Welcome to first and 10, a roundup of all the (mostly) Patriots-related news you need to start your Friday. Grab your coffee and let’s get to it.
At this time last year, the Patriots were still dealing with the fallout from the Super Bowl loss to the Eagles, as well as Seth Wickersham's ESPN story, the Malcolm Butler benching, Rob Gronkowski's surprisingly noncommittal stance on whether or not he was going to play in 2018 and Josh McDaniels' reversal of field when it came to the Indy job. (Granted, that worked out for New England, but was still another story in a wildly eventful news cycle for the Patriots.)
This year? It's a different sort of vibe. There have been a surprisingly high number of assistants leave town, but all in all, it's been much quieter than it was a year ago. Sure, we're only a week-plus into the offseason -- and free agency is looming out there, now less than a month away. But all things being equal, it's been a far less eventful stretch this year when compared to what the franchise was going through a year ago at this time.
Now, on with the links...
1. I talked with Joe Susan and Mike Miello, two coaches who helped shape Greg Schiano's coaching journey. Susan was one of his coaches as a collegian at Bucknell, while Miello was his high school and the one who helped steer him from law school back to the game. They both say he's ready for the challenge of becoming New England's new defensive coordinator.
2. Miguel dropped his latest mailbag, which includes questions about the financial ramifications of a Rob Gronkowski retirement, as well as the possibility of an OBJ trade to New England.
3. Our positional snapshots roll on with a look at the special teamers. It was an up-and-down year for the group, but it finished on an up note, thanks in part to the in-season arrival of veteran Albert McClellan.
4. Jeremy Bergman and Nick Shook of NFL Media assign grades to each team's 2018 draft class. The Patriots get a B, with Bergman and Shook noting: "(Sony) Michel and (J.C.) Jackson should be in New England for years to come, (Keion) Crossen could carve out his long-term niche, and (Isaiah) Wynn could end up being a very good pick."
5. Cameron Wolfe, who covers the Dolphins for ESPN, takes an in-depth look at the new Miami coaching staff, which (as you guys well know) has a serious New England flavor.
6. Julian Edelman is going to be the celebrity starter at the Daytona 500.
7. Gil Brandt of NFL Media has some potential free-agents fits for some of the biggest names that could hit the market, and he draws a line between Trey Flowers and the Jets, saying New York is "flush with cap space and will be looking for talent as they transition to a 4-3 defense under coordinator Gregg Williams -- and they surely wouldn't mind stealing a productive player like Flowers away from the Patriots."
8. Mike Renner of Pro Football Focus looks at some franchise tag candidates, and comes to the conclusion the Patriots should not use the tag on Flowers.
9. Our buddy Evan Silva reminds us the Patriots will have a ton of draft capital this spring.
10. My old partner Don Banks and Nick Stevens talk with ex-Bengals coach Marvin Lewis on the new edition of the "Cover 2 Podcast."
Extra Point(s): Gronkowski and his brothers do a lot of stuff like this -- in this case, an $80,000 donation -- much of which goes under-the-radar.
Thanks everybody who donated to the Big Game Raffle. We were able to donate a lot of Money to the local NE Children's Hospitals.
At we got to have a little party!https://t.co/UXk9KhqMIA
— Rob Gronkowski (@RobGronkowski) February 14, 2019
SURPRISE!
A special #ValentinesDay visit from @wisehog94 at @MassGeneralNews. pic.twitter.com/xX1loKg6ky
— New England Patriots (@Patriots) February 14, 2019