{"id":62351,"date":"2019-03-28T19:58:50","date_gmt":"2019-03-28T23:58:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lwosonnfl.ms.lastwordonsports.com\/?p=62351"},"modified":"2021-03-18T19:01:28","modified_gmt":"2021-03-18T23:01:28","slug":"possible-greg-schiano-replacements-for-new-england-patriots","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/2019\/03\/28\/possible-greg-schiano-replacements-for-new-england-patriots\/","title":{"rendered":"Possible Greg Schiano Replacements for New England Patriots"},"content":{"rendered":"

The New England Patriots<\/a> are once again looking for a new defensive play caller. After losing Brian Flores<\/strong><\/a> to the Miami Dolphins<\/a>, the Patriots thought they had a natural replacement in Greg Schiano<\/strong>. However, Schiano stepped down<\/a> last Thursday, saying that he needed to \u201cspend more time on [his] faith and family.\u201d With Schiano departed, the Patriots will need to find somebody to call their defense. There aren\u2019t many options at this point in the season, so they\u2019ll probably have to turn to one of their internal options.<\/p>\n

Potential Greg Schiano Replacements for New England Patriots Defense<\/strong><\/h1>\n

Bret Bielema<\/h2>\n

Former Arkansas Razorbacks and Wisconsin Badgers head coach Bret Bielema<\/strong> spent the 2018 season as a defensive consultant with the Patriots. While his job title was vague, he interacted directly with the defense on multiple occasions. Bielema’s a natural choice, as he thought he was getting the job<\/a> back in February.<\/p>\n

Bielema has a career 97-58 record as a collegiate head coach, winning Big Ten Coach of the Year honors back in 2006. However, Bielema hasn\u2019t had much success in recent years. Bielema posted a 29-34 record during his five years at Arkansas. A defensive-minded head coach, Arkansas\u2019 defenses were never that great under Bielema. The Razorbacks had a top-10 defense back in 2014, but all of Bielema\u2019s other defenses ranked in the bottom half of the league in terms of points allowed.<\/p>\n

Steve Belichick<\/h2>\n

Bill Belichick first made a name for himself as a defensive coordinator, so it\u2019s only fair that his son does the same. Belichick first joined the Patriots coaching staff back in 2012 and has slowly climbed through New England\u2019s ranks. The 31-year old has been New England\u2019s safety coach since 2016 and is the longest-tenured defensive coach left on the roster.<\/p>\n

Belichick\u2019s will eventually earn the defensive coordinator job, but that probably won\u2019t happen this season. At 31 years old, Belichick still is a little young for the job. Additionally, Belichick has never even called New England\u2019s defense in the preseason, so asking him to do it in the regular season is asking a lot.<\/p>\n

Brendan Daly<\/h2>\n

This one is an incredibly long shot, but it technically could happen. Daly spent the 2018 season with the New England Patriots, serving as the defensive line coach. Daly seemed to be second-in-command on the defense, as he called the defense during New England\u2019s fourth preseason game.<\/p>\n

The reason that this is a long shot is that Daly is no longer with the organization. Daly left New England at the end of the 2018 season to serve as Kansas City\u2019s defensive line coach. While it is technically possible that Daly leaves Kansas City for a better position, it\u2019s incredibly unlikely. Daly probably regrets leaving New England right now.<\/p>\n

Nobody<\/h2>\n

This is the most likely outcome. Quite frankly, the Patriots don\u2019t have a good in-house option to replace Greg Schiano, so it might be best to not fill the role. Bill Belichick<\/strong> is arguably the greatest defensive mind of all time and he\u2019s more than capable of calling a defense.<\/p>\n

Doing this would help the defense, but it would mean that Belichick couldn\u2019t spend as much time with the offense. Fortunately, the offense is more than capable of taking care of itself. Josh McDaniels<\/strong> is one of the better offensive minds in the game, and quarterback Tom Brady<\/a> <\/strong>is the smartest quarterback in the league. Belichick can shift more of his focus to the defensive side of the ball and feel comfortable in the minds running the offense.<\/p>\n

Main photo:
\nEmbed from Getty Images<\/a>