TRANSCRIPT: Dante Scarnecchia Interview on The Greg Hill Show WEEI 2/6
Scarnecchia says rumors of him helping the Patriots in 2025 is not true.
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Former New England Patriots coach Dante Scarnecchia took some time to talk to The Greg Hill Show on Thursday. Here’s the full transcript, where he shot down rumors of him potentially being involved with the team in 2025:
GH: And it is so great to have our next guest back on the show. It’s been a while, the great Dante Scarnecchia. Hello, Dante
“Good morning. How’s everyone doing today?”
GH: How are you doing?
“I’m doing great.”
GH: Bill O’Brien was just on this program, and he appears to be dropping news left and right. I don’t know what you can and can’t say, but he’s informed the world that you’re going to be consulting with the New England Patriots next season. Can he talk about that or not?
“It’s not true.”
GH: Oh, that’s kind of sad.
CC: Well, he did kind of walk it back this morning, Dante, where he said, Well, you’ve been doing this the last couple of seasons, and you’ve always kind of been in this role. So is that true that you have been helping out kind of behind the scenes and you’re going to continue to do so?
“I have not been helping out behind the scenes. I’m not involved over there.”
GH: It’s because you’re focused on one thing and one thing only, and that is total world pickleball domination. Am I correct about that?
“Yeah, the domination part is not going so well, but I’m having a lot of fun.”
JW: Who’s the athlete we just talked about who’s now going to stop playing?
CC: JD Martínez.
JW: JD Martínez. Be careful. He started playing professional pickleball, so maybe there’s a league you could play in, Dante.
“Is that the baseball player, JD Martinez?”
JW: Yeah.
“Well, hell, he ought to be good at it.”
JW: He said he’s training to play pro-pickleball.
CC: He signed with a team.
“Oh, good for him.”
GH: Dante, how you feel about this choice when it comes to Mike Vrabel as the head coach here?
“I love it. I think it’s spectacular. I think he’s really a great coach, and I’m not making comparisons to anybody. I think Mike did a really good job at Tennessee. I’ve been on the field and watched him as both an assistant coach, a coordinator, and as a head coach. He commands the room as a head coach, commands the field as a head coach. He’s involved in everything. He knows what everybody’s doing and how they’re doing it. He’s the boss, and I just respect that about him and love him as a player. He’s a great person, and I’m just really happy for him. And I think it’s a great fit here in New England.”
JW: Dante, you’ve been in a role where you were in the NFL for a long time, and it was all about respect, and you’ve garnered a lot of respect from players that played for you. What do you think the most important piece is, because you talk about Vrabel and Vrabel getting that respect, what do you think the most important piece is as a coach for players to basically buy into that respect of you as a coach that you need to do?
“It’s very simple, Jermaine. You have to convince them that you can help them be the best player that they can be. Stand up in front of them and tell them how to do their job and how to make them better players. Because look at, you know the deal. If you play good, you get to stay. If you don’t play very good, you’re out. And so they’ll do anything they can if what they’re hearing is convincing to them that, ‘hey, this guy can help me become a better player and do my job as good as I can do it,’ then they get to stay around for a while. And I think that’s it. And how can this guy, in this case, Mike, how can he make our team better? And when he gets up in front of him, it’s going to be very apparent to all of them how he’s going to make it better. And I think that will be the key to his success.”
CCurtis: Dante, any stories jump to mind when you were coaching on the staff? Obviously, you’re not coaching the defense, but anything that you saw Mike Vrabel do in particular on the Patriots roster that you said, ‘This guy can make a coach one day?’
“I learned it the hard way when Mike was no more than a substitute defensive end at Pittsburgh, which he did for four years. I mean, he never started, but he was one of those guys that got out there in certain pass-rush situations, and we were playing him late in the game. I had heard about Mike because he was such a great player at Ohio State. Here we are in the fourth quarter, and this was pre-Belichick, and we had a chance to beat him over there. Here, he’s on the field. He runs by our left tackle, who was a good player, and slapped his hands down and strip-sacked Drew [Bledsoe], and game And it was over. And I said, ‘Damn.’ And then the next time, the very next year, he’s on our team. And it just hit me right away. For what I saw him do on one play, I’m glad he’s on our team, and I don’t have to coach against this guy. And then he became, really, for me, my arch nemesis on the field, because he would do everything possible to mess with us, especially in OTAs and mini-camps, where no one had any pads on.”
“He’d hold guys on stunts, and then he’d look over me and smile as I was cussing his face off. And it’s just that’s how it was with him. He just would try to get under your skin and mess with you because, to him, it was a lot of fun. And now when the games were on, he was serious as a heart attack. But I love the guy, man, for what he did for us for so many years. He’s special.”
GH: Who are you leaning towards on Sunday, Dante?
“That game is so damn close, it’s sickening. What is it A one-and-a-half-point spread? Not that I gamble, which I don’t. But I just think you’re going to have a hard time ever convincing me to go against Patrick Mahomes. I just can’t do it. He’s such a good player, and he’s carrying that team. And when you look at the statistics offensively, it’s he and Kelce. I mean, Kelce’s the leading receiver. He’s throwing it, and they want a bunch of games. And you just can’t bet against that guy, especially if it’s a close game. He finds ways to beat you.”
“And I think Philadelphia is a really good team. They certainly have a great running game, and the quarterback’s good, and they got good receivers, and their defense is awesome. And if they can, if Philadelphia can rush four and cover with seven, they may have a better chance of beating Mahomes, but it’s just a hard thing to beat that guy.”
GH: You were here for a long time with a quarterback who was from time to time accused of getting favorable calls. Do you think that some of the officiating goes the Kansas City Chief’s way from time to time in this league?
“No, I don’t pay any attention to any of that stuff. I don’t. Look, fans are so rabid and fanatical, and that’s why they’re called fans. It hurts when you lose, and especially when you got a chance with those guys to beat those guys, but we played them a lot of times. Maybe we had the Kryptonite with Tom. At any rate, I just didn’t think that’s a big deal with it. I think the officials are busting their butts to do as well as they can and make the right calls. With replaying and all the rest of that, you just got to think they’re doing it the right way.”
GH: Well, Dante, it is always great having you on this show. We tried at one time. One of my goals this year is to do some pickleball-related foundation fundraiser and to have you be a part of it.
“I would do it at any time you want. Just let me know and I will try to get it done. But it would be so much fun, especially with a lot of the people over there. I look forward to it.”
GH: All right. Dante Scarnecchia, great to talk to you, and we will talk to you again soon.
“Take care, everybody. Stay healthy.”
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