As first reported by Christian Fauria on WEEI’s afternoon radio show, Ordway, Merloni & Fauria, long-time Patriots offensive line coach Dante Scarnecchia is expected to retire
Scarnecchia, who will soon turn 72 years old, has been coaching in the NFL since 1982. He briefly retired for two seasons (2014-15) before returning to the Patriots for the 2016 season. He is widely regarded as one of the best assistant coaches in the NFL.
Fauria is also added that Scarnecchia’s replacement will be an “in-house hire.” Mark Daniels of The Providence Journal indicates that current Pats assistant offensive line coach Carmen Bricillo (who, per Daniels, was the o-line coach for nine years at Youngstown before coming to Pats) could be a possible replacement. Cole Popovich was New England’s running backs coach last year, and also helped with Pats o-line from 2015-2018. He is also a likely candidate to replace Scarnecchia.
Last week, The Boston Globe’s Jim McBride reported that the Pats would be hiring Jedd Fisch to an unnamed position on their offensive coaching staff. Fisch has no shortage of NFL experience. He has worked on six NFL teams, most recently working on the offensive side of the ball for the Los Angeles Rams, where he was a senior offensive assistant in 2018 and an assistant offensive coordinator in 2019.
-Mike D’Abate is a Managing Editor and Columnist for Full Press Coverage. He covers the New England Patriots and provides NFL editorial content. He is also the host of the Locked On Patriots podcast. Follow him on Twitter @mdabateFPC
