NFL Notebook: What sort of challenges will new Patriots' assistant coaches face?

In this week’s edition of the NFL Notebook, we find out some details on why Dontrelle Inman left Indy for New England this offseason, get a scouting report on Ryan Griffin, who might be on the Patriots’ radar after he was cut loose by the Texans, and see just how many different GMs have passed through the AFC East since Bill Belichick took the reins in Foxborough. But first, we take a look at some of the challenges that will be faced by the Patriots’ first-year assistant coaches.

1. There’s a sizable amount of change on the Patriots’ coaching staff this offseason, with new assistants at linebacker and cornerback. While they already have a background in the system — Jerod Mayo as a player, and DeMarcus Covington and Mike Pellegrino as coaching assistants — it’ll be a change for them as they navigate their first year as full-time assistants in the NFL. (For purposes of this exercise, we're not going to include Bret Bielema and Joe Judge, two guys who were with the Patriots last year but will have slightly different responsibilities in 2019.) For some insight into what they might be dealing with, we turned to old friend and former college assistant Cory Bailey (who has a history with some of the holdovers on the staff) as to what sort of challenges they might be dealing with. Bailey had three main points.


a) “Familiarity with the scheme and techniques, and a true understanding of all of the nuances. It’s easy to memorize scheme but to truly understand how it applies to different circumstances takes time and experience.”

b) “Earning the players trust. This only comes with time. In the NFL, this has become even more important in my opinion. The teams that trust their coaches are the ones that truly buy into what’s being taught.”

c) “Chemistry with the rest of the staff and each other. This is very important when diversity hits — under Belichick, the guys need to stick together and be united.”

2. Per a source out of Indy, it turns out the Colts wanted Dontrelle Inman back for 2019, and they made an offer at the start of free agency. Inman’s agent wanted him to take it and stick with an Indy team that offered the receiver some stability and continuity. (Colts coach Frank Reich was the offensive coordinator with the Chargers for a part of Inman’s time in San Diego — that was one of the reasons Inman was able to get acclimated to the Indy offense as quickly as he did last year.) Inman said no. Ballard then upped the offer. Inman still wanted more. Finally, Ballard told him before the draft that if the Colts picked a wide receiver “high,” the offer wasn’t on the table anymore. Indy grabbed Parris Campbell in the third, and that was that. So the Pats were able to land him. Kind of makes you wish Indy was on New England’s schedule this year.

3. We’ve gone over the coaching turnover in the AFC East since Belichick took the reins in New England in 2000, but with this week’s turmoil in North Jersey, it’s worth taking a look at how many times the Patriots’ division rivals have had to hit the reset button at the GM/EVP spot since 2000.

Jets: Bill Parcells, Terry Bradway, Mike Tannenbaum, John Idzik, Mike Maccagnan, Adam Gase (interim).
Bills: John Butler, Tom Donahoe, Marv Levy, Russ Brandon, Buddy Nix, Doug Whaley, Brandon Beane.
Dolphins: Dave Wannstedt, Rick Spielman, Randy Mueller, Jeff Ireland, Bill Parcells, Dennis Hickey, Chris Grier.

4. Duron Harmon said was most people were thinking this week — when it comes to calling the defensive plays this year, the veterans feel like they’re in good hands when it comes to the fact Belichick will be handling the job. Belichick, who last called defensive plays in 2010, should be very hands-on with the group, which will also give more leeway to Josh McDaniels when it comes to the rest of the team. At the same time, there are two things to watch for: one, the defensive signal-caller will often wear a different colored shirt or jacket or sweatshirt to differentiate himself from the rest of the people on the sideline. Last year, Brian Flores wore white, while Matt Patricia and Dean Pees wore red. If, say, Bielema shows up with a red pullover and everyone else is wearing blue, that’s going to be worth mentioning. And two, Belichick has used the final preseason game of the summer to get some other assistants play-calling duties from time to time. Wide receivers coach Chad O’Shea did it the last two years. Could we see a defensive assistant get the same sort of treatment this summer? We shall see.

5. We’ve made a few jokes about The Curse of No. 17 over the years, but with the possibility of Inman wearing it (that was his number in his one season with the Bears — he wore 15 in his stops with the Colts and Chargers), we’ve wondered who might get the unlucky digits this year. Practice squad receiver Damoun Patterson is officially listed as No. 17 on the Patriots’ website, but with a few new receivers in the picture in Inman, N’Keal Harry and Maurice Harris, those digits could be in play once again. (For those of you who are late to this, No. 17 has consistently been attached to receivers who have struggled in New England, a group that includes — but is not limited to — Chad Jackson, Greg Salas and Taylor Price.)