Josh McDaniels brought three former Patriots assistant coaches with him upon accepting the job to become head coach of the Las Vegas Raiders, and it had many thinking about how New England head coach Bill Belichick would feel about it.
Belichick, after all, previously spoke about the scenario of poaching coaches during a documentary with Alabama head coach Nick Saban. His words during that documentary made it fair to believe that Belichick wasn’t thrilled with McDaniels.
Well, a report from ESPN’s Patriots reporter Mike Reiss on Sunday contradicted that belief. Reiss wrote that despite McDaniels took three from Belichick’s staff, there is “no bad blood” between the two head coaches.
“McDaniels has three of his former assistants on staff with him in Las Vegas — Mick Lombardi (offensive coordinator), Carmen Bricillo (offensive line) and Bo Hardegree (quarterbacks) — and I’m told there’s no “bad blood” between him and Belichick on that front,” Reiss wrote during his Sunday notes column.
Reiss further indicated why Belichick wasn’t disappointed that McDaniels did so.
“Sometimes when a coach leaves one team and takes assistants with him, it can lead to strained relations. But not in this case, in part because of expiring contracts and Belichick moving pieces around on his offensive staff by welcoming back Joe Judge and adjusting Matt Patricia’s responsibilities.”
Reiss isn’t the only one to indicate how Judge and Patricia could see increased roles either. Judge was brought back as an offensive assistant and reportedly could work with quarterbacks. Patricia reportedly could work with the offensive line despite having working primarily with the defense during his tenure with the Patriots. Nick Caley, New England’s tight ends coach, is another assistant who has been rumored as a possibility to take on a larger role.
