MIAMI — At least one New England Patriots legend is leaving the organization this offseason.
Dante Scarnecchia retired Tuesday after 48 years of coaching, 36 seasons in the NFL and 34 with the Patriots. Veteran offensive tackle Marshall Newhouse only worked with Scarnecchia during the 2019 season, but he’s played under many offensive line coaches during his 10-year career. Newhouse considers Scarnecchia one of the best of all time.
“It was great,” Newhouse said Wednesday from Super Bowl LIV Radio Row. “I got thrown into the fire a little bit with the situation of how I got signed. He made no bones about I have the ability to start as soon as I got there as soon as they realized what I could do and how quickly I could pick up the scheme and everything.
“From the beginning, I had my perception coming in from other guys. I had known Marcus (Cannon) for a while, but he kind of exceeded those in a lot of different ways. He’s very demanding. I knew that coming in, but he even exceeded that in all of the most positive ways. There were some pains for me having to fix some stuff, some habits and things like that. I was learning how his individual periods go and how his meetings go. Just the ultimate leader. You knew he cared about you. You know he wanted the best for the team and for you. That’s why I think he’s one of the best offensive line coaches ever. The game will miss him absolutely. But I’m happy with the decision that he’s made and it provides him more rest and family time. But yeah, we’ll miss him. He was an amazing coach.”
Newhouse said Scarnecchia’s “unwavering” approach to his style set him apart from other coaches.
“He was even very candid about it at times,” Newhouse said. “Like, ‘Hey, I know my style isn’t for everyone, but it’s what has worked for me, and I’ve seen it work for a lot of players who have come through here.’ So, it’s just a matter of keep imploring guys to buy in and commit to him, commit to the things that he wants to do, and we’d find success. He was never wavering in that. His background has a lot of guys who have improved their game under him. And so I got firsthand experience of that kind of all in a whirlwind experience, but I’m grateful and better for it and better as a man and better as a football player. I’m very appreciative of him.”
The Patriots likely will fill Scarnecchia’s role in house by promoting either Carmen Bricillo or Cole Popovich to offensive line coach. Bricillo was a coaching assistant in 2019 while Popovich was assistant running backs coach. Popovich previously was a coaching assistant with an emphasis on the offensive line.
