As Dante Scarnecchia nears 70, coaching remains 'year-to-year' proposition

ST. PAUL, Minn. — Nearing the end of his 46th season as a football coach, Dante Scarnecchia has a simple response for people who ask him about his future.

“I’m year-to-year. I’ll be 70 in two weeks, man,” the Patriots offensive line coach told Bostonsportsjournal.com with a smile Monday night at the Xcel Energy Center.



But you ask him about the makeup of the coaching staff or the character of his offensive linemen, and he certainly sounds like someone who might be interested in sticking around an extra year or two.

“It is the most ego-less group of guys I’ve ever been around,” he said of the coaching staff. “I think everybody is very sensitive to others. I can’t even begin to tell you if there’s ever been a conflict anywhere. All the assistants are within 40 feet of one another's cubicles. It’s just amazing. It works. It works for us. Josh is a great, great guy to work with on offense. I’m sure Matt is the same way on defense.

“I really enjoy working with these guys a lot. A lot. Or else I wouldn’t be around here. I really mean that. I just enjoy being with them every day.”

How long is he thinking about continuing?

“As long as you’re still getting out of it what you want,” he shrugged.

Of course, it doesn’t hurt that he likes the players he’s coaching. While he acknowledges that the season has been a work in progress — at the midway point of the 2017 season, he said “We’re eight games into this deal, and no one is satisfied” — he’s happy with how they’ve progressed.

“I like them,” he said. “I don’t know if we’ve played as well as I would have liked us to play earlier in the season, but I think that we have improved over the course of the year. I know we’ve lost Marcus (Cannon), but we’ve had others who have stepped in there. I think it’s really been a typical journey for us in that it started at a center point.

“Now, that point was higher for us than it was at the start of the beginning of last year. I think we were flat, and then started on a gradual rise. I think we’ve gotten better as the year has gone on, and I’m pleased with the way that they’ve improved. We’ll just see if all that can manifest itself Sunday against these guys. We’ll have to play our best.”

While he professes an appreciation for all of his linemen, on Monday, he singled out the work of right guard Shaq Mason.

“He’s a bulldog and he’s tough as hell. He competes. All those things serve him well,” Scarnecchia said. “He’s learned how to pass block pretty good too. He’s a great kid.”

Mason is one of three New England offensive linemen who played at least 1,000 snaps during the 2017 regular season, group that includes left guard Joe Thuney and left tackle Nate Solder.

“That’s a great thing,” he said. “When you have that kind of consistency and continuity, that always helps. All those guys, I like being around them.”