Patriots Rumors: This Coach ‘Confronted’ Matt Groh Over O-Line Issues

Adrian Klemm reportedly knew from the start that offensive line talent was an issue for the Patriots.

New England’s O-line coach loudly accosted director of player personnel Matt Groh early in the season about how the team had assembled his unit, according to a report Thursday from the Boston Herald’s Andrew Callahan and Doug Kyed.

“Outside the front office, a few staffers privately pointed fingers back at decision-makers about the talent available,” the Herald wrote. “That is, save for Klemm, who confronted director of player personnel Matt Groh early in the season in a loud exchange that reverberated through the organization. Klemm, according to sources, didn’t feel heard, while some offensive veterans didn’t want to believe their eyes.”

The Patriots’ line went on to struggle with injuries and inconsistency all season, ranking 27th in Pro Football Focus pass-blocking efficiency and 32nd in ESPN’s pass-block win rate. Five different players started games at offensive tackle, and two Day 3 rookies started five-plus games at guard.

New England did not make any big-ticket moves to improve this unit last offseason, signing budget veterans Riley Reiff and Calvin Anderson to play tackle; drafting interior linemen Jake Andrews, Sidy Sow and Atonio Mafi in the fourth and fifth round; and swinging late-summer trades for unproven tackles Vederian Lowe and Tyrone Wheatley Jr.

Reiff, Anderson and Wheatley started a combined two games. All three finished the season on injured reserve. Lowe has been one of the NFL’s worst tackles across his seven starts. Sow was moved back inside to guard — his primary position in college — before the season began.

“It’s not the way we thought it would happen when we acquired some of the guys at the beginning of the year,” head coach Bill Belichick said Wednesday.

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Groh and Belichick “believed the best available tackles in free agency and the draft had been overrated,” a source told the Herald.

“We didn’t invest in the offensive line until the fourth round, didn’t take a receiver until the sixth,” a separate Herald source said. “How do we spend the first three picks on defense when tackle was the biggest problem on the team last year?”

Klemm spent less than half the season coaching the O-line before leaving the team due to a medical issue in early November. He reportedly is not expected to return in 2024.

The Patriots will close out their season this Sunday against the New York Jets at Gillette Stadium.