One missing piece???

[AzPatsFan]

Bill Belichick has fortified every position on the team.There is ample competition everywhere.

But there is one exception, left.

Belichick has not named a or hired a coach designated as Defensive Coordinator.

Why do you think that is? It is a fact that the Defensive stats have not been as good as the Offensive stats where there is an Offensive Coordinator. As soon as Bill O'Brien left, he hired another.

Is it because he thinks the position is too crucial?

He thinks:
a) he himself is the best DC that is available?
b) or that he has found no one to promote,
c) or no one to hire with the proper credentials?
d) or He wants to reorganize the Defense himself?

Is he spreading himself too thin, acting as GM, Head Coach, and Defensive Coordinator?

If Belichick were to go looking for a DC, who would you like to see him appoint? Any Nominees?

 

[Big-T]

Doesn't Matt Patricia make the defensive play calls most of the time?

 

[Ivan]

Bill Belichick has fortified every position on the team.There is ample competition everywhere.

But there is one exception, left.

Belichick has not named a or hired a coach designated as Defensive Coordinator.

Why do you think that is? It is a fact that the Defensive stats have not been as good as the Offensive stats where there is an Offensive Coordinator. As soon as Bill O'Brien left, he hired another.

Is it because he thinks the position is too crucial?

He thinks:
a) he himself is the best DC that is available?
b) or that he has found no one to promote,
c) or no one to hire with the proper credentials?
d) or He wants to reorganize the Defense himself?

Is he spreading himself too thin, acting as GM, Head Coach, and Defensive Coordinator?

If Belichick were to go looking for a DC, who would you like to see him appoint? Any Nominees?

I think Belichik knows that he has to have the defense in good shape before he names a DC. Had he named Patricia or Johnson over the past 2 seasons fans and media would have been screaming for their heads, and by not naming a DC he takes the responsibility and heat for their performance, and he knows that only a few really really dumb fans would be stupid enough to call for his head. He may feel confident enough going forward to name a DC, most likely Patricia, before camp or he may wait one more season. By this time next year I think there will be one.

 

[patfanken]

One of of the unreported curious factoids about the Pats I find fascinating is that the Pats have fewer assistant coaches than any other staff in the league (IIRC). This seems odd in that I'm Kraft would allow him as many as he wanted.

Bill could be one of the best developers of coaching talent around. One thing you notice is that BB switches his coaches from position to position giving them a greater knowledge of their AOR. For example Reiss mentions today that after 6 year with the DL, Pepper is going to coach the LBs this year, and the LB coach will work with the DL.

I can remember one my first WTF moments I had in the Bellichick era, was back in 2001 when BB appointed HIMSELF the QB coach after **** Raybein's passing. I can remember wondering why the best defensive coach in the league was taking on coaching a position that he had no previous experience coaching.

Looking back on that, one reason was his complete confidence in Romeo running the defense, and the other was perhaps more of a chance for HIMSELF to learn more about the offense and QB's in particular, than to actually share his "expertise" on the QB position with his players.

I go to about 10 TC practices as season, and one of the things I enjoy most is watching BB interact and actually work with so many individual players as he does...on both sides of the ball.....AND ST's. The man is "coaching" all the time. He's actually the opposite of the Bear Bryant stereotype of the HC, standing on his tower watching the "big picture". If you didn't know who he was, you'd think he was just another assistant working with his players.

It probably where his is the most relaxed and happiest.

BTW- Ivan's take sounds as solid a hypothesis as any.

 

[mayoclinic]

I think Belichik knows that he has to have the defense in good shape before he names a DC. Had he named Patricia or Johnson over the past 2 seasons fans and media would have been screaming for their heads, and by not naming a DC he takes the responsibility and heat for their performance, and he knows that only a few really really dumb fans would be stupid enough to call for his head. He may feel confident enough going forward to name a DC, most likely Patricia, before camp or he may wait one more season. By this time next year I think there will be one.

I think that BB has already delegated game-day DC responsibilities to Mike Patricia. But the defense is in evolution, and BB is probably the only guy who can see that process through. He seems to be creating a hybrid that fuses 3-4 and 4-3 elements, 1-gap and 2-gap elements, and elements of an "amoeba" defense. Fencer addressed some of this, as did a pre-Super Bowl article on Grantland :

http://www.patsfans.com/new-england...14171-clues-next-years-defensive-scheme.html
Bill Belichick, Vince Wilfork, and the New England Patriots defense - Grantland

It's not a 1 year job, and it's required getting the right personnel. The moves made in the last draft and FA have addressed some of this, and now BB has a full off-season in which to implement it. I agree, by this time next year I think the process should be mostly complete, and a formal DC can be named to manage things.

 

[thenepatsrule]

This

 

[supafly]

Belichick has not named a or hired a coach designated as Defensive Coordinator.

Why do you think that is?

In all seriousness, as silly as it may sound, sometimes I wonder if it's just best kept the way it is.

Naming another DC will only contribute to his being plucked as a HC candidate within a yr or so anyway. This way no one is officially 'titled' but all parties still know and delegate their responsibilities.

I think the responsibility level is BB, MP, PJ--with some interweaving sometimes happening in certain situations.

 

[Ring 6]

Bill Belichick has fortified every position on the team.There is ample competition everywhere.

But there is one exception, left.

Belichick has not named a or hired a coach designated as Defensive Coordinator.

Why do you think that is? It is a fact that the Defensive stats have not been as good as the Offensive stats where there is an Offensive Coordinator. As soon as Bill O'Brien left, he hired another.

Is it because he thinks the position is too crucial?

He thinks:
a) he himself is the best DC that is available?
b) or that he has found no one to promote,
c) or no one to hire with the proper credentials?
d) or He wants to reorganize the Defense himself?

Is he spreading himself too thin, acting as GM, Head Coach, and Defensive Coordinator?

If Belichick were to go looking for a DC, who would you like to see him appoint? Any Nominees?

My opinion is that doing this way helps develop his staff.
The coordinator position has numerous duties. Its not just calling the plays.
Coordinators are responsible for running practice, developing game plans, strategy, personell decisions, as well as play calling and coordinating the assistants. The coordinator is the supervisor of the coaches on that side of the ball.
It seems to me that what BB is doing is dividing these responsiblities among his assistants rather than assigning them all to 1. It would make sense that if he has a "DC in training" he is adding these responsibilities, one or a few at a time, so that he can master them step by step without being overwhelmed.
That appeared to be what he did with McDaniels and BOB as well.

 

[Avenger]

I think the responsibilities of the DC are spread between multiple coaches

 

[danmateus]

Bill Belichick has fortified every position on the team.There is ample competition everywhere.

But there is one exception, left.

Belichick has not named a or hired a coach designated as Defensive Coordinator.

Why do you think that is? It is a fact that the Defensive stats have not been as good as the Offensive stats where there is an Offensive Coordinator. As soon as Bill O'Brien left, he hired another.

Is it because he thinks the position is too crucial?

He thinks:
a) he himself is the best DC that is available?
b) or that he has found no one to promote,
c) or no one to hire with the proper credentials?
d) or He wants to reorganize the Defense himself?

Is he spreading himself too thin, acting as GM, Head Coach, and Defensive Coordinator?

If Belichick were to go looking for a DC, who would you like to see him appoint? Any Nominees?

None of the above.
It's because Bob Kraft doesn't not feel the need to pay the going rate of at least 1.5-2 million dollars for a competent DC when he pays Bill 8 million a year.

 

[ctpatsfan77]

None of the above.
It's because Bob Kraft doesn't not feel the need to pay the going rate of at least 1.5-2 million dollars for a competent DC when he pays Bill 8 million a year.

Wondered how long it would take. . . .

 

[PatsDeb]

I think Matt Patricia is the de facto defensive coordinator. Sometimes I think BB doesn't give them a title so it makes it harder for another team to steal them away.

 

[rookBoston]

None of the above.
It's because Bob Kraft doesn't not feel the need to pay the going rate of at least 1.5-2 million dollars for a competent DC when he pays Bill 8 million a year.

Ha! Well, that's definately not the reason. No man with that little business sense could have turned a doormat franchise into an institution.

Oh and btw, you're a complete tool to think so. Don't rip on Ownership.

 

[Ring 6]

I think Matt Patricia is the de facto defensive coordinator. Sometimes I think BB doesn't give them a title so it makes it harder for another team to steal them away.

Doesn't giving them the title make it harder? You can't do anything to prevent a promotion but can not allow an interview for a lateral move.

 

[jmt57]

I think Matt Patricia is the de facto defensive coordinator. Sometimes I think BB doesn't give them a title so it makes it harder for another team to steal them away.

Actually Matt Patricia apparently is not the de facto DC. Here's a quote on the subject from Jeff Howe of NESN:

Patricia calls the plays, but Bill Belichick has run the defense for the last two seasons. Belichick is in charge of the meetings, constructing the game plan and he's got the final say on play calls -- as in, he'll change it if he doesn't like what Patricia called on a given play. Because of that, I've termed Belichick as the defensive coordinator since the start of 2010, and not Patricia, and that information comes from people in the organization.​

So why no DC? I think the previous response above from mayoclinic probably makes the most sense:

But the defense is in evolution, and BB is probably the only guy who can see that process through. He seems to be creating a hybrid that fuses 3-4 and 4-3 elements, 1-gap and 2-gap elements, and elements of an "amoeba" defense.

It's not a 1 year job, and it's required getting the right personnel. The moves made in the last draft and FA have addressed some of this, and now BB has a full off-season in which to implement it. I agree, by this time next year I think the process should be mostly complete, and a formal DC can be named to manage things.​

As for the 'because Kraft is cheap' response, how do you explain the team annually spending to the cap limit, or the Brady, Wilfork, Mayo, etc. contracts, or paying a practice squad player like Markell Carter the equivalent of a regular roster player?

 

[peterforpats]

None of the above.
It's because Bob Kraft doesn't not feel the need to pay the going rate of at least 1.5-2 million dollars for a competent DC when he pays Bill 8 million a year.

i dont believe that for a second. mr kraft is a smart businessman, but it is wrong to imply he's cheap- if they had to have a dc then i doubt he'd have any problem hiring one. i am dismayed by the hint of what i'm getting from your comment.

 

[supafly]

I think Matt Patricia is the de facto defensive coordinator. Sometimes I think BB doesn't give them a title so it makes it harder for another team to steal them away.

Doesn't giving them the title make it harder? You can't do anything to prevent a promotion but can not allow an interview for a lateral move.

I can relate to Deb's thoughts. The situation has crossed my mind before too.

I think the feeling may be that if we keep them separated as to 'who' does 'what' responsibility-wise, it may make it slightly more difficult to try and give credit/blame to one specific coach.

After all, we've seen some DC's like Dean Pees and Mangini stolen away like it's nothing, pretty quickly before. There may be some (smaller) consideration towards hoping to keep the group of Pepper Johnson, Matt Patricia, and Belichick together by not properly announcing certain aspects of specific responsibilities, etc.

It is certainly along the same lines as some conspiracy theory thoughts, and I realize it's a stretch, but I will admit that I have thought about that aspect of the situation before.

Whether or not it would actually be an effective deterrent is also very debatable too, as we all know that many coaches/GM's already know that we have some talent behind the lines anyway; so it's probably a very moot point even if it were taken into consideration.

 

[ausbacker]

It seems rather obvious that the Offense can coach itself. All McDaniels really has to do is game plan and provide Brady with multiple play sets for particular scenarios and let him go from there. I'd be interested to see what percentage breakdown of plays Brady audibles into given what the defense offers.

As for the defense, well that's been a sore point for some time. I can't imagine a career defensive genius would be happy with the state of the Patriots D. Let's not forget, since 2009, the D has been in total reconstruction mode. People tend to forget that this team has been in re-tool mode since 2007 (in essence). Go ask other franchises how the Patriots have been able to almost completely re-stock an NFL team in 5 seasons whilst remaining a legitimate NFL title contender.

BB's coaching up the young players on D. I'm perfectly at ease with him taking on DC responsibilities and delegating everything offensive to McDaniels and Brady.

I want a GFY 2007 (2012) redux.

 

[Ring 6]

I can relate to Deb's thoughts. The situation has crossed my mind before too.

I think the feeling may be that if we keep them separated as to 'who' does 'what' responsibility-wise, it may make it slightly more difficult to try and give credit/blame to one specific coach.

After all, we've seen some DC's like Dean Pees and Mangini stolen away like it's nothing, pretty quickly before. There may be some (smaller) consideration towards hoping to keep the group of Pepper Johnson, Matt Patricia, and Belichick together by not properly announcing certain aspects of specific responsibilities, etc.

It is certainly along the same lines as some conspiracy theory thoughts, and I realize it's a stretch, but I will admit that I have thought about that aspect of the situation before.

Whether or not it would actually be an effective deterrent is also very debatable too, as we all know that many coaches/GM's already know that we have some talent behind the lines anyway; so it's probably a very moot point even if it were taken into consideration.

Mangini got a HC job. Pees was fired, not lured away.
My point is you can't take a DC to be a DC. If they are HC material, they won't sit around without the DC job.

 

[ctpatsfan77]

Mangini got a HC job. Pees was fired, not lured away.
My point is you can't take a DC to be a DC. If they are HC material, they won't sit around without the DC job.

Pees wasn't technically fired: the Pats chose not to renew his contract. [Yes, semantics, but we make a distinction between cut and departing in FA, too.]