Ex-NFL Coach Outlines Patriots’ ‘Biggest Challenge’ For 2019 Season

With each new season comes new challenges.

The New England Patriots, despite their amazing run of success, must adjust accordingly — just like everyone else.

Former NFL coach Eric Mangini, who has an extensive history with Bill Belichick and spent five seasons on New England’s defensive staff from 2000 to 2005, outlined the “biggest challenge” facing the Patriots in 2019 during Monday’s episode of “First Things First” on FS1.

Mangini focused less on New England’s roster, which underwent some turnover this offseason after the Patriots’ Super Bowl LIII win over the Los Angeles Rams, and more on the coaching staff. The Patriots lost de facto defensive coordinator Brian Flores, who became the Miami Dolphins’ head coach, and that could impact how Belichick goes about his business in the months ahead.

“To me, the biggest challenge is Belichick’s role defensively. And he’s had a role defensively there, but it’s a little bit different this time around,” Mangini said. “I do believe he’s going to have to be much more involved than he has historically, and one of the great things that Bill does is he’s the head coach of the whole team and he makes sure that things are going right in every aspect. He understands what’s happening on every special team, who’s part of it — same thing offensively and defensively — and he does play a role for Tom (Brady) and the offense, of giving a defensive perspective on what they should do offensively, and there’s real value to that.

“Now, if his time is more committed to the defense, I don’t know if he’s going to be able to do that as well as he has historically done it, and I don’t see someone in that building who’s going to be able to take that over right away. Now, he’s got his son, Stephen Belichick, there and at some point maybe he’s in line for that, but for this period right now, he’s got a big commitment.”

The Patriots never really skip a beat despite whatever changes occur year over year, and the coach-quarterback tandem of Belichick and Brady is a big reason why. There could come a point where the magic runs out, but there’s little evidence at this point to suggest New England’s downfall is imminent.

In other words, the Pats usually embrace their annual challenges and prove more than capable of overcoming them.