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Even Superhero-Like Bill Belichick Has Sidekicks (A Coaching Staff)
Published: May 27, 2009
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There’s no such thing as a one-man army. Scooby Doo couldn’t solve mysteries without his gang of meddling kids. Master Splinter mentored the Ninja Turtles in order to defeat Shedder and his foot clan. And even Superman relied on the justice league from time to time.
It’s no different in the NFL. Greatness is not achieved by one man—even for Bill Belichick, whose five Super Bowl rings is tied for second all time in the league’s history, needs a strong supporting cast.
Like Scooby, Splinter and Superman, Belichick has assembled a battle tested collection of sidekicks who have helped lead New England to a decade of success.
Entering the 10th season of the Belichick Era in New England there are four coaches that have been in Foxboro from day one—Dante Scarnecchia, Pepper Johnson, Ivan Fears, and Mike Woicik.
Together the four accomplices bring 112 years of coaching experience, 75 of which have come in the NFL. Not to mention their Super Bowl bling that covers nearly three and half hands (17).
But even with the longevity in the league and a laundry list of accomplishments, Belichick’s associates never seem to emerge from the shadows of Gillette Stadium as the head coach doesn’t allow assistant coaches to speak to the media.
So who are these guys?
No Patriot coach is more tenured that Scarnecchia. He’s called New England his home for quarter century. When Belichick became the Patriots’ head coach in 2000, Scarnecchia immediately became his Robin, as he was named assistant head coach in addition to manning the offensive line.
There isn’t a man that has been a part of more Patriots history than Scarnecchia. He is the only Patriot to be a member of all six of the team’s Super Bowl appearances. Scarnecchia was a part of the Patriots coaching staff in 13 of the 16 seasons the Pats have made the playoffs and has been involved in 30 of the franchises 34 postseason wins.
Entering his 40th year in coaching, Scarnecchia started his career as the offensive line coach at California Western. He made numerous pit stops at the collegiate level before becoming the special team/tight ends coach for the Patriots in 1982.
After seven years he left New England for a two year hiatus and directed the O-line for the Colts. In ’91 he returned to Foxboro and has been all over the field piloting the tight ends, special teams, linebackers, and offensive line.
While manning the special teams in ’97 he coached the league’s second best punter in Tom Tupa. Under Scarnecchia, Tupa set a franchise record for yards per punt (45.8).
Tracking down the returner, Larry Wigham earned a trip to Hawaii as the AFC’s special teams representative in the Pro Bowl.
Last season Scarnecchia’s offensive line broke a string of four consecutive years of allowing 30 sacks or less. The run included the 2007 season in which the line allowed a NFL record 21 sacks, the lowest since the league adopted at 16 game season.
That success led to three of his O-linemen getting named to the Pro Bowl and SI.com naming him Assistant Coach of the Year.
Working closely with Scarnechia is Ivan Fears, the Pats’ running back coach entering his 19th season in the league and 13th in New England. Fears, is the MacGyver of the coaching staff. Give him nothing and he can make something out of it.
During his tenure he’s had Hall of Fame caliber running backs like Cory Dillon and rookie free agents like BenJarvus Green-Ellis and has succeeded with both.
Dillon set the franchise record for rushing yards in a season with 1,635 in 2004 by leading the NFL with an average of 109 yards per game.
When he was dealt with a bad hand, he still won the pot. Last season with four backs and quarterback Matt Cassel attempting at least 73 rushes, the squad had the sixth best rushing attack in the league racking up 2,278 yards.
The 4.4 yards per carry was the best the franchise saw since 1983. All this was with starter Laurence Maroney playing just four games.
The defense has the coach that has been teamed with Belichick the longest, Pepper Johnson. Ten of this 13 years as a player were spent under Belichick’s guide. Johnson followed him from the Giants to the Browns and ended his playing career with Bill as a Jet.
When Bill came to New England Johnson followed, coaching the linebackers from 2000-2003, then moved to the defensive line in ’04. He’s got a lot of Wolverine in him, minus the metal claws.
For any fan who has been to training camp it’s easy to notice Johnson still brings the intensity that made him an All Pro linebacker to the practice field.
He’s one of the only coaches that can be heard barking at his players while noticeably jumping up and down in efforts to make them work harder. Something must be clicking as this intensity brought him two championships as a player and three more as a coach.
Not to mention under his tutelage Vince Wilfork morphed himself into a Pro Bowl caliber tackler, anchoring one of the deepest lines in the league.
The last cog in Belichick’s machine is also the most unknown. Mike Woicik has been the Patriots’ strength and condition coach since 2000. But his resume is much richer. His offseason programs have kept postseason regulars fresh season after season.
Woicik began his NFL career at Dallas winning three Super Bowls under Jimmy Johnson and Barry Switzer. Then was baited to New Orleans by Hall of Famer Mike Ditka. His three more rings with the Pats made him the first player or coach to win three Super Bowls.
He held the honor from 2004 until last year when Pittsburgh Steelers owner Dan Rooney won his sixth.
There have been many sidekicks for Belichick throughout his dominance of the AFC East. Charlie Weiss, Romeo Crennel, Eric Mangini, and most recently Josh McDaniel and Scott Pioli have all been seen as members of Belichick’s league of Justice, but few remain.
As he enters his tenth year in New England just four remain each with different superhero like quality. Maybe they should just be called the Fantastic Four.
All Or Nothing: This Year Like Any Other Pats Goal Super Bowl
Published: May 13, 2009
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There is no team in the NFL that wants Brett Favre to stay retired more than the New England Patriots.
Since 2001 the Patriots have made the playoffs six of the last eight years. The two years they didn’t qualify, they finished tied for the division lead and needed Favre to guide his team to victory in order for the Pats to win the tie breakers.
In 2002 New England sat atop the division tied with New York. In the final game of the year the Jets destroyed Favre’s Packers and any hopes of a Patriots Super Bowl repeat with a 42-17 win.
Jump to 2007, where the same characters were involved just different scenery. The Pats stood at 11-5 and needed Favre ironically to lead the Jets to victory over the Dolphins. Favre couldn’t come through, throwing three picks in a 24-17 loss and the Pats were left out of the postseason again.
This year the only quarterback New England wants to see back in uniform is Tom Brady. All signs point to Brady being healthy for training and certainly the first week of the season. And with Favre out of the picture, at least for now, the Pats goal is nothing short of another division title.
It’s the first of a a much larger goal for the Patriots. For a team that has made it to the AFC Championship game five of the last six times its made the postseason, success isn’t just measured in division titles.
It’s measured in rings. With Brady returning to an offense with the likes of Randy Moss and Wes Welker the goal isn’t Super Bowl or bust, it’s Super Bowl win or bust.
The last time the trio played a complete season, they became one of the most unstoppable offensive juggernauts the league has ever seen. The Pats obliterated nearly every scoring record they encountered: most points in a season and most touchdowns by a team, quarterback and a wide receiver.
The offensive firepower led to 18 consecutive wins the most by any team in a single season. But as the saying goes in all sports, offense wins games and defense wins championships. Even with the most potent attack the league had ever seen, the New York Giants defense trumped the Patriots offense in Super Bowl XLII holding the Pats to a season low 14 points.
The offense had bailed out the defense numerous times on the year, posting big numbers early, then forcing teams to stray from their game plan and become pass happy. But in the biggest game of the year, with a chance to become perfect, the defense was far from it.
During the Giants final drive that resulted in the game winning touchdown numerous defenders dropped interceptions. To top it off the defensive line allowed Eli Manning to escape from their grasp and find David Tyree for his legendary miracle catch.
Even without the reigning MVP the Patriots’ offense still put up more than 25 points per game and with Brady returning this year the offense is expected to be even stronger. Barring another catastrophic injury, the offense shouldn’t stumble en route to Super Bowl XLIV.
What could prevent a trip to Miami, Fla., is the defense. It allowed nearly 20 points a game, but was far worse against playoff teams.
In the six games against postseason opponents the Pats defense allowed 25.6 points a game. If you extract the 47-7 thrashing of the Cardinals, the defense allowed 29.4 points to playoff teams. This doesn’t include the teams that hovered around playoff contention like the Broncos who shredded the Pats defense for 41 or the Jets who put up 34.
New England addressed the defense in the offseason by signing free agents cornerbacks Shawn Springs and Leigh Bodden. They also brought back a familiar face in linebacker Tully Banta-Cain who the Pats drafted in 2003 and played in New England from ’03-’06. In this year’s draft they devoted their first three picks to the defensive side of the ball selecting safety Patrick Chung, defense tackle Ron Brace. and corner Darius Butler.
A healthy defense would also help. By the end of the season the Patriots had put 10 defensive players on injured reserve including Rodney Harrison, Adalius Thomas, Tedy Bruschi, and Tank Williams. Injuries happen every year to every team, but it’s unlikely they will hit the Pats this hard two years in a row, which should account for a better defense.
An improved defense would give the Pats a legitimate shot of accomplishing their goal of winning a Super Bowl for the first time since 2004. But then again, any time a healthy No. 12 suites up for the Pats, thoughts of a Super Bowl aren’t far behind no matter the defense.
