Analysis: Patriots Finalize 2020 Coaching Staff
In case you missed it during the news dump in New England over the past 48 hours, the Patriots finalized their coaching staff for the 2020 season.
Not only are there several new names for New England fans to learn, but there are some position switches for many of the defensive positional coaches as well.
Here is the entire New England coaching staff for the 2020 season:
HC: Bill Belichick
OC: Josh McDaniels
QBs: Jedd Fisch
RBs: Ivan Fears
RBs/KRs: Troy Brown
WRs: Mick Lombardi
TEs/FBs: Nick Caley
OL: Cole Popovich/Carmen Bricillo
Off Ass.: Tyler Hughes
DL: Demarcus Covington
ILBs: Jerod Mayo
OLBs: Steve Belichick
S: Brian Belichick
CBs: Mike Pellegrino
Def Ass.: Vinnie Sunseri
ST Coord.: Cameron Achord
ST Ass.: Joe Houston
Strength & Conditioning: Moses Cabrera
Let's start on the offensive side of the ball first. Former Patriots wide receiver Troy Brown, who typically helped with the receivers during OTAs/minicamp the past several years, looks to be officially on the coaching staff now. However, he isn't coaching the receivers. He's coaching the running backs and kick returners. This is a put example of what coaches of Bill Belichick's Stafford typically do; they shift around to different positions, which helps them in the long run when trying to move up the coaching ladder.
Jedd Fisch, who was formerly on the Rams' staff, is New England's new QB coach, which was a position formerly coached by offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels. As pointed out by NFL Media's Mike Garafolo, Fisch is the first Patriots coach to hold the title of QBs coach without being the team's offensive coordinator since 2004, which is when McDaniels was solely the QBs coach. Tyler Hughes, who was added to the staff this offseason, will be an offensive assistant. Mick Lombardi was the assistant quarterback coach in 2019, but he will now transition to being the wide receivers coach, which was a position previously filled by now-Giants head coach Joe Judge.
As Dante Scarnecchia hinted at during the offseason, Cole Popovich and Carmen Bricillo will be co-offensive line coaches in an attempt to replace one of the greatest positional coaches of all-time. It's a tall task to replace Scarnecchia, but he seemingly has a lot of confidence they can get the job done.
The defensive side of the football is where some massive changes took place. Demarcus Covington, who formerly coaches the outside linebackers, is now coaching the defensive line. Steve Belichick, who used to coach the safeties, is now coaching the outside linebackers. And Brian Belichick, who was formerly a coaching assistant, is now coaching the safeties. Steve continues to work his way around the defense, which hints at him calling plays once again this year for the defense, though you'll be hard pressed to get Bill to admit that. Vinnie Sunseri, a former player under Bill Belichick, will be a defensive assistant this season.
Cameron Achord is now the special teams coordinator, replacing Joe Judge now that he is coaching the Giants. Joe Houston, who was formerly part of Alabama's staff, now takes Achord's old role as special teams assistant.
