Did the Patriots rely too much on familiarity when they drafted?
When the Patriots decided to part ways with Bill Belichick in January, they took on more roles and began filling those positions with outside recruits. But whether New England will do its own due diligence is anyone’s guess.
Patriots director of scouting Eliot Wolff is running a show in New England, something that has been evident all week and was confirmed by reports on Wednesday. How was that obvious?He is hiring some of his former colleagues. New England recently recalled several of Wolf’s former teammates, including senior tight end Alonzo Highsmith, offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt, offensive assistant Ben McAdoo and defensive backs coach Jerry Montgomery.
Wolff joined as offensive line coach after Scott Peters, who missed the season in Cleveland, worked with Highsmith, Van Pelt and Montgomery. This is very much in line with what a new coaching staff should look like. It’s similar to the Browns and Patriots personnel last season. Not only do the Patriots rely on coaches and executives with ties to Wolf, but special teams coordinator Jeremy Springer and tight end Bobby Brown are the only additions who haven’t worked with him before.
Continuity is always good, but you wouldn’t think New England would explore much outside of its comfort zone. One could argue that the Patriots had no choice but to do so because their opener wasn’t as favorable as they had hoped.The Patriots’ plan is clear, but it remains to be seen whether they will take the hard way or the easy course of action.
