Surprise! Former OL Coach Earns Patriots Hall of Fame
FOXBORO -- Former New England Patriots offensive line coach Dante Scarnecchia received quite the pleasant surprise shortly after his arrival at Gillette Stadium on Thursday.
Scarnecchia, who is a member of the Patriots Hall of Fame Nomination Committee, was present for the group's annual meeting to discuss the franchise's potential nominees for induction into the Hall's Class of 2023. However, the meeting started with an unexpected, yet pleasant surprise when team owner Robert Kraft announced that he was naming Scarnecchia as an inductee in the contributor category.
The 75-year-old will become only the fourth enshrinee to earn induction as a contributor -- an honor for which he received well-deserved accolades from all those in attendance.
In a team-released statement, Kraft praised the legendary Patriots coach as one of the "greatest assistant coaches of all time."
“Dante Scarnecchia is recognized as one of the greatest assistant coaches of all time. He is the first Patriots assistant coach to receive this honor and I can’t think of a more deserving person. You would be hard-pressed to find anyone who made greater on-field contributions over his 34 seasons with us, which propelled us to 10 of our 11 Super Bowl appearances and helped us claim five of our six Super Bowl championships.
“He earned the respect of his fellow coaches and players, many of whom credited Dante for making them the best they could be. I am proud that his legacy will be preserved in our Hall of Fame forever.” - Robert Kraft
Scarnecchia — a six-time Super-Bowl champion who had previously retired after the 2013 season and returned in 2016 — has rightfully earned his reputation as one of the Patriots most respected and revered coaches in franchise history.
Throughout his 49-year tenure, Scarnecchia coached at his alma mater, California Western, and made stops at Iowa State, Pacific, Northern Arizona and Southern Methodist before joining Ron Meyer’s Patriots staff in 1982. He later spent two seasons as offensive line coach for the Indianapolis Colts under Meyer, and landed back in New England under Dick MacPherson in 1991.
With the Patriots, Scarnecchia held the titles of special teams coach, tight ends coach, special assistant and defensive assistant. He’d be named offensive line coach in 1999, and remained in that capacity following Bill Belichick’s arrival as head coach at the start of the millennium. He was officially on Belichick’s staff for five Super Bowl winning teams, earning his sixth ring while serving as a consultant on the 2014 (Super Bowl XLIX) squad.
In 2015, Scarnecchia received the Pro Football Writers of America’s Paul ‘Dr. Z’ Zimmerman Award — named for the late, longtime Sports Illustrated writer — recognizing his lifetime achievement as an NFL assistant coach.
In June, Scarnecchia will be honored as a recipient of the Pro Football Hall of Fame Awards of Excellence for his contributions to the NFL, and the game, as a whole.
As for his impending Patriots Hall induction, the committee reportedly discussed former Pats Julius Adams, Pete Brock, Chuck Fairbanks, Russ Francis, Logan Mankins, Lawyer Milloy, Bill Parcells, John Smith, Mosi Tatupu, Mike Vrabel, Wes Welker.
The board ultimately voted to narrow the field to three finalists. In the coming weeks, the names of the top three vote recipients will be revealed to the public, who will in turn vote for 2023 headlining inductee.
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