Further contributes to the idea that Belichick knows well in advance when his assistants will be leaving town; all indications had Pioli and McDaniels leaving long before they actually did.
Let's just hope, for the Patriots' purposes, that the "grooming year" for Nick Caserio doesn't take place for at least a few more years, although Nick's stock definitely seems to be rising. Otherwise, the coaching staff is in the same situation as the Red Sox are in now, post-Papelbon, Pedroia, Lester, etc.; the next wave of prospects isn't quite ready. The name that really comes to mind is Matt Patricia, but the road for him (i.e. DC) is blocked.
Scouting wise, the Patriots quietly had a LOT of turnover this past offseason, losing obviously Pioli, but also three long-time area scouts (Marvin Allen to ATL, Jim Nagy to KC, Adam Peters to DEN) and their college scouting coordinator (Jay Muraco to KC). That certainly led to Jason Licht coming back and Floyd Reese coming in, as well as the promotions of Jon Robinson (D of CS), Bob Quinn (AD of ProP), and Monti Ossenfort (National Scout). That leaves Tim Heffelfinger as, IIRC, the longest-tenured area scout, with DuJuan Daniels, Frantzy Jourdain, and Kyle O'Brien all moving up there.
