defensive coordinator for the Patriots, trying to recreate some of the success he had with Schiano would make a lot of sense for the Patriots.

What makes Dre’Mont Jones so good?

Dre’Mont made a career at Ohio State for getting into the backfield quickly
  • Great physical traits that should translate well to the pro level
  • Good jump off the ball, quickly fires into gap
  • Disruptive interior force, can rush the inside of an offensive line well
  • Quickly gets into the chests of offensive lineman
  • Good athleticism
  • Good hands and footwork
  • Finds success by getting upfield quickly
  • Has worked with Greg Schiano before and the familiarity from both sides would benefit each other and the team
  • Strong pursuit
  • Head fakes and jab steps help him get into backfield
  • Has potential to be a strong three down starter in the three technique
  • Demonstrated good ability to turn corners with dropped shoulders
  • A difficult player to move off the ball
  • Displayed good run defense

The negatives in his game

Some of his negatives can be corrected but might take a bite into his game. Jones definitely has to improve on his size. He weighed in at 6’3, 295lbs at the combine.

Although that may sound like a lot to some, he could stand to benefit from a few more pounds. A couple fast food trips would not hurt Jones’ draft stock, but might hurt his quickness and pass rush abilities that really make him who he is.

Another problem for Dre’Mont can stem from his pad level at times. Some issues with winning battles against offensive lineman stemmed from his size and his pad level. This combo sometimes made Jones susceptible to losing one on one matchups against blockers. Which if a lineman could be quick enough to beat Jones and overpower him, Dre’Mont was virtually removed from the play.

Jones can still be a very good player

Dre’Mont Jones seems to be worth a second round pick and could provide a lot of value to a Greg Schiano defense. Although Dre’Mont does have some negatives, if he takes enough time to focus on himself and his craft, some of those problems can be minimized.

If it worked for Gerald McCoy, could it work for him?

The size versus speed debate on whether Jones should value one over the other will be a tough one that will probably follow Jones throughout his career. One of the better defensive tackles in the league, Gerald McCoy has faced similar struggles throughout his career. If Jones can duplicate the path that McCoy took and work on his craft in this very familiar system to him, Jones can be a very good Patriot for many years to come.

Greg Schiano to become Patriots Defensive Coordinator

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The Patriots will have a new defensive coordinator for 2019

The New England Patriots will have a new defensive coordinator for the 2019 season. According to the Boston Globe, Greg Schiano will take that role. The Patriots didn’t have a defensive coordinator for 2018 as Brian Flores was the defensive play caller. With Flores now the head coach of the Miami Dolphins it was rumored for weeks that Schiano would take the role as defensive coordinator. Schiano has been friends with Belichick for a long time. Schiano coached Belichick’s son Steve at Rutgers. He also coached Devin McCourty, Jason McCourty, and Duron Harmon.

Greg Schiano has famailarity with the coach and some players on the team

Belichick as always supported Schiano and called him a great coach.
“I think Greg’s a tremendous coach, I’ve learned an awful lot from him. Had the opportunity to spend a lot of time with him when he was at Rutgers. … He’s one of the very best coaches in our profession. I have a tremendous amount of respect for Greg and the way he runs the program and the job he does.” Belichick said this around the time reports came out about Schiano’s connection with the Penn State scandal involving Jerry Sandusky.

Devin McCourty once called Schiano a tougher coach then Belichick. After him hinting about retirement during Super Bowl week it’ll be interesting to see if McCourty decides to play next season under Schiano. “Toughest coach I’ve ever played for. I don’t know, maybe I should say Bill because then he might feel better and think he’s tougher on us. I don’t know if this will get me in trouble, but I’m going go to go with Coach Schiano.” McCourty said in 2014 on NESN Live.

His brother Jason McCourty also called Schiano a tough coach to play for when McCourty got here last off season. “He can be a tough guy to play for but the one thing you’re always going to respect about Coach Schiano is the way that he worked.” Jason McCourty said at the time. Schiano comes to a championship environment with familiarity with the coach and some of the players. He could be also here to groom Steve Belichick who is a coach to become the defensive coordinator someday.