Bill Belichick Downplays Impact Of Losing Defensive Coordinator Greg Schiano
BOSTON (CBS) -- When it comes to offseason work and draft preparation, it would generally be considered less-than-ideal for a football team to lose its defensive coordinator in March. But Bill Belichick doesn't appear to be very worried.
The Patriots' head coach spoke to the media on Wednesday morning, tackling questions about this month's NFL draft. In the middle of that meeting, though, Belichick was asked how losing Greg Schiano before he had even formally been named the team's defensive coordinator would impact the team during an important part of the offseason. Belichick downplayed the significance.
"Yeah I mean, we're not talking about an unprecedented event here," Belichick replied. "We've dealt with changes before, and we'll continue to deal with them."
Belichick had made it clear at the start of his press conference that he'd be talking solely about the upcoming draft, so it was no surprise when he sidestepped a question about how he plans to address the lack of defensive coordinator and fill out the coaching staff.
"You mean relative to the 2019 draft?" Belichick replied. "Yeah, let's kind of stick to the 2019 draft right now, Ben [Volin]. But I appreciate the question. I really appreciate you asking that."
After Schiano stepped down at the end of March, Belichick said in a statement, "I respect Coach Schiano greatly and appreciate his contributions to our staff and team. He is a friend who we support completely."
Currently, the only defensive coach listed on Patriots.com is safeties coach Steve Belichick. Former Patriots linebacker Jerod Mayo did announce in March that he'd be joining the coaching staff, too.