Head coach Bill Belichick added Corwin Brown to the coaching staff. The former Notre Dame defensive coordinator now commands the New England secondary. It’s a homecoming for Brown, as he was a fourth round draft pick of the Patriots back in 1993.
Belichick still has some work to do to fill out his coaching staff. The team lacks a defensive coordinator since Dean Pees’ contract expired and he decided to move on. Pees will be Baltimore’s linebackers coach in 2010.
The two projected favorites to replace Pees are defensive line coach Pepper Johnson and linebackers coach Matt Patricia. If one is promoted, it will leave a hole in the coaching staff. As Belichick mulls his decisions, hopefully he extends an offer to retired LB Junior Seau to be a linebackers coach.
Seau sounds committed to not playing again. But as a football lifer with 20 years NFL experience, hopefully the jones to be close to the game tugs Junior’s heart strings enough that he replaces the shoulder pads with a team logo polo shirt.
It’s very possible the linebacking corps will be very young next year. Jerod Mayo and Gary Guyton will be third year players in 2010. If blessed with good health, Shawn Crable and Tyrone McKenzie will contribute after a season on injured reserve. If more youngsters are added through free agency and the draft, it will be a very impressionable unit.
Seau’s effect could be dramatic with Mayo and Guyton. While both players turned in solid seasons, finishing first and second on the team in tackles, neither were play-makers. Learning from Seau could take their abilities to another level.
For an elder statesman with declining athleticism, Seau had outstanding instincts. He knew when to crash through line right behind a pulling guard and blow up the runningback. I would love to see Mayo and Guyton taking turns doing what Seau did on a regular basis.
That would be the first sign of Seau’s teaching making a difference. They could learn so much by studying film with Seau. They could improve in pass coverage, refresh their fundamentals of tackling, work on forcing turnovers, and improve their technique when it comes to blitzing.
Seau has experience playing inside in a 3-4 and outside in a 4-3. Whether that means he can coach all linebackers or just inside in the Pats’ defense, New England should at least ask Seau if he would be interested in coaching now.
Questions? Comments? Send to talktome@randolphc.com
