Today In Patriots History Feb 27, 1990: Pats hire Rod Rust as Head Coach

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Today in Patriots History
Pats hire Rod Rust​

February 26, 1990:
The New England Patriots announce the hiring of Rod Rust

Rust was the ninth full-time/non-interim head coach in franchise history.

He also holds the distinction of owning the worst record in team history, and is one of only two coaches to be fired after a single season.

Rod Rust also owns the record for the shortest job search for any Patriots head coach: one day. The Patriots had put themselves in a bind by waiting so long to fire Raymond Berry on the previous day; the Pats 1989 season had ended a full two months prior, on December 24. An NFL guideline stated that no team could seek permission after March 1 to hire another team’s assistant to become its own assistant, and a league spokesman said that probably would still apply even if the new job was as head coach.


In addition, four assistant coaches were fired on this date:
Secondary coach Jimmy Carr
Receivers coach Harold Jackson
Defensive line coach Ed Khayat
Linebackers coach Don Shinnick

Khayat had signed his own death warrant the previous day, when he publicly praised Raymond Berry after he was fired - something that GM Patrick Sullivan surely did not appreciate.


Back to Rod Rust. He played center and linebacker at Iowa State in the late '40s, then coached high school football through the fifties. From 1960 to 1972 he worked on college teams, including six as a head coach (1967-72) at North Texas. After that Rust worked at the professional level from 1973-89; one year as alinebackers coach, the rest as a defensive coordinator. For many of those years he was working for either Marv Levy or **** Vermeil.

Patriots hire Rod Rust as head coach - UPI Archives

Rod Rust, builder of the defense that carried the New England Patriots to the Super Bowl four years ago, was named Tuesday to replace fired Raymond Berry as...

www.upi.com

Rod Rust, builder of the defense that carried the New England Patriots to the Super Bowl four years ago, was named Tuesday to replace fired Raymond Berry as coach of the declining franchise.​

'We are very familiar with Rod and he is familiar with the Patriots, which will make this transition very smooth,' Sullivan said Tuesday.​

Patriots owner Victor Kiam said Rust has 'one of the best football minds in the business.'​

The appointment gives Rust his first head coaching position in the NFL. He once served as head coach at North Texas State and has been an assistant coach in the NFL since 1976. During the past season, Rust was defensive coordinator of the Pittsburgh Steelers.​

Rust, 61, agreed to a four-year contract with the Patriots, one day after team General Manager Patrick Sullivan fired Berry in a power struggle over the hiring of offensive and defensive coordinators.​

Patriots Hire Rod Rust to Succeed Berry

Rod Rust, who spent 14 seasons as an NFL assistant, has become the second oldest coach in the league, taking over the New England Patriots a day after the team fired Raymond Berry.

www.latimes.com

Rod Rust, who spent 14 seasons as an NFL assistant, has become the second oldest coach in the league, taking over the New England Patriots a day after the team fired Raymond Berry.​

The 61-year-old Rust, Pittsburgh’s defensive coordinator last season, had been the Patriots’ defensive coordinator from 1983 to ‘87, the last 3 1/2 years under Berry. Patriots General Manager Pat Sullivan fired Berry on Monday after a disagreement over the hiring of an offensive coordinator. Minnesota Vikings’ Coach Jerry Burns, at 63, is the NFL’s oldest head coach.​

Rust returned today to a team that finished 5-11 and missed the playoffs for a third straight season. The coaching change came a month after Sullivan had given Berry a vote of confidence.​

But events escalated swiftly last week when Sullivan pushed Berry to make changes. Berry wanted to let current assistants handle the offensive coordinator’s job, and Sullivan got permission last Friday from owner Victor Kiam to fire Berry.​

With the draft less than two months away and a possible March 1 deadline for hiring another team’s assistant, the Patriots made a move. An NFL guideline states that no team can seek permission after March 1 to hire another team’s assistant to become its own assistant. A league spokesman said that probably could apply if the new job is head coach.​

So Sullivan turned to a familiar face. Rust, an assistant with New England who went to its only Super Bowl in 1985, was named head coach on Berry’s 57th birthday.​

New England Hires Rust As Coach

Rust became defensive coordinator in 1988 under Kansas City Coach Frank Gansz but lost the job when Gansz was fired, and moved to Pittsburgh in 1989.​

In taking his fourth job in four years, Rust rejoins a club he had left temporarily in one of its more bizarre situations.​

Midway through the 1984 season, on Oct. 24, Patriots Coach Ron Meyer fired Rust before telling Sullivan, who was in New Orleans at league meetings. Sullivan rushed home, hired Berry that night and fired Meyer the next morning. One of Berry’s first acts as head coach was to bring Rust back as defensive coordinator.​

Like Berry, the soft-spoken Rust is not outwardly emotional or revealing and rarely criticizes his players.​

But while Berry’s unimaginative offense sparked criticism of his football knowledge, Rust’s constant employment in key coaching positions leaves little doubt about his ability.​

“He gets a lot of respect because of his intelligence,” Pittsburgh linebacker Coach David Brazil said.​

OBF: Recalling the dark, sad days of the Rod Rust-led Patriots

For the first time in 34 years, the Patriots have a Rust problem.

www.bostonherald.com

Rod Rust did not earn his job as Patriots head coach when he went to the Remington shaver factory in Bridgeport with then-owner Victor Kiam.​

Rather, he was pulled out of head coaching obscurity when then-GM Patrick Sullivan fired Raymond Berry in February. In typical Patriots dysfunction of the time, Sullivan and Berry had a falling out after a disagreement over hiring an offensive coordinator.​

Like Je-Rod, Rod Rust was a Patriots’ defensive assistant when the team reached the Super Bowl. That was Super Bowl XX during which the Patriots were massacred by Richard Dent and the Chicago Bears live on NBC.​

Rod Rust’s 1990 campaign was indisputably the worst season in franchise history on and off the field. It gave us the Lisa Olson sexual harassment scandal, Victory Kiam’s “Patriot Missile” one-liner, and a 1-15 season that set all-time franchise records for futility in victories, scoring, and watchability.​

Former Patriots Head Coach Rod Rust Passes Away -- Patriots.com, Oct 24, 2018
The New England Patriots are deeply saddened to learn of the loss of former Patriots head coach Rod Rust, who passed away Tuesday morning at the age of 90.

A native of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Rust was born Aug. 2, 1928, and played college football at Iowa State from 1947-49. He spent two years with the U.S. Army before he began coaching. …

Rust moved on to coach the Philadelphia Eagles linebackers from 1976-77 before being hired by the Kansas City Chiefs to be their defensive coordinator from 1978-82. He then served in the same position with the New England Patriots for five seasons from 1983-87. His 1985 defensive unit, which ranked third in the AFC, helped the Patriots win the AFC Championship and advance to Super Bowl XX. …

He was named head coach of the New England Patriots on Feb. 27, 1990 and led the team for one season.

RIP to the Most Unsuccessful Coach in Patriots History

Press Release – The New England Patriots are deeply saddened to learn of the loss of former Patriots head coach Rod Rust, who passed away Tuesday morning at the age of 90.A native of Cedar Rapids, Iow...

www.barstoolsports.com

The Patriots must have a genius working for them who writes obituaries because that (above) is a masterpiece of emphasizing the positive and eliminating the negative. Yes, Rod Rust served his country and was a long time defensive assistant who worked his way up to the Patriots head coaching job in 1990. Left unsaid is that he went 1-15. Then got fired. And then instantly became the Patron Saint of Good Coordinators Who Aren’t Head Coaching Material in perpetuity.​

But believe it or not, 1-15 doesn’t even begin to tell the story of how bad the 1990 Patriots were. Offensively, they scored the fewest points in the NFL by a wide margin. Defensively, they gave up the second fewest, but gave up the most rushing yards by a margin of 300. They lost in Week 3 by a score of 41-7. In early November, by 48-20. There was a 37-7 mixed in there. They lost a late December game 42-7. Rust’s 1990 Pats were a blowout factory and they were working three shifts.​

The low point actually came after a Week 14 loss when Rust infamously said “I’m proud of my team’s effort today.” After losing to Pittsburgh 24-3. Which caused the entire population of New England who was still paying attention – all 150 of us – to say with one voice, “Proud of the effort??? How bad would you have to get beat to be ashamed of it?” And from that moment on, Rust was dunzo.​

And if you’re wondering whether that 1-15 debacle at least produced a No. 1 draft pick that did some good, you’d be right. It did. For Dallas. The Patriots traded it to Jimmy Johnson and Jerry Jones who used it to take Russell Maryland and start building the Cowboys dynasty of the early 90s. Because those were the Patriots for most of my life.​

Not to take too deep a dive into it because it’s a long story, but it was also on Rust’s watch that the Pats hit their lowest of low points that in a roundabout way ultimately turned the franchise around. That was when backup tight end Zeke Mowatt went up to a female reporter in the locker room, waved his dong in her face and asked if she wanted to kiss it. The ensuing firestorm created a national discussion (something the Patriots of the time never, ever did) about women in the locker rooms and sexism that made the NFL look awful. Ultimately the other owners pressured the terrible Patriots owner to sell to a guy who cleaned house, fired everyone, hired Bill Parcells who drafted Drew Bledsoe and the rest, as they say, is history. Glorious, successful history. That might never have happened with a more competent head coach in charge.​

Lastly (and thanks again for stopping by, it’s really appreciated) I chose my words carefully. Rod Rust was the “least successful” coach the team has ever had, not the “worst.” Rust at least was a sane and decent man who was well thought of but just was in over his head running a bad team with abysmal management. The worst coach they’ve ever had might have been Clive Rush from the AFL days, who had a nervous breakdown. Quite literally. Coaching the 1960s Patriots landed him in an institution like the one Ray Finkel went to.​

Rod Rust - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

For most of Rust's early coaching career, he was an assistant to one of two coaches: Marv Levy or **** Vermeil. Rust began as an assistant under Levy at the University of New Mexico between 1960 and 1962, before leaving to serve under **** Vermeil at Stanford University. In 1967, he became the head coach at North Texas State University (now the University of North Texas), a position he held until 1972. North Texas had a 29–32–1 record during Rust's tenure.​

Rust returned to work for Levy in 1973 as defensive coordinator for the Montreal Alouettes of the Canadian Football League. In his three seasons in Montreal, the Alouettes went to two Grey Cup finals, winning in 1974.​

In 1976, Rust left the Alouettes to become an assistant with Vermeil's Philadelphia Eagles. He served as linebackers coach for two seasons before leaving to take the defensive coordinator position with Levy and the Kansas City Chiefs. After Levy's firing in 1982, Rust became defensive coordinator of the New England Patriots. Head coach Ron Meyer fired Rust midway through the 1984 season, but he was later reinstated (with Meyer himself fired). Rust and the Patriots went to Super Bowl XX (under head coach Raymond Berry) in 1985, but he left the team after the 1987 season. He returned to the Chiefs for the 1988 season, and moved again to the Pittsburgh Steelers in 1989.​

The Patriots hired Rust as head coach in 1990. The team started out well, with a close loss to the Miami Dolphins and an equally close win over the Indianapolis Colts. The bottom quickly fell out, and the Patriots would suffer 14 straight losses, tying the 1976 Tampa Bay Buccaneers for the most consecutive losses in a single season in NFL history. Many of these losses came in humiliating fashion. They ultimately finished 1–15, the worst record in franchise history. Many of the holdovers from the Super Bowl XX team were well past their prime, and there was very little depth behind them. It showed in a ghastly -265 point differential, the worst point differential for any NFL team in the 1990s.​

Today In Patriots History - Feb 7, 1983: Ron Meyer hires Rod Rust to be DC

Today in Patriots History Rod Rust hired to be Defensive Coordinator February 7, 1983: Rod Rust is hired as defensive coordinator by Ron Meyer. Rod Rust had been the DC for the Kansas City Chiefs since 1978. He began his coaching career as an assistant at New Mexico in 1960, then held the...

www.patsfans.com

Rod Rust Record, Statistics, and Category Ranks | Pro-Football-Reference.com

Get Stats, Coaching Records, Team Ranks, Coordinators, and more for Rod Rust on Pro-football-reference.com.

www.pro-football-reference.com

 

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Today in Patriots History
Raymond Berry​

Happy 92nd birthday to Raymond Berry
Born February 27, 1933 in Corpus Christi, Texas
Patriot TE, 1989-1993; uniform #46 ('89-'90) and #85 ('91-'92)
Patriot receivers coach, 1978-1981
Patriot Head Coach, 1984-1989
Pats résumé: 51-41 record; 1st Super Bowl appearance in team history; 1985 NFL coach of the year; HC of Pats All-1990s Team


For a long time Raymond Berry was considered to be the greatest receiver in NFL history. Before Montana to Rice there was Unitas to Berry. Berry was not particularly fast, but he ran precise routes and was an exceptionally sure handed receiver. By his own count Berry had 88 different moves to get open.

In the 1958 'Greatest Game Ever Played' overtime championship game, Berry was amazing, catching twelve passes for 178 yards. He led the league in receptions and receiving yards three times, receiving touchdowns twice and total touchdowns once. Berry also won consecutive NFL championships with the Baltimore Colts. When he retired Raymond Berry held the NFL career record for receptions and receiving yards. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1973 and was a unanimous choice for the NFL 100th Anniversary All-Time Team.

Berry was the New England wide receivers coach for four seasons under Chuck Fairbanks and Ron Erhardt. He returned three years later on October 26, 1984 as the franchise’s ninth head coach, replacing Ron Meyer. 1985 was Berry’s first full season as head coach. It would turn out to be the best year to be a fan of the Patriots in the first four decades of the franchise.

Squish the Fish​

Things didn’t seem special at all in the beginning of the season. The Pats were 2-3, and losing late in the second quarter to winless Buffalo. Here Berry made a critical choice: he pulled Tony Eason - after the first round draft pick threw two interceptions, and had just been sacked on three consecutive plays. The team rallied, playing more inspired football with Steve Grogan. The Patriots responded to the change by winning six in a row to finish 11-5, clinching a playoff spot in the final game of the season.

The Pats then made NFL history by being the first team to win three playoff games on the road. The entire region was swept up by Patriots mania. Squish the Fish t-shirts and bumper stickers were everywhere. The mountain to be overcome was beating the Dolphins, who were 25-12 against the Patriots since 1967. 18 consecutive losses at Miami came to an end with the Patriots pummeling the Dolphins 31-14 at the Orange Bowl. It was the first time the Pats defeated the Dolphins in south Florida since Miami was an AFL expansion team.

Strange as it may sound now, the Super Bowl 20 was anticlimactic. The Patriots had won theirown "Super Bowl" by physically dominating the Dolphins in Miami. The entire focus had solely been on getting over that hump, and beating the Dolphins. Chicago was unstoppable that year, and it showed in the super bowl. The Pats went 11-5 again in 1986, winning a division title for the first time in eight years. The Patriots did have winning records in each of the next two seasons, but failed to make the playoffs. Then the Pats slid to a 5-11 record in 1989, leading to Patrick Sullivan firing Berry on February 26, 1990.

Raymond Berry is arguably the second best coach in Patriots history. He ranks second in playoff games and playoff victories, behind only Bill Belichick. He ranks third in games coached and games won, behind Belichick and Mike Holovak. Only Belichick and Pete Carroll own a better winning percentage than Berry.

 

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Today in Patriots History
Ron Erhardt​

In memory of Ron Erhardt, born on this date 93 years ago
Born February 27, 1932 in Mandan, North Dakota
Died March 21, 2012 at the age of 80 in Boca Raton, Florida
Patriot offensive backs coach, 1973-1976
Patriot offensive coordinator, 1977-1978
Patriot Head Coach, 1979-1981
Hired as head coach on April 6, 1979
Pats résumé: 9-7 as HC in 1979; 10-6 in 1980; 2-14 in 1981; ranks 7th in franchise history with 21 wins


Similar to Rod Rust, Ron ‘Fargo’ Erhardt was another one of those guys that was a great coordinator but not that great of a head coach. The Pats went 9-7 and 10-6 in his first two seasons at the helm. Then in 1981 the club found every way imaginable to lose close games, plummeting to a 2-14 record – despite scoring just 48 points fewer than they allowed. Erhardt won two super bowl championships as the offensive coordinator for the New York Giants under Bill Parcells and alongside Bill Belichick in 1986 and 1990. The ‘Erhardt-Perkins’ offensive philosophy is still to this day one of the the three primary strategies employed by NFL teams.


March 21, 2012:
Former Patriots head coach Ron Erhardt passes away --- Patriots.com

 

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Today in Patriots History
Chandler Jones​

Happy 35th birthday to Chandler Jones
Born February 27, 1990; from Endicott, New York
Patriot DE, 2012-2015; uniform #95
Pats first round (21st overall) selection of the 2012 draft, from Syracuse
Pats résumé: 4 seasons, 55 games (52 starts); 211 tackles, 36 sacks, 64 QB Hits, 38 TFL, 10 FF; 1x Pro Bowl; Pats All-2010s Team; SB 49 ring


Chandler Jones played in 55 games with 52 starts over four seasons with the Patriots; he also started nine playoff games. While with New England he had 36 sacks, 222 tackles (134 solo), ten forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries, nine passes defensed, one interception and a blocked field goal returned for a touchdown. Jones was named to the Pro Bowl in 2015. In the Super Bowl 49 victory over Seattle he had three tackles, a sack and one tackle for a loss.

The Pats sent Jones to the Cardinals in March of 2016 in exchange for Jonathan Cooper and a second round draft pick. That second was then traded for a third (Joe Thuney) and a fourth (Malcolm Mitchell) round pick. Despite the bizarre shirtless incident in front of the Foxboro police station in the midst of a playoff run, Arizona signed Jones to a 5-year, $82.5 million contract with $53 million guaranteed.

Best of Chandler Jones | Patriots Highlights | 2012-2015
4:22 Highlight Video
​

Jones blossomed in Arizona, with 60 sacks in his first four seasons there. He led the league in sacks (17) and tackles for a loss (28) in 2017, and forced fumbles (8) in 2019. That has led to Jones twice being named a first team All Pro and a $82,500,000 in actual cash paid to him by Arizona in his last five seasons with the Cardinals.

He signed a a three-year, $51 million contract with the Raiders on March 17, 2022, but that deal did not work out well at all. His sack total dropped from 10½ in 2021 to 4½, and finished the season on IR. Then on September 5, 2023 he posted on his Instagram account that he no longer wanted to play for the Raiders, was placed on the NFI list, and was released by the team a few weeks later after being arrested for violating a domestic violence temporary protective order.


Over 11 NFL seasons, Chandler Jones played in 154 regular season games, with 511 tackles (121 for a loss), 112 sacks, 210 QB hits, 34 forced fumbles and 30 passes defensed. He was named to four Pro Bowls and was twice a first-team All Pro. Jones also played in ten postseason games (nine with the Patriots), earning a ring from the 28-24 Super Bowl victory over Seattle. Jones was also named to Pro Football's All-Decade Team of the 2010s.

​

Pats trade DE Jones to Cards for G Cooper, pick

The New England Patriots have traded defensive end Chandler Jones to the Arizona Cardinals for guard Jonathan Cooper and a second-round draft pick.

www.espn.com

Cardinals' Chandler Jones says Patriots were actually smart for trading him four years ago

Jones reflects on his time with Patriots, years after the trade

www.cbssports.com

DE Jones, away from Raiders, arrested in Vegas

Raiders defensive end Chandler Jones was arrested Friday in Las Vegas after he allegedly violated a domestic violence temporary protective order, according to jail records.

www.espn.com

Chandler Jones Contract Details, Salary Cap Charges, Bonus Money, and Contract History | Over The Cap

Chandler Jones contract and salary cap details, including signing bonus, guaranteed salary, dead money, roster bonuses, and contract history

overthecap.com

Chandler Jones Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Draft, College | Pro-Football-Reference.com

Checkout the latest stats for Chandler Jones. Get info about his position, age, height, weight, college, draft, and more on Pro-football-reference.com.

www.pro-football-reference.com

Chandler Jones - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

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Today in Patriots History
Garin Veris​

Happy 62nd birthday to Garin Veris
Born February 27, 1963 in Chillicothe, Ohio
Patriot DE, 1985-1991; uniform #60 (1985-88) and #90 (1990-91)
Pats second round (48th overall) selection of the 1985 draft, from Stanford
Pats résumé: 6 seasons (plus one on IR); 78 games (46 starts); 36 sacks, plus 4 more sacks in 5 playoff games


Garin Veris made an immediate positive impact, registering 21 sacks in his first two NFL seasons. As a rookie he had three sacks and an interception in the 1985 26-14 wild card victory at New York. But a few years later Veris, Andre Tippett and Ronnie Lippett all suffered season-ending injuries in the final preseason game versus Green Bay, ruining the 1989 Patriots season. Garin recorded 36 sacks during his six healthy seasons with the Pats, including a team-high 11 in 1986.

Veris played in 83 games for New England and is a member of the Patriots All-Decade Team of the 1980s. He has since worked as the athletic director of Haverhill High School, Director of Business Development and Marketing at UMass-Boston, as Athletic Director at Mass. Maritime in Buzzards Bay, and as Director of Recreation for the City of Boston.


January 2006:

Making Boston a Better Place to Play

Making Boston a Better Place to Play

stanfordmag.org

As director of recreation for the City of Boston, Veris raises money for youth athletic programs and encourages young people to play sports to help them excel in all aspects of life. He manages a $4 million annual budget, which he supplements with public and private grants. He oversees eight program managers and the employees at the city’s 42 community centers and four stand-alone swimming pools. Local advisory boards help the centers tailor their programming. This can mean more soccer in neighborhoods with many residents from Brazil, for example, and more baseball in neighborhoods with ties to the Dominican Republic. As the city’s head cheerleader for recreation, Veris touts sports as a way to fight obesity, learn discipline and respect, and have fun.​

Veris hopes to impress kids as much with his Stanford and Boston College Law School degrees as with his Super Bowl ring (earned in his rookie year playing for the Patriots in 1985). Growing up in Chillicothe, Ohio, he came home from school to do his homework before playing sports.​

Yet combining athletics and coursework at Stanford proved a challenge. “That first year was torture on me,” Veris recalls. “You had to really bear down and discipline yourself to get through a football season and also the academic load Stanford offers.” In the pros, he met players who had taken advantage of college opportunities, but he also knew NFL players who couldn’t read.​

After seven years, his pro career was halted by knee injuries. Veris went to law school and served a brief stint as a sports agent. He had returned to Stanford to work as a fund raiser when Boston mayor Tom Menino tapped him for his current post.​

Sept 29, 2019:
Patriots Alumni hosted the 14th annual away game viewing party in the Putnam Club at Gillette Stadium



Dec 15, 2008:
Garin Veris at a fundraising raffle
​

Feb 3, 2008:

Former Patriot Veris reflects on Super Bowl XX

Remember the "Super Bowl Shuffle? For those of you who don't, here's a little recap. The 1985 Chicago Bears made a rap song and video as a promotion for the team. The Shufflin' Crew, as they were kno…

www.seacoastonline.com

Aug 14, 2009:

Ex-Patriots defender Veris named AD at Haverhill High

HAVERHILL (AP) — Former New England Patriots defensive end Garin Veris has been named the athletic director at Haverhill High School. Veris has been an athletic fundraiser for the University …

www.lowellsun.com

Nov 12, 2015:

Former New England Patriot Veris Appointed As Massachusetts Maritime's Director Of Athletics

Garin Veris, a member of the New England Patriots for seven seasons and the current Associate Director of Athletics at the University of Massachusetts Boston, has been named as Director of Athletics at the Massachusetts Maritime Academy. Veris’s appointment, which begins on November 30th, was...

www.mmabucs.com

Garin Veris Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Draft, College | Pro-Football-Reference.com

Checkout the latest stats for Garin Veris. Get info about his position, age, height, weight, college, draft, and more on Pro-football-reference.com.

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Garin Veris - Wikipedia

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LinkedIn - Garin Veris

 

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Today in Patriots History
More February 27th Birthdays​

Happy 76th birthday to Ron Kadziel
Born February 27, 1949; from Glendora, California
Patriot LB, 1972; uniform #52
Signed as a free agent on March 8, 1972

Kadziel was a fifth round draft pick by Dallas in 1971. He played in all 14 games for the Pats in ’72 under John Mazur and Phil Bengtson. The Stanford graduate retired the following offseason and embarked on a career in the investment field. He has been a manager with First Western Capital in Utah since 1994.



Happy 55th birthday to David White
Born February 27, 1970; from New Orleans
Patriot LB, 1993; uniform #51
Waiver claim from Buffalo on August 31, 1993

David White split the 1993 season between the active roster and the practice squad for the Patriots, appearing in six games. He later returned to Buffalo for the ’95 and ’96 seasons, seeing action in 31 games with six starts.



Happy 46th birthday to Jace Sayler
Born February 27, 1979; from McHenry, Illinois
Patriot NT, 2001; uniform #94
Signed as an undrafted rookie from Michigan State on April 27, 2001

Jace Sayler survived roster cuts and started in week one of the 2001 season, due to an injury to Richard Seymour. Sayler played the next week as well but a knee injury caused him to spend the remainder of the season on injured reserve. The Pats released Sayler the following February, but he did earn a Super Bowl ring for his trouble. After signing with Washington and then San Francisco, he broke a bone in his back on a freak non-contact play that resulted in two surgeries. That forced Sayler to retire from pro football at the age of just 24.




Other pro football players born on February 27 with a New England connection:

Mike Kelley, 63 (1962)
Westfield MA
A third round pick by Houston in 1985, the offensive lineman from Notre Dame played with the Oilers until 1987.

George Sulima (1928-1987)
New Britain CT; Boston University
Pittsburgh drafted the end/defensive end in the third round of the 1951 draft. In 1954 Sulima had 30 receptions with the Steelers.

Ed Cody (1923-1994)
New Britain CT; Boston College
The fullback/linebacker was the 36th overall pick of the 1946 draft by Green Bay. Cody played for the Packers and Bears until 1950.

 

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Today in Patriots History
More February 27 Trivia​

Feb 27, 1977:
The Patriots hire **** Walker as their linebackers coach

Walker was a trend setter: he was, as far as I know, the Pats first John Carroll University (class of '55) hire, where he played center and linebacker. He was a high school coach in Ohio from 1960-66, then an assistant coach at Toledo (1967-68) and Navy (1969). Walker then worked as the defensive backs coach under Woody Hayes at Ohio State for eight years before joining Chuck Fairbanks' staff, his first pro football job.

One year later the Steelers hired Walker to be their defensive backs coach, and he earned two super bowl rings in his four seasons in Pittsburgh.

https://jcusports.com/honors/hall-of-fame/richard-****-walker/322/kiosk

High-school football: Former Watterson coach Dick Walker dies

**** Walker, who coached Watterson to a victory over Upper Arlington in 1966 in one of the biggest high-school football games in central Ohio before moving on to an assistant coaching career that inc…

www.dispatch.com

Remembering one of the good guys

Recently through my high school class web site, I learned of the car-crash death of **** Walker, the head football coach at Bishop Watterson in Columbus when I was in school there. That though is not really the story here, although at Watterson, I knew coach Walker strictly as a history teacher...

www.newsandsentinel.com

Feb 27, 1989:
Patriots sign free agent WR Mike Jones to a two-year contract

This transaction was rather cumbersome to verify, because there have been at least eight different NFL players named Mike Jones. On top of that there was a different Mike Jones, a defensive end who was drafted by Phoenix in 1991, who played for the Patriots from 1994 to 1997.

Our Mike Jones was a wide receiver who had played for the Vikings (1983-85), Saints (1986-87) and Chiefs (1988) before signing with the Patriots. He had averaged 40 receptions per season from '84-'87, but failed to make the Pats roster, released on September 4. Since 1998 Jones has worked as a position coach in NFL Europe, the CFL and in high school, as an OC at Tennessee State, and currently in the XFL.

Mike Jones Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Draft, College | Pro-Football-Reference.com

Checkout the latest stats for Mike Jones. Get info about his position, age, height, weight, college, draft, and more on Pro-football-reference.com.

www.pro-football-reference.com

Pro Sports Transactions - Mike Jones

Mike Jones (wide receiver, born 1960) - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Feb 27, 1996:
Patriots re-sign two free agents: Corwin Brown and William Roberts, and claim Chico Nelson off waivers from Miami

The Patriots selected Brown in the 4th round of the 1993 draft out of Michigan, and the safety played in 61 games for the Pats over four seasons. Roberts was New England's starting LG in 1995-96, after having played ten seasons for the Giants. Chico 'Willie' Nelson was a captain at Ohio State - about the same time that Eddie George and Terry Glenn played there - but the defensive back never got on the field for a regular season NFL game.

Ohio State football | Former captain Chico Nelson dies at 46

Former Ohio State football player Willie "Chico" Nelson died in the Columbus area Tuesday morning, a spokesman for the Franklin County Coroner's office said. He was 46. A cause of death has not been …

www.dispatch.com

Feb 27, 1997:
New England re-signs free agent J.R. Conrad

Conrad was a 7th round (247th overall) selection by the Pats in the 1996 draft, from Oklahoma. He spent all of '96 on the practice squad, and was released at the end of the '97 training camp. Though he never played a down for the Patriots, he did get on the field for 12 games with the Jets that year, which was the extent of his NFL career.




February 27, 2000:
Unrestricted free agent Troy Brown is re-signed to a 5-year $13M contract

In seven NFL seasons Troy had primarily been a return specialist and special teamer, averaging about 20 receptions per year in a backup role. That would change in 2000, when he became a full-time starter with 83 receptions, followed up by 101 catches in 2001.

Patriots sign Troy Brown -- Patriots.com

Pats' Sign Brown $13M

New England Patriots Sign Troy Brown

www.cbsnews.com

Patriots Brown Happy Team Came Through with Contract Offer | PatsFans.com

For all the times he came through for them over the past seven seasons, Troy Brown is happy the Patriots came through with a contract offer to keep him.

www.patsfans.com

Feb 27, 2001:
Chris Slade is released

The OLB had played in 142 games over eight seasons with New England. Slade finished his NFL career with Carolina in 2001.

Today In Patriots History - Jan 30: Happy Birthday to Chris Slade

Today in Patriots History Chris Slade Happy 54th birthday to Chris Slade Born Jan 30, 1971 in Newport News, Virginia; grew up in Yorktown VA Patriot LB, 1993-2000; uniform #53 Pats 2nd round (31st overall) selection of the 1993 draft, from Virginia Pats résumé: 8 seasons, 127 games (108...

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Feb 27, 2004:

Friday roundup: Pats give Hochstein extension

Friday's NFL roundup

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The New England Patriots agreed to a three-year contract extension with Russ Hochstein on Friday.​

A whipping boy for Warren Sapp in the days preceding Super Bowl XXXVIII, and then part of an offensive line unit that whipped the Carolina Panthers' much-touted front four in the championship game, the deal gives Hochstein some deserved job security.​

The contract will pay Hochstein, who has now started more playoff contests than regular-season games in his career, about $2 million, including a $200,000 signing bonus.​

If he is a starter, the deal will be worth roughly $3 million.​

Hochstein, 26, was belittled by Sapp before the title game. Then, when Sapp approached him on media day for an interview, Hochstein declined to speak with the Bucs star. The irony is that Hochstein now has a contract for 2004 and Sapp is unsigned and is scheduled to become a free agent next Wednesday.​

Hochstein, a former Nebraska star, let his deeds to the talking in the Super Bowl, however, as he played well against the Carolina tackle tandem of Kris Jenkins and Brentson Bucker. In fact, Hochstein also started in the AFC championship game, replacing an injured Damien Woody, and contributed to a Pats line that did not allow a sack in its playoff run.​

Feb 27, 2006:
The Patriots release CB Duane Starks

A 10th overall pick by Baltimore in the 1998 draft, Starks was a major disappointment in his seven games with the Patriots in 2005, prior to spending the last half of the season on injured reserve.




Feb 27, 2009:
Darrell Robertson is released

This date may not be exact; one place says February 27, another says March 5. Either way, the 6'5 undrafted linebacker from Georgia Tech spent half of 2008 on the Pats practice squad, but never played a snap in the NFL.

On the same date the following players became unrestricted free agents:
Heath Evans
Jabar Gaffney
Chris Hanson
Russ Hochstein
Larry Izzo
LaMont Jordan
Lonie Paxton
James Sanders
Junior Seau
Kenny Smith
Tank Williams
Mike Wright

The following players declared free agency:
Eric Alexander
Wesley Britt
Rosevelt Colvin
Rodney Harrison
Deltha O'Neal
Lewis Sanders
Barry Stokes
Pierre Woods




Feb 27, 2017:
Patriots promote Nick Caley to Tight Ends Coach

Caley had worked the previous two seasons as an Offensive Assistant. He continued to coach with the Patriots through 2022, and the John Carroll grad is now the new Offensive Coordinator for the Houston Texans.