Lack of Patriots coordinators shouldn't overshadow another huge loss on coaching staff

BOSTON -- Training camp is rapidly approaching. With that impending opening, the Patriots sent out their training camp release. On page 10 of that release was a teeny-tiny list of the coaching staff tucked underneath the roster. That list included no defensive coordinator and no offensive coordinator.

In a vacuum, that would be major news. But considering everyone in New England has spent the last several years focusing on the lack of defensive coordinator, and considering everyone has spent the past six months discussing the mystery at offensive coordinator, it hardly registers as news here in the middle of summer.

Really, it was a different absence on that list warrants a reminder, and that is the absence of the name Ivan Fears.

Fears' absence was likewise not a surprise -- he confirmed his retirement earlier this offseason -- but it's nevertheless the first time since 1998 that Fears will not be an everyday presence in Foxboro and won't be in the Patriots' media guide.

On its own, such a departure from the coaching staff would be significant yet not necessarily remarkable. Retirements, of course, happen. But Fears isn't the only departure in New England, as a tremendous wealth of experience has exited in just this offseason alone. And it's all hardly being replaced.

With Fears retiring, the Patriots lost 25 years of Patriots coaching experience, the past 20 of which was spent in charge of the running backs.

With Josh McDaniels leaving for Las Vegas, the Patriots lost 18 years of Patriots coaching experience, 13 of which has been spent as the official offensive coordinator. In more recent years, McDaniels' role could more aptly be described as head coach of the offense.

In a much lesser loss, the Patriots also saw Mick Lombardi (five seasons coaching the Patriots), Carmen Bricillo (three seasons) and Bo Hardegree (one season) leave with McDaniels.

In McDaniels and Fears, the team lost 43 years of Patriots coaching experience. They're still only a couple of years removed from losing Dante Scarnecchia (34 seasons of Patriots coaching) from the staff, and they're a year removed from the retirement of Ernie Adams, who wasn't technically a coach but nevertheless spent 21 years the Belichick's "Football Research Director." 

All of that experience -- the intimate knowledge of the Patriots' inner workings, the working relationships with Belichick and the players, the pedigree of consistently winning at the very highest level -- has left.

The only new hire has been Joe Judge.

Judge -- who coached wide receivers for the Patriots for just one season in 2019, went 10-23 as head coach of the Giants for two years, was in charge when New York had the 31st-ranked offense in the NFL in terms of yards and points in both of his two seasons, and who only coached special teams from 2009-18 -- now has the title of "offensive assistant/quarterbacks coach."

Matt Patricia has slid from a "senior football advisor" role into a "senior football advisor/offensive line coach" role. Evan Rothstein has slid from a "research and analysis/coaching" role into an "offensive assistant" role.

(The Patriots also added former cornerback V'Angelo Bentley to the defensive coaching staff as part of the NFL coaching fellowship.)

Technically, the addition of Patricia to the coaching staff adds a wealth of Patriots experience to the sideline, as he worked on Belichick's staff from 2004-17, before returning in an advisory role last year. But his offensive line coaching experience involves just one season, way back in 2005 as Scarnecchia's assistant. And whether it's Patricia or Judge who ends up being the offensive play-caller who's in Mac Jones' ears between every play, that role will be occupied by someone who's never held those responsibilities before.

Bill Belichick is undoubtedly one of the best coaches in football history. Despite the results of the past two seasons, that shouldn't be in question. He's been coaching in the NFL for almost half a century, and his resume speaks for itself.

But a coaching staff obviously involves much more than just one person, and it's frankly difficult to look at the entirety of the Patriots' staff without seeing an insufficient replenishment of lost experience in some critical areas.