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

[XLIX]

"Welcome to the interview, Pep. It is nice to meet you. Did you sleep well last night?"

"Yes, sir, I did."

"Well, that concludes the interview, thank you for coming in....."

 

[Dec54]

I'm happy with Vrabel but this is more Patriots sham interviews and obsession with Patriots ties, it might be the right candidate but it's a bad process.

They have no intention of hiring anyone but Vrabel.

You have direct contact with Kraft?

 

[Dec54]

Hamilton is an interesting one, maybe a potential Pats staff candidate whether that is OC, QB Coach, "pass game coordinator" or whatever. They need smart offensive minds wherever they can get them.

Pep Hamilton, interesting indeed. there may be a place for him.

 

[NFL Mystique]

Vrabel is a defensive HC. Meaning, you risk having OC's come and go. Whereas Johnson would oversee the offense.

Vrabel seems like a safe hire. Johnson seems the more likely to get more out of Maye and back to contention. Stop going with safe and comfort. It's how Mayo became HC

 

[WhatJustHappened]

I find it funny that people are clamoring for Johnson.
It'll be his 1st crack at the ENTIRE TREE...to expect him to be an OC Savant,on TOP of the massive workload, will be amusing.
I just don't see it.

 

[Zuma]

I find it funny that people are clamoring for Johnson.
It'll be his 1st crack at the ENTIRE TREE...to expect him to be an OC Savant,on TOP of the massive workload, will be amusing.
I just don't see it.

And the guy is a bit of an introvert meaning he may not network with many other coaches as opposed to an extrovert.

 

[WhatJustHappened]

I just don't see it...plus he doesn't have 4 studs to design for.
PLAYERS Matter.

 

[farn]

Not saying I’m advocating : but I do like the Pep interview - rule or no rule.

Firstly, he’s an offensive minded coach, always a + when you have a young, inexperienced QB. Secondly, he’s a “long time coach”. Sometimes those types end up being winners - they have the experience, they aren’t scared by the job/the players… Finally, if you don’t get a good number of people in to interview, you might be missing out on a real winner you never expected - a luxury this team cannot afford.

 

[captain stone]

You have direct contact with Kraft?

Vrabel’s a foregone conclusion; I doubt they even make an offer to Johnson, or to anyone else, unfortunately.

 

[PatsFan2]

Vrabel is a defensive HC. Meaning, you risk having OC's come and go. Whereas Johnson would oversee the offense.

Vrabel seems like a safe hire. Johnson seems the more likely to get more out of Maye and back to contention. Stop going with safe and comfort. It's how Mayo became HC

No! we are going with the Vet over the Rookie...Watchout KC! we'll be in Playoffs next year. And don't think about changing your name to a Pats account turncoat.

 

[Thelonious]

If there is black candidate in whom they either might genuinely be interested or whom they feel they might learn something interviewing, go for it. Ditto for Hispanics, Chinese guys, Inuit women, high school lacrosse coaches, and highly evolved ****er spaniels.

To hell with the Rooney Rule and to Hell with that ass-kissing punk, Albert Breer.

 

[PatsFan2]

???Isn't Byron Leftfoot an OC??

 

[Headcase]

???Isn't Byron Leftfoot an OC??

He was, been out of the league for two seasons.

 

[Ross12]

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?

 

[1960Pats]

It is patronizing

They use DEI in the US military now. I know a guy in the military. He told me about a Hispanic pilot who hates DEI because he doesn't want people questioning his ability. He wants others thinking he was selected because he was one of the best. There are several minorities that hate this crap.

And probably many of these coaches hate DEI and the Rooney rule except for guys like Mayo. Unless they have hope or have some type of compensation.

If I were in the military I wouldn't want to be in combat with a DEI hire or even someone who was drafted. I'd rather be there with someone who chose to be there. I don't think that's going to be a problem for long though.

The only people who can make the Rooney Rule really work are the owners. In this case it looks like the Krafts are quickly getting the rule out of the way so they can move on to Vrabel.

 

[Steve102]

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?

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.

 

[Ross12]

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 is? 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.

One connection for Leftwich I thought about was Josh McDaniels. If Vrabel wants to hire Josh as his OC, Josh will run the system that Brady was in. Leftwich also has experience working directly with Brady. So they could have Josh as "OC" and Leftwich as a the QB Coach or "Senior Offensive Assistant" like Ben McAdoo is now. Having more guys with experience running/working with the system that the kids can lean on is good.

 

[Steve102]

One connection for Leftwich I thought about was Josh McDaniels. If Vrabel wants to hire Josh as his OC, Josh will run the system that Brady was in. Leftwich also has experience working directly with Brady. So they could have Josh as "OC" and Leftwich as a the QB Coach or "Senior Offensive Assistant" like Ben McAdoo is now. Having more guys with experience running/working with the system that the kids can lean on is good.

Are there any reports of JMcD being connected to Vrabel, or is it all internet speculation? What type of offense did he run in Tenn.? Everything I read is he's adaptive to what other teams do and tries to adjust to the opposition's weakness. That sounds familiar.

 

[Ross12]

Are there any reports of JMcD being connected to Vrabel, or is it all internet speculation? What type of offense did he run in Tenn.? Everything I read is he's adaptive to what other teams do and tries to adjust to the opposition's weakness. That sounds familiar.

All I have seen is speculation, although some of it feels like "very informed" speculation. I listened to Bedard's most recent podcast this morning and he was essentially saying he knows a lot but can't say it. He seemed to be implying Josh is in consideration, and also said that Vrabel would have final say on personnel if he got the job.

 

[Steve102]

All I have seen is speculation, although some of it feels like "very informed" speculation. I listened to Bedard's most recent podcast this morning and he was essentially saying he knows a lot but can't say it. He seemed to be implying Josh is in consideration, and also said that Vrabel would have final say on personnel if he got the job.

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.