The retirement of offensive line coach Dante Scarnecchia is going to hurt the New England Patriots — maybe even more than most expect.
Scarnecchia’s retirement Tuesday certainly has sent shock waves throughout New England. The Patriots now must fill a huge hole on their coaching staff, and former NFL quarterback Dan Orlovsky on Wednesday compared the departure to Rob Gronkowski’s retirement last offseason.
“This loss of Dante Scarnecchia is just as big as the loss of Rob Gronkowski last season,” Orlovsky declared on Wednesday’s episode of “Get Up” on ESPN. “Because of the impact that (Adam Schefter) is talking about. When we reference that Broncos game (the 2015 AFC Championship Game), it’s not like they went out and said, ‘We have to get better players. We got to go fix something.’ They went and said, ‘We have to go get Dante Scarnecchia back.’ Because he is that good of a coach.
“The loss of Rob Gronkowski really hurt this team and it was impactful. The loss of Dante Scarnecchia is just as big as the loss of the Hall of Fame tight end because of everything he gets tied together. Because he gets all those five guys to understand how every play is so different, how to get them tied to them performing at their very best, how they get those guys to understand their job is to keep the quarterback upright at all costs. And so, this loss is massive and to Schefty’s point, it’s going to factor into Tom Brady’s decision.”
To hear more from Orlovsky and the rest of the “Get Up” crew, check out the video below.
It has been proven in the past that Scarnecchia’s absence results in Brady being on the turf more than usual, as the 2015 season saw Brady sacked the second-most times in his career (38). Scarnecchia returned the following season from his prior retirement, and New England’s offensive line quickly improved.
