Dante Scarnecchia on Thursday became just the fourth individual to be selected to the Patriots Hall of Fame as a contributor.
Patriots owner Robert Kraft announced Scarnecchia’s selection during a meeting of the franchise’s Hall of Fame committee.
“Dante Scarnecchia is recognized as one of the greatest assistant coaches of all time,” Kraft said in a team-released statement. “He is the first Patriots assistant coach to receive this honor and I can’t think of a more deserving person. You would be hard-pressed to find anyone who made greater on-field contributions over his 34 seasons with us, which propelled us to 10 of our 11 Super Bowl appearances and helped us claim five of our six Super Bowl championships.
“He earned the respect of his fellow coaches and players, many of whom credited Dante for making them the best they could be. I am proud that his legacy will be preserved in our Hall of Fame forever.”
Scarnecchia was present when Kraft made his announcement and was “stunned” by the honor, according to ESPN’s Mike Reiss.
The 75-year-old spent 34 seasons as a Patriots assistant, coaching offense, defense and special teams and working under six different head coaches (Ron Meyer, Raymond Berry, Dick MacPherson, Bill Parcells, Pete Carroll and Bill Belichick). He is considered one of the greatest assistant coaches in NFL history.
Scarnecchia coached the Patriots’ offensive line for 18 of the first 20 seasons of the Belichick era, initially retiring in 2014 before returning for another four-year stint from 2016-19. He also was Belichick’s assistant head coach from 2000-13.
Earlier this offseason, the Pro Football Football Hall of Fame announced Scarnecchia would be honored with an Award of Excellence in a ceremony this summer.
Patriots founder Billy Sullivan, play-by-play broadcaster Gil Santos and cheerleading director Traci Sormanti are the only other contributors to be honored by the Patriots Hall of Fame. Sullivan and Sormanti were inducted posthumously.
The Patriots also will induct another player or head coach into the Hall this year, with a fan vote determining a winner out of three committee-selected finalists. Vince Wilfork was the 2022 inductee, beating out Mike Vrabel and Logan Mankins.
