If Patriots' departures happen, there's complete confidence in Chad O'Shea, Brian Flores

FOXBOROUGH — For the last five-plus years, the Patriots have had it pretty good when it comes to their coaching staff.

There have been changes here and there -- Dante Scarnecchia's two-year retirement, for example -- but for the most part, the franchise has been lucky to keep the core of the group together, particularly when it comes to coordinators Josh McDaniels and Matt Patricia. Both have been in their current positions since 2012, a stretch of five-plus years. (Not counting McDaniels first stint before leaving for Denver and St. Louis.) It's an almost unprecedented run for any franchise, let alone one that has had such a run of success like the Patriots.

But now, with McDaniels and Patricia looking like they're ready to set out on their own, what happens next? The bad news is that the Patriots will be losing some of that continuity that has given them an edge over the years. The good news? Don't expect a colossal shift in the way business is done around Foxborough, especially if they stay true to form and hire from within. When you ask questions around the facility, the belief among many players and coaches is that they’ll still be in pretty good hands.



On the offensive side of the ball, the leading in-house candidate to replace McDaniels would likely be wide receivers coach Chad O’Shea. O’Shea, who has served as New England’s wide receiver coach since 2009, has also worked with the Chiefs and Vikings. The 45-year-old, a former college quarterback at Houston and Marshall, would be the likeliest candidate for a few reasons: among the offensive assistants, he’s still only third behind Dante Scarnecchia when it comes to overall seniority, but is the most seasoned of the rest of the assistants. And he has called plays in the preseason, which is usually seen as a steppingstone to bigger things when promotions become available.

For what it’s worth, he has the complete trust of the guys he's worked with in the receiver room over the course of his career with the Patriots. Danny Amendola, in particular, doesn’t mince words when asked about the impact O’Shea has had on his career.

“Huge,” he replied. “He’s been instrumental in just our whole room, just when it comes to playing good football. He’s been one of the best coaches I’ve ever been around. He makes it fun to come to work every day. Everybody loves him — he’s a really, really, really good football coach.”

“Chad has been a great coach,” said wide receiver Chris Hogan. “Since I got here, he’s really really helped me understand this offense and (everything that comes with) playing the position. I take all coaching, and Chad has been around some really good receivers. Chad has been in this offense for a pretty long time (and) has a lot of good tools and tips and ways to help you win games. Chad is great in that room. He really does an awesome job preparing us.”

One of the things that has distinguished O’Shea is his desire to have the receivers be a little more physical than most. The three fundamental elements of the New England receivers corps, as spelled out by O’Shea? Get open, catch the ball and block in the run game. It’s something Hogan takes pride in.

“I think all the guys in the room do,” he said. “We’re going to go down there and do the dirty work or whatever we’re asked to do. It’s a big part of the game: the receivers getting to the second level and making big blocks to spring these guys. We know that. And we take a lot of pride in trying to block well for our teams and the running backs.”

The other side of the ball is a little more complicated. While Patricia appears ticketed for the Lions' head coach job, Flores — who would be his logical successor — is also part of the conversation for the vacancy with the Cardinals. Flores is known as players’ coach who has impressed everyone locally as he’s climbed the ladder from scouting assistant in 2004 to scout to assistant for a variety of positions before taking over the safeties in 2012. He moved to linebackers in 2016, where he’s been ever since.

One of the reasons where he's impressed head coach Bill Belichick is Flores' handling of New England's red-zone defense. The Patriots were one of the best in the league this year when it comes to red-zone defense, a responsibility that Flores takes very seriously.

"Brian does a good job, works hard (and) has a lot of experience," Belichick said of Flores, specifically his work when it comes to red-zone defense. "He does a good job of analyzing what we do, what our opponents do, trying to put it all together. He helps Matt (Patricia) and the defensive staff."

It’s clear Flores has the full support of the guys he’s worked with over the last few seasons.

“The way he coaches everyone the same way, you can’t really ask for much more than that,” said linebacker Marquis Flowers. "He coaches everybody in the room the same way — even if it’s the little things. He’s not overlooking anything. He’s not one of those coaches who is … he won’t give you excuses. He won’t sit here and say, ‘This is way I’m coaching it, this is the way you do it.’ He’s a great position coach.

“I got lucky. I landed in a spot where everything fits. It fits well with me. I try to be as coachable as possible, and I’m just thankful to have a guy like Coach Flo.”

Flowers isn’t sure what the future holds for Flores, but he can see the former Boston College defensive back and linebacker coaching at the next level, either as a defensive coordinator or head coach.

“Absolutely. Coach Flo is definitely an up-and-coming … not even up-and-coming (coach), I think he’s already there,” Flowers said. “We’re lucky to have him as a linebackers coach. He does a great job. You can go up to him and ask him questions. We’re people too. I am very confident I can go up to him and say, ‘Coach, I have something going on back home, can I talk to you about something? When you have that kind of relationship … that’s huge. That’s huge.”

Normally when a team wins one Super Bowl, its coaching staff is pillaged with coordinators becoming head coaches, and assistants becoming coordinators. Despite winning two of the past three Super Bowls, the Patriots have had zero defections to this point. That's virtually unheard of. So as the Patriots aim for their third title in four years, they've been very fortunate.

It looks like their success will be catching up with them after this season, which can create some uncertainty. But inside Patriot Place, there's no fretting about the prospects of O'Shea and Flores.

Next man up applies to the coaching staff as well.