Patriots Super Bowl Champion Calling It Quits On Coaching Career

Two-time New England Patriots Super Bowl champion Danny Amendola got a taste of the coaching life this past season.

Amendola isn’t looking for anything beyond that, though.

In fact, Amendola, who was an assistant with the Las Vegas Raiders this season and oversaw the returners, is ready to leave his coaching career in the past.

“You know, I think I’m good on the coaching thing for a little bit,” Amendola said recently on “The Dan and Ninko Show,” which is hosted by his former Patriots teammate Rob Ninkovich. “I wanted to get in and kind of see what it was all about.”

Amendola added: “I’m really glad I did it. I think I retired my whistle for now.”

Amendola, 38, played 13 seasons in the NFL and suited up for five teams in his career. He last played in the league during the 2021 season with the Houston Texans before officially retiring in July 2022. His longest stint with any team came with the Patriots, who he played five seasons for from 2013-17, and he had several notable playoff moments with New England en route to two Super Bowl titles.

Coaching offered Amendola a chance to be around the game again, but it failed to generate the same response out of him that playing did.

“Obviously we all love the game and we love being around the guys,” Amendola said. “I wanted to go in and feel if I felt any of that competitive juice on game day. You know what, it was there but it’s so hard to replace actually playing in the game. A lot of it felt like work and a lot of it felt — it’s just hard to replace that feeling you get of that competitive nature when you’re not playing. “

As for what’s next for Amendola, who is a Texas native, he already has a venture in mind.

“I’m going to kind of start getting back into real estate here in Austin,” Amendola said.