PATRIOTS NEWS Rooney Rule fulfilled - Byron Leftwich and Pep Hamilton interviewed today

[Ross12]

What concerns me is that they tried to run a WC type offense and it basically sucked. Is that because they have people in position that are graded out by scouts to be in a Erhardt/Perkins offense trying to run WC? That seems like a failure waiting to happen. Or happened, past tense. There's a lot we don't know, but if the Krafts said they just wanted off Bill, and kept everything else the same, and then changed offensive systems, then of course it would suck. You have players who are basically square pegs in round holes. That doesn't explain Rham getting fumblitis or why the defense sucked (because Covington sucks). Did they use Bill's scouting grades then, and that's why they ended up with more ****ty WRs? Certainly Baker felt like an anti-Bill pick. Kraft spoke of changed grading systems. When did that happen? Pre-draft? Post? Mid-season? How does that change who they got, where and how they were used and how it will be changed going forward. I have lots of questions, and it's things we will never find out, because they don't want it leaked or the press is too afraid to ask. There's guys like Bedard, Perry, Curran who would be able to understand that and translate it to fans. Zo certainly could.

Sorry, off on a tangent here. My whole point is if they are grading guys based on Erhardt/Perkins but ran WC, then the switch back to EP with JMcD should yield immediate results.

Regardless, you have to figure that at least Vrabel will put in systems that will get everyone on the same page. A Vrabel led system that includes qualified OCs and DCs has to be better than a Belichick based system without Belichick. We had a coach who it seems had a mandate to be a pal and not be Bill. Everything else was secondary, including preparation.

Players had no chance.

Going even deeper down the rabbit hole, they may not be as bad as they were this year with zero coaching. Get someone in here who can help them know the answers to the test. Get someone in here who matches players skillset to the system, regardless of which system they use.

All fair questions. One thing I keep in mind is that Josh's offense demands more of the QB mentally, but if they can do it then it is very hard to defend. I think Maye has shown that he is very sharp, sharper than perhaps some of us realized. If he can handle do the mental work before the snap, adjust the protections, change the play, read the coverage... and then on top of that, have excellent pocket movement and also athletic ability to break out and extend the play, that would be so lethal... Imagine Brady's ability to slice and dice but then also extend the play or run for a big play if there's nothing there. Or sprinkle in a designed run or RPO, like Josh did periodically with Cam Newton to keep the defense off balance. I can see it working really well after a couple years, if it works. I'd probably want to sign Chris Godwin as a priority target in that scenario.

 

[Steve102]

All fair questions. One thing I keep in mind is that Josh's offense demands more of the QB mentally, but if they can do it then it is very hard to defend. I think Maye has shown that he is very sharp, sharper than perhaps some of us realized. If he can handle do the mental work before the snap, adjust the protections, change the play, read the coverage... and then on top of that, have excellent pocket movement and also athletic ability to break out and extend the play, that would be so lethal... Imagine Brady's ability to slice and dice but then also extend the play or run for a big play if there's nothing there. Or sprinkle in a designed run or RPO, like Josh did periodically with Cam Newton to keep the defense off balance. I can see it working really well after a couple years, if it works. I'd probably want to sign Chris Godwin as a priority target in that scenario.

Godwin is probably the play regardless, Tee Higgins is going to break the bank in the open market, assuming that the Bengals don't keep him.

 

[borg]

I agree - i wonder why some minority candidates even go along with it. They can't win - either they participate in these "sympathy" interviews with no chance at the job, or if they are the best candidate some will say they were a DEI hire...

Perhaps a participation fee is included.

A creative agent might just have this covered.
"Need to subvert the Rooney Rule, I've got three qualified candidates on standby, ready to Skype as soon as the check clears. What's your pleasure?"

 

[TommyD4207]

Godwin is probably the play regardless, Tee Higgins is going to break the bank in the open market, assuming that the Bengals don't keep him.

Considering he'll be 29 and has an extensive injury history...I'm not so sure.

 

[Steve102]

Considering he'll be 29 and has an extensive injury history...I'm not so sure.

Higgins has had troubles getting on the field the last couple years, and Godwin will likely be a fraction of the cost.

 

[TommyD4207]

Higgins has had troubles getting on the field the last couple years, and Godwin will likely be a fraction of the cost.

Higgins is also only 26, which is why he'll command a premium.

I'd much rather have a receiver hitting 30 in Maye's option year, rather than next year.

 

[Steve102]

Higgins is also only 26, which is why he'll command a premium.

I'd much rather have a receiver hitting 30 in Maye's option year, rather than next year.

I don't disagree, but Godwin is probably 80% of Higgins at 40% of the money, not to sound like Belichick.

 

[Clonamery]

I don't disagree, but Godwin is probably 80% of Higgins at 40% of the money, not to sound like Belichick.

I'd like to see Douglas in McDaniel's system. Probably need both given the pounding you take in the slot.

 

[TommyD4207]

I don't disagree, but Godwin is probably 80% of Higgins at 40% of the money, not to sound like Belichick.

I think the age of the QB and the rest of the team is as important at this point as bringing in talent, which might sound out-of-pocket, but really, the only players at or over 30 I'd consider are offensive line and d-tackle, because their careers are typically still productive into their mid-30s.

Clock's ticking on Maye, you have 4 years to get it right, through the draft and FA. You have to have significant improvement next year, and playoffs the year after - at the very least, no matter who the coach is, and you want everyone in their prime before the 'free money window' of the QB is closed.

After that, you'll be working around the fringes to try to keep talent here, and that's when you start adding older players, to compliment the talent already here. Right now, they need talent that still has room to progress, which is why I'm out on any WR over 30 for now.

 

[Pape]

Hear me out on this scenario.

Vrabel is not under contract with anyone, so there's nothing stopping them from having contact with him. He could have given them a list of guys who he might think he'd be interested in having on his staff, so they would interview these guys in advance of the hiring, assuming that the hiring is a forgone conclusion. Further, we know that the NFL operates in the shadows of all these back channel communications, they could have gotten an inkling of who Johnson would want to hire. Who's to say there isn't interest in one as OC and one as QB coach, offense QC or some other role? One more step: Leftwich was Brady's OC, even if we all think that Brady was likely his own OC while in Tampa, Leftwich certainly worked closely with Brady. It's not far fetched to think that at some point between 2020 and Brady becoming 5% owner of the Raidaahhs (said like Chris Berman) that there was a conversation between Brady and RKK on how he liked working with the people in Tampa, certainly during the Brady celebration when drinks were flowing liberally. Hence the interest in bringing in Leftwich.

It's not hard for me to think that Vrabel would have something along the lines of "**** yeah, interview all those dudes" and had him sign off on Hamilton and/or Leftwich.

To me, the reaction of "they are flouting the Rooney Rule" and the subsequent backlash is all twitterverse virtue signaling. People object to them going first? They aren't the name brand that Vrabel or Johnson are? The Rooney Rule is a thing, but Leftwich was a hot name for HC just a few years ago, and Hamilton is a respected name in coaching circles (so I read anyway). It just feels like more Patriot hate to me.

Reverse this a bit, Vrabel has been out of the job for a year.... Sure he got a consulting gig with the browns, but nothing would have precluded him from making a list of a perspective staff, if and when he got another call? wouldn't it be more logical for Vrabel to say "these are the guys im interested in for a staff" vs the Pats laying out a prospective staff?

I want the new coach to be able to build his own staff... unlike Mayo, who had no cache in league circles... Now the Pats weighing in on certain guys might open new doors for Vrabel, but now I think he has to have a tentative staff in place... He must have spent the season "building a staff" on paper... and if he didn't, its a lost opportunity...

 

[Steve102]

Reverse this a bit, Vrabel has been out of the job for a year.... Sure he got a consulting gig with the browns, but nothing would have precluded him from making a list of a perspective staff, if and when he got another call? wouldn't it be more logical for Vrabel to say "these are the guys im interested in for a staff" vs the Pats laying out a prospective staff?

I want the new coach to be able to build his own staff... unlike Mayo, who had no cache in league circles... Now the Pats weighing in on certain guys might open new doors for Vrabel, but now I think he has to have a tentative staff in place... He must have spent the season "building a staff" on paper... and if he didn't, its a lost opportunity...

I am sure he's got a staff picked out, at least a solid framework. He may not have it all rounded out 2-3 deep at positions, but I bet he has an OC or multiple OCs, a WR guy, a TE guy, a strength and conditioning guy, ect. He may not have a full strength and conditioning staff or a full compliment of ass't coaches fully down the line, but I feel that he'd have a team coming in.

 

[Clonamery]

I am sure he's got a staff picked out, at least a solid framework. He may not have it all rounded out 2-3 deep at positions, but I bet he has an OC or multiple OCs, a WR guy, a TE guy, a strength and conditioning guy, ect. He may not have a full strength and conditioning staff or a full compliment of ass't coaches fully down the line, but I feel that he'd have a team coming in.

100%

 

[Pape]

I am sure he's got a staff picked out, at least a solid framework. He may not have it all rounded out 2-3 deep at positions, but I bet he has an OC or multiple OCs, a WR guy, a TE guy, a strength and conditioning guy, ect. He may not have a full strength and conditioning staff or a full compliment of ass't coaches fully down the line, but I feel that he'd have a team coming in.

spot on. i think he has a short list of guys for the important roles on the staff

 

[PancakeBlockPaul]

The Krafts are getting crapped on for this, but anyone who interviews Ron Rivera or Robert Saleh are doing the same thing. Both are minority candidates who are not currently employed by a team and thus can meet in person right away and check the box. It's just because Leftwich and Hamilton are not "high profile" that it's somehow considered "a sham". But if anything aren't the Krafts doing these guys a big favor by putting their names back out there? How is it "better" for them to interview Rivera and Saleh instead?

These ****ing idiots that are *****ing about these interviews need to get a grip. They did exactly what the league mandates. Rule fulfilled. Teams do it ALL the time. Do they just check the box? Sure. Do they really do an in depth interview? Probably not. The SAME as any other company does. I can’t count how many times I’ve been to an interview and knew from the get go that it was a bs interview so HR could say they interviewed “external” candidates or something else. What do these crybabies complaining want everyone to do? Interview the candidates THEY want? Give me a break. They want things to be different? Get it changed. So long as the rules there, it will be abused, mocked, ignored etc.

 

[Pape]

Hear me out on this scenario.

Vrabel is not under contract with anyone, so there's nothing stopping them from having contact with him. He could have given them a list of guys who he might think he'd be interested in having on his staff, so they would interview these guys in advance of the hiring, assuming that the hiring is a forgone conclusion. Further, we know that the NFL operates in the shadows of all these back channel communications, they could have gotten an inkling of who Johnson would want to hire. Who's to say there isn't interest in one as OC and one as QB coach, offense QC or some other role? One more step: Leftwich was Brady's OC, even if we all think that Brady was likely his own OC while in Tampa, Leftwich certainly worked closely with Brady. It's not far fetched to think that at some point between 2020 and Brady becoming 5% owner of the Raidaahhs (said like Chris Berman) that there was a conversation between Brady and RKK on how he liked working with the people in Tampa, certainly during the Brady celebration when drinks were flowing liberally. Hence the interest in bringing in Leftwich.

It's not hard for me to think that Vrabel would have something along the lines of "**** yeah, interview all those dudes" and had him sign off on Hamilton and/or Leftwich.

To me, the reaction of "they are flouting the Rooney Rule" and the subsequent backlash is all twitterverse virtue signaling. People object to them going first? They aren't the name brand that Vrabel or Johnson are? The Rooney Rule is a thing, but Leftwich was a hot name for HC just a few years ago, and Hamilton is a respected name in coaching circles (so I read anyway). It just feels like more Patriot hate to me.

another aspect on this post... because its actually interesting, in a non-Patriot related way... I wonder who, if anyone, from Brady era Tampa, gets a look-see vs a deep dive in Las Vegas during their coaching search...

 

[Steve102]

another aspect on this post... because its actually interesting, in a non-Patriot related way... I wonder who, if anyone, from Brady era Tampa, gets a look-see vs a deep dive in Las Vegas during their coaching search...

*Bill Belichick is on line one, Tom*

 

[Pape]

*Bill Belichick is on line one, Tom*

I love Bill. I wish he was never fired. But... he was. His day in the NFL is done. He ran a good race, all things considered.

 

[Clonamery]

I love Bill. I wish he was never fired. But... he was. His day in the NFL is done. He ran a good race, all things considered.

Wut? Please don't write my eulogy, they'll be hanging in me in effigy.

 

[Pape]

Wut? Please don't write my eulogy, they'll be hanging in me in effigy.

awww im hurt... *wads up Clonamerys eulogy, tosses it in a bin*... what about the obit? do I get a crack at that?

 

[Clonamery]

awww im hurt... *wads up Clonamerys eulogy, tosses it in a bin*... what about the obit? do I get a crack at that?

Sure, 2 sentences and you're