Today in Patriots History
July Transactions
For an obvious holiday reason there are no July 4 Pats transactions. There are, however, several past events of an indeterminate exact date sometime during the month of July for the Patriots franchise.
July, 2009:
Bob Quinn is promoted to Assistant Director of Pro Personnel
Quinn was a grad assistant at UConn from 1998-99. He joined the Pats as a Player Personnel Assistant in 2000, then worked his way up as a Pro Scout (2002-03), Regional Scout (2004-07), National Scout (2008), Assistant Director of Pro Personnel (2009-11) and Director of Pro Scouting (2012-15) before working with
Matt Patricia as Detroit's general manager (2016-20). Bob Quinn is now with the Browns as their Senior Personnel/Coaching Executive.
The Patriots reportedly lost a piece of their front office on Friday. According to ESPN, the Detroit Lions will name Patriots director of pro scouting Bob Quinn as their new general manager. A na…
www.providencejournal.com
The Detroit Lions will name Patriots director of pro scouting Bob Quinn as their new general manager.
A native of Norwood, Mass., Quinn has been with the Patriots since Bill Belichick got hired in 2000. He’s risen up the ranks and held several different titles. He served as a scout on the pro, regional and national level for the Pats from 2002-2008. He got promoted to assistant director of pro personnel in 2009.
In 2012, he became the team’s director of pro scouting, replacing Jason Licht, who is now the general manager for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Patricia needed to show "major improvement" this season, but it was more of the same, from poor defense to run game woes to mismanaged games.
www.espn.com
Quinn was hired as a senior consultant to Cleveland’s football operations department last summer. The Browns announced seven new hires to their front office on Thursday, with promotions or role changes for 13 existing executives.
www.mlive.com
July, 2005:
Adam Peters is promoted to Pro Scout
Peters had been with the Patriots as a scout since 2003. He worked with Denver in various scouting positions from 2009-16, with the 49ers as VP of Player Personnel and as Assisstant GM from 2017-23, and is now Washington's general manager. Peters had been rumored to be in the running for the Pats GM position this past offseason.
Should Pats Steal Adam Peters from 49ers? | Bleacher Report
Washington's new general manager has a number of key decisions to make, including hiring a new coach.
www.espn.com
July, 2004:
Pats hire
Matt Patricia as an offensive coaching assistant
His previous experience was all at the college level, where he had been a grad assistant at RPI (1996) and Syracuse (2001-03), and a defensive line coach at Amherst (1999-2000).
July, 2003:
24-year old
Adam Peters (see above) is hired as a Scouting Assistant
Peters was a backup defensive end at UCLA before hanging up his cleats due to players like
DeShaun Foster being "bigger, stronger, faster, and better than me in everything". He did remain as a grad assistant, which led to his career in the NFL. Pats executives
Scott Pioli and
Jason Licht visited UCLA in 2002. Peters, substituting for his boss who was out of town, provided them film and other information on the school's NFL draft prospects. Pioli, impressed by Peters' football smarts, recruited him to join the Patriots.
July, 2000:
24-year old
Bob Quinn (see above) is hired off the Uconn campus to be a Personnel Assistant
Brian Daboll is hired as a Defensive Coaching Assistant
Daboll had been a volunteer assistant at William & Mary in 1997 and a grad assistant under
Nick Saban at Michigan State from 1998-99.
University of Rochester alumnus Brian Daboll '97 reached the pinnacle of his coaching career when he was named the head football coach of the New York Giants in
uofrathletics.com
New York Giants head coach Brian Daboll cut his NFL teeth with the New England Patriots, where he served 11 total seasons under Bill Belichick over two stints. During that time, Daboll learned what's become known as the "Patriots way." That coaching style places an…
giantswire.usatoday.com
July, 1999:
Patriots sign
Derrick Shepard
The defensive lineman from Georgia Tech was initially signed as an undrafted rookie by the Dolphins the previous year. The pats waived him near the start of training camp, on August 1. That ended his NFL career, but not his pro football career. Shepard moved indoors, playing in the Arena Football League in 2000-01, AF2 from 2002-06, the NIFL (National Indoor Football League) in '06 and the CIFL (Continental Indoor Football league) in 2010. Shepard also worked in the NIFL as a head coach from 2009-11 and defensive line coach from 2012-14.
Not to be confused with the wide receiver of the same name who
died at age 35 playing racquetball.
July, 1992:
Pats sign
Al Golden
The undrafted tight end from Penn State spent the entire 1992 season on the Pats practice squad. After being waived he returned to New Jersey and took a job as a high school football offensive coordinator, kicking off his coaching career. Golden proceeded to the college ranks the following year. Among his multiple stops were as a linebackers coach for
Tom O'Brien at Boston College from 1997 to 1999. He was head coach at Temple (2006-10), University of Miami (2011-15), position coach for the Lions and Bengals (2016-21), defensive coordinator and linebackers coach at Notre Dame (2022-23), and is now the head coach for the Fighting Irish.
July, 1988:
Billy Sullivan and Sullivan Brother Printers (owned by
Joseph Sullivan) transfer ownership of the New England Patriots to
Victor Kiam in exchange for $84 million.
The sale did not include Foxboro Stadium, which Sullivan lost in a bankruptcy sale to paper and packaging executive
Robert Kraft. Kiam was President and CEO of Remington Products, which he had purchased in 1979 after his wife bought him his first electric shaver. His leveraged buyout of Remington made Kiam a rich man. Remington, which had lost $30 million in the previous three years, made a profit in his first year as owner. Kiam had become famous as the spokesman for the Remington shaver; his television ad catchphrase, "
I liked it so much, I bought the company", made him a household name.
Sullivan Brother Printers was a market leading company that printed sports event programs and pari?mutuel tickets, with eight plants throughout the US.
July, 1986:
Rod Humenuik is promoted to offensive coordinator
John R 'Rod' Humenuik was a tackle at USC in the late fifties, and played for Winnipeg in the CFL from 1960-62. He had a lengthy coaching career prior to arriving in New England, including four years as an offensive line coach for John Mckay at USC. New head coach
Raymond Berry hired Humenuik the previous year as offensive line coach. Prior to that he worked for the Chiefs, where that club drastically improved in sacks allowed (from 46 to 33). This was an area Berry sought to improve on: the Pats had given up 67 sacks in 1984, the season that Berry replaced
Ron Meyer as head coach.
Humenuik worked for the Patriots through the 1992 season, at which point
Bill Parcells replaced
**** MacPherson and cleaned house.
John R. (Rod) Humenuik John R. (Rod) Humenuik passed away peacefully on Jan. 24, 2022, at the age of 83. Rod, also known as Coach, was a beloved...
www.azcentral.com
July, 1981:
Pats re-sign
Mark Buben
A native of Methuen and Tufts grad, the defensive end played in all 16 games in '79 and '81, while spending 1980 on IR. His last stop in the NFL was with the Browns in 1982, and then played in the USFL from 1983 to 1985.
July, 1979:
Pats sign undrafted rookie Mark Buben (see above)
July, 1976:
Patriots release
Bill DuLac
Patriots sign free agents
Clarence McCartney and
Matt Williams
Pats re-sign
Tom Sherman
Dulac was a guard who played in 26 games for the Pats. The Rams traded him to New England in 1973 for Hall of Fame CB
Herb Adderley. McCartney had been signed by the Giants as an undrafted rookie in 1975; he never played in the NFL, nor did Williams.
Sherman was a backup QB who had the unenviable task of replacing Babe Parilli on a Patriots team that simultaneously got old and slower. In seven starts in 1968 Sherman went 1-6, throwing 12 touchdowns after
Mike Holovak realized that
Mike Taliaferro (4 TD, 15 interceptions in the first seven games) was not the answer to Parilli's departure. He later played in the WFL and CFL, and returned to the Pats seven years later. he was waived as part of final roster cuts in September, ending his pro football career.
July, 1975:
The Patriots signed 14 players sometime prior to training camp in 1975: RB Bobby Anderson (5 games), S Bob Kroll, S Dave McCurry (2 games), NT David Tipton (12 games), LB Greg Battle, RB Jimmy Edwards, Penn State WR Jim Scott, Holy Cross WR/TE Mark Sheridan, Temple QB Marty Ginestra, Northwestern S Pete Wessel, WR Richard Williams, RB Bob Hunt, Syracuse RB Roger Praetorius, and former Packer Ron Bullock.
July, 1973:
Pats sign free agent safety
Sandy Durko
A sixth round draft pick by Cincinnati in 1970 out of USC, Durko played in 25 games for the Pats in 1973-74, with three interceptions.
July, 1972:
New England signs undrafted rookie LB
**** Blanchard, of Tulsa
Blanchard played in all 14 games with one start in '72. He was cut the next year, then played one season in the WFL. he is one of eleven players to wear the #49 for the Patriots.
July, 1971:
Patriots sign free agent
Rocky Bleier
Bleier had played for the Steelers in 1968, then served in Viet Nam the following year. He was out of football in '69 recovering from injuries, and the Pats made a slick move to sign him. Unfortunately Art Rooney seet-talked/strong-armed Billy Sullivan into trading him to Pittsburgh for a bag of footballs, and the rest is history.
The Pats also signed RB
Jack Maitland, a Williams grad and former Colt who played in 27 games in a backup/special teams role in '71-'72. In addition the Patriots signed third-year free agent vet
Roland Moss, who played in 14 games with six starts as a blocking tight end.
July, 1969:
Pats release
Bob Tucker, and sign
Gary Bugenhagen and
Clarence Scott
Tucker proceeded to play in the NFL for 12 seasons with the Giants and Vikings, catching 422 passes and scoring 28 touchdowns. Bugenhagen was the Pats starting left guard in 1970, but he only played in the NFL for two seasons. There were two Clarence Scotts - both defensive backs, and both played in this time period for the Pats. This was the original Clarence Scott, a safety from Morgan State who played in 43 games for the Patriots from 1969-72.
July, 1968:
Pats sign
Bob Tucker,
Tom Sherman and
William Porter to contracts
July, 1967:
The Patriots sign
Terry Swanson
A punter from UMass via Belmont High School, Swanson averaged 40.0 yards per punt for the Pats in 1967-68.
July, 1966:
Boston signs
Ed Khayat,
James Purvis,
Joe Avezzano and
William Johnson to contracts
July, 1965:
Undrafted rookie
Tom Hennessey is signed
The CB was a Brookline native who went to Holy Cross. He played in every game in '65 and '66, with 8 interceptions.
July, 1962:
Pats sign free agent QB
Don Allard
The Somerville native and former New York Titan played in four games for the Patriots, then played in the ACFL until 1965.
July, 1960:
The Patriots make a wise move and sign
Gino Cappelletti, a former QB in the CFL who was working as a bartender in his brother's tavern in Minnesota.
The Pats also signed
Jack Atchason,
Phil Bennett,
Joe Biscaha,
Bill Brown and
Fred Bruney. Bruney was named to two AFL All-Star teams, with eight picks playing safety for the Pats from 1960-62.
