NFL Notebook: If he leaves to become a head coach, Brian Flores could face unique challenge

Taking a weekend spin around the NFL with a focus on the Patriots...



1. The Cardinals are reportedly still interested in hiring Patriots linebackers coach Brian Flores for their head coaching job. While we’re big supporters of Flores as an eventual head coaching candidate, it would be a really unique career arc for Flores to make the jump from position to head coach. Historically, it’s been one that’s fraught with peril, as many of the more notable guys who have made that leap over the years have really struggled, at least at the start of their head coaching careers. Herm Edwards, Rod Marinelli, Mike Munchak and Andy Reid all bypassed coordinator status on the way to their first head coaching gig, and all of them had issues somewhere along the way. No one had more trouble than Marinelli, who was head coach in Detroit for one season (2008) for a team that ended up 0-16. The bottom line? Any rookie head coach is going to struggle, and learning from those mistakes is simply part of the process. But going from assistant to head coach is a unique set of circumstances. If he does take the job, Flores needs to make sure he’s surrounded himself with smart, forward-thinking people, especially because he’ll be making the transition from one organization to another. But history tells us that any position coach who makes that leap is facing a sizable challenge. If it happens, how Flores might respond to that challenge will go a long way toward determining his coaching legacy.

2. While there’s still the possibility that the Patriots lose as many as three assistants this offseason, it appears that de facto GM Nick Caserio will be sticking around, at least for now. ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported last week that the Patriots denied the Texans request to speak with Caserio or New England’s director of college scouting Monti Ossenfort regarding their open GM job. And with that position going to Brian Gaine and no other similar openings on the horizon at this point, it would appear that Caserio will end up sticking around Foxborough for at least another year, insuring that there will be at least some continuity among the New England braintrust.

3. Speaking of Gaine, it was good to see another individual with New England ties land a GM job. Gaine attended the University of Maine, and graduated in 1995 with a degree in public administration. As a player, he spent time as a practice squad tight end with the Jets, Giants and Chiefs, and after he was cut by Kansas City in 1998, joined the Jets’ scouting department, and moved through the ranks with several franchises as a scout and personnel man before landing with the Texans this past week.

4. It’s sometimes hard to believe Danny Amendola is in his fifth season with the Patriots. The receiver, who arrived in New England before the start of the 2013, was initially labeled as being a guy with durability issues by local critics, but since then, he’s never played fewer than 12 games in a season and has consistently shown a knack for rising to the occasion in big games. On Saturday night, he had a game-high 11 catches on 13 targets for 112 yards, the latest chapter in a career that has put him among Tom Brady’s favorite all-time targets (scroll down to No. 4). After the game, longtime teammate Matthew Slater put Amendola’s career into some sort of perspective. “I don’t know if I’ve ever been around a tougher guy, mentally and physically, in my 10 years of pro football,” he said. “The guys, we joke around and call him Steady Eddie and AWD — All-Weather Dola. You love having a guy like that on your football team. He’s so reliable. He’s a competitor. It seem like in the big moments, he makes plays. He just makes plays.”

5. We don’t want to be accused of jinxing anything, but with a win next week in the AFC title game, Brady will:

a) Be the first quarterback age 40 or older to reach a Super Bowl. (On Saturday, he became the oldest quarterback in NFL history to win a playoff game, besting Brett Favre by a few months.)

b) Reach a Super Bowl for the first time without one of his trusted slot receivers by his side. Troy Brown (2001-06), Wes Welker (2007-2012) and Julian Edelman (2013-2016) have all rode shotgun with him over the years to a number of championships. And while he clearly has other trusted targets, no recent quarterback has enjoyed such a deep chemistry with players at a singular position over the course of his career than Brady and his slot guys.

c) Get the chance to play in a stadium he has never played in for the first time. Minnesota’s US Bank Stadium is one of four current NFL stadiums he’s never played in. The others? The Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum (Rams), the Mercedes-Benz Stadium (Atlanta) and the StubHub Center (San Diego).

6. One interesting thing picked up from last week’s edition of “The Bill Simmons Podcast” with Mike Francesa was the word that things had cooled between Bill Belichick and the Colts over the last couple of years. According to Francesa, that peace had been brokered in some part by Bill Parcells. You have to take Francesa with a grain of salt when he talks about Parcells because they’ve grown to become such good friends over the years, but it was interesting to hear. Parcells was also very close to Jacoby Brissett, and served as a mentor through the pre-draft process. Francesa also said that Parcells has continued to work closely with Brissett, so much so that he is helping Brissett manage his money.

7. Another recent podcast mention of the Patriots is the entertaining “The Thomahawk Show” with Andrew Hawkins and Joe Thomas. Hawkins, who was with the Patriots for a cup of coffee this past season, is a smart and entertaining host. In the latest episode, Hawkins and Thomas talk about the ESPN report, and Hawkins says there’s “zero emotion” in the Patriots organization, but that’s not a bad thing. “Pete Carroll coaches based on relationships. He wants his guys to love him. He loves his guys. He wants them to know he cares about them, and that’s why he plays hard for him,” Hawkins said. “Belichick is the complete opposite. (He) is complete business. He doesn’t want to say hi to you in the weight room. When I signed there, they said ‘Go meet with coach Belichick, he wants to see you.’ Our conversation went like this. 'Hey coach, how you doing, man? Nice to be here.’ ‘Hey Andrew, I’ve heard a lot of good things about you. Good to have you here. See you at practice.’ That was our introductory meeting went.” Hawkins ultimate takeaway from the ESPN report? “Do your head coach and quarterback have to be best friends?” he asks. “I know a lot of organizations where quarterbacks and head coaches have great relationships, but they don’t have five Super Bowls.”

8. It’s never too early to look ahead. The 2018 opponents have been announced, and while there’s a lot of time between now and the start of next year, New England’s 2018 opponents posted a 104-125 regular-season record in 2017. The Patriots will have six teams that made the 2017 playoffs — the Vikings, Steelers, Jaguars, Titans, Chiefs and Bills (twice) — on their slate. The games we’re most excited to see? Minnesota, Pittsburgh and Buffalo.

9. My picks? I had the Eagles and Patriots Saturday. On Sunday, I’ve got the Steelers and the Vikings.

10. It sounds like the Patriots are going to keep it as regular as possible this week in Foxborough, as players will be in on Monday with the day off on Tuesday, Prep work will begin in earnest for the AFC title game on Wednesday and continue Thursday and Friday, much like a usual week.