After 30 years with the New England Patriots, assistant head coach and offensive line coach Dante Scarnecchia will retire.
With Scarnecchia on his way out, the team has named Dave DeGuglielmo the new offensive line coach. Patriots Owner Robert Kraft issued this statement. --
 With Patriots offensive line coach Dante Scarnecchia retiring, the team suffers a significant loss. (USA TODAY Images) |
"Dante Scarnecchia has been the only coaching constant since I purchased the team in 1994. Not coincidentally, he retires as the only coach to have been a part of all seven Super Bowl teams in Patriots franchise history. I want to thank Dante for his leadership, professionalism and always putting the team first. For as long as I have known him, he was always the first to arrive in the morning and among the last to leave. He didn't demand respect from his players. He earned it. I loved watching Dante lead by example, especially when he would run stride for stride with his players during their conditioning runs. He was a coach who always stressed technique and fundamentals and helped players reach their full potential. At training camp, his colorful, constructive, coaching critiques made him a fan favorite. His presence on the Patriots sidelines will be missed by our coaches, players and fans alike."
Head coach Bill Belichick had this to say, "Dante Scarnecchia is a Patriot and NFL legend who defined the phrase 'not for long. In an industry of constant change, Dante remained a fixture here for the simple reason that he helped every player reach his highest potential, regardless of who he was, how he was acquired or how much raw talent he had. In whatever category a coach can be assessed - evaluator, teacher, motivator, problem solver, disciplinarian, team player, winner - Dante is as good as it gets. As many games as he helped us win and as much as we would like to work with Dante forever, we are blessed with the opportunity to have been with him as long as we were."
DeGuglielmo most recently spent time with the New York Jets, Miami Dolphins and New York Giants. He's been coaching for 22 years and even spent time with Lou Holtz at South Carolina. DeGuglielmo's teams have typically favored a power-run scheme, but of course, he will be adopting Belichick's schemes and philosophy.
Quite Take: This is the second loss to the Patriots coaching staff, as defensive line coach Pepper Johnson left the team earlier this week. Two very significant coaching losses, on both sides of the ball. I consider both tremendous losses and Scarnecchia especially was so valuable because of his tenure with the organization.
Scarnecchia is widely regarded as one of the best positional coaches in the NFL today. This makes life tougher on Bill Belichick, but adding some new faces to the coaching ranks is something every organization must do at some point in time.
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