[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Belichick, Weis to maintain QB roles
By Shane Donaldson
[/FONT][FONT=Arial, Helvetica] Volume 8, Number 2
March 6, 2002
[/FONT][FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Citing continuity and time constraints, Patriots Head Coach Bill Belichick told the media in a Feb. 26 conference call that the team will not hire a new quarterbacks coach to replace the late **** Rehbein.
Belichick announced that he and offensive coordinator Charlie Weis will continue to work directly with the quarterbacks rather than bring in somebody new. The duo handled the chores together in 2001 after Rehbein died last August during training camp.
The arrangement apparently worked well enough last year with the team winning a world championship that Belichick chose to maintain the status quo.
“When you are the head coach, one thing you want to do is be as much on the same page as your coordinators as you can,” Belichick said. “That’s a lot easier said than done because there are so many things that go into an offensive and defensive game plan.”
In his first season running the Patriots, Belichick chose not to hire a defensive coordinator, electing to supervise that unit himself as he installed his defensive system. But then he brought long-time associate Romeo Crennel on board last year as the defensive coordinator, which freed him up to spend more time with the offense. Rehbein’s death made that a must.
Things looked bleak as the team opened the season 1-3 and lost starter Drew Bledsoe for an extended period in Week Two. However, second-year player Tom Brady stepped in and helped the Patriots run off wins in 13 of their final 15 games, including a Super Bowl victory. Under the close watch of Belichick and Weis, Brady completed 264-of-413 passes, good for a new franchise record 63.9 completion percentage. He also threw for 2,843 yards, 18 touchdowns and 12 interceptions. He was selected to his first Pro Bowl before going on to win Super Bowl XXXVI MVP honors.
It took a while for Belichick and Weis to get a handle on coaching the quarterback spot after Rehbein’s death, but the end result could not have worked out better.
“We thought that it worked out fairly well,” Belichick said. “There were some things we had to logistically work around, but by the end of the year we were comfortable with it. Based on where we are at this year it is hard to make a lot of changes because we are so far down the road in terms of preparing for next year. We felt like it would be best to keep it the way it was.”
The delayed start to the offseason caused by the Super Bowl run that extended the season into February somewhat handcuffed Belichick. He said the decision wasn’t made because of a new coach’s inability to learn the Patriots system as the offseason program was set to begin, but more because he and Weis wouldn’t have enough time to teach a newcomer exactly what they wanted.
As they did immediately following Rehbein’s death, Belichick said the coaching staff explored other possible avenues for filling the vacancy. It was reported by New England Cable News in mid-February that former Brown University football player and Andover, Mass., native Bill O’Brien was in line for the job. O’Brien, who just finished his first season as the offensive coordinator for Georgia Tech, denied ever being a candidate or meeting with any Patriots officials. Earlier in the offseason he was a finalist for the Minnesota Vikings offensive coordinator job, but he lost out to Scott Linehan.
“It’s not true,” O’Brien told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “It’s a non-issue, a non-story. I’m totally committed to [Head Coach] Chan Gailey and Georgia Tech. I don’t know where that story came from.”
As it stands, 2002 will be the first season since 1995 that the Patriots won’t have an officially titled quarterbacks coach. New England did not have that designation on staff from 1991 through 1995. In 1990 Jimmy Raye was listed as the team’s offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach. It wasn’t until 1996 when Chris Palmer moved from wide receivers to quarterbacks coach that New England filled the position again.
