What would you ‘burn cash’ on? | Greg Bedard Patriots Podcast - video Dailymotion

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In the newest installment of the Greg Bedard Patriots Podcast featuring Nick Cattles, Greg and Nick share their reactions to the reported coordinator interviews for the New England Patriots, noting the lack of news regarding a general manager. They also discuss the Atlanta Falcons interviewing several candidates, including Bill Belichick, and cover Jerod Mayo's statement about the team's intention to spend significantly this offseason.  TIMELINE: 0:00 OC Interviews 7:45 DC Interviews 13:24 Special Teams Interviews 14:56 Nothing on GM is a bit scary 18:30 Falcons interviewing everyone under the sun a second time … no Belichick? 23:15 What happened with Bill O'Brien, who departed this week to be Ohio State's offensive coordinator? 26:20 Mike Onwenu good as gone? 27:34 Mayo says they’re going to burn cash, add talent 1,000% … who?  Check Greg's Coverage out over at www.bostonsportsjournal.com, for $50 on BSJ's annual plan. Not only do you get top-notch analysis of all the Boston pro sports, but if you're a Patriots junkie — and if you're listening to this podcast, you are — then a membership at BSJ gives you access to a ton of video analysis Bedard does on the coaches film, and direct access to him in weekly chats.  This episode of the Greg Bedard Patriots Podcast w/ Nick Cattles is brought to you by:  Fanduel Sportsbook is the exclusive wagering parter of the CLNS Media Network! Right now, NEW customers get ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY in BONUS BETS – GUARANTEED when you place a FIVE DOLLAR BET. That’s A HUNDRED AND FIFTY BUCKS in BONUS BETS – WIN OR LOSE! Go to https://FanDuel.com/BOSTON! The app is so easy to use and there are so many different ways to bet like:  ● Live Same Game Parlays  ● Find Bets in the NEW Explore Tab  ● Make a parlay in the Parlay Hub – the best way to find popular parlays  ● And more!  DISCLAIMER: Must be 21+ and present in select states. FanDuel is offering online sports wagering in Kansas under an agreement with Kansas Star Casino, LLC. First online real money wager only. $10 first deposit required. Bonus issued as nonwithdrawable bonus bets that expire 7 days after receipt. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit FanDuel.com/RG in Colorado, Iowa, Kentucky, Michigan, New Jersey, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Tennessee, and Virginia. Call 1-800-NEXT-STEP or text NEXTSTEP to 53342 in Arizona, 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org/chat in Connecticut, 1-800-9-WITH-IT in Indiana, 1-800-522-4700 or visit ksgamblinghelp.com in Kansas, 1-877-770-STOP in Louisiana, visit mdgamblinghelp.org in Maryland, visit 1800gambler.net in West Virginia, or call 1-800-522-4700 in Wyoming. Hope is here. Visit GamblingHelpLineMA.org or call (800) 327-5050 for 24/7 support in Massachusetts or call 1-877-8HOPE-NY or text HOPENY in New York.

Transcript

00:00 (upbeat music)

00:02 - He's Greg, I'm Nick.

00:08 What's happening this week?

00:09 Hopefully all of you are doing well.

00:11 This episode of course, brought to you by FanDuel,

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00:25 Let's start with the headlines, Greg,

00:26 and let's start with all of these interviews happening

00:28 at Gillette with Gerard Mayo and others,

00:31 which we'll talk about a little bit later.

00:32 Let's run through the offensive coordinator position first.

00:35 We've got Nick Kaley, Rams tight ends coach,

00:37 history with the Patriots.

00:39 Zach Robinson, Rams passing game coordinator

00:41 and quarterbacks coach,

00:43 was drafted by the Patriots back in 2010.

00:46 And Dan Pitcher, who is the Cincinnati

00:48 Bangles quarterbacks coach.

00:49 Of course, we know that it sounds like Pitcher

00:53 could be easily promoted to OC in Cincinnati

00:56 with Brian Callahan moving on to Tennessee,

00:59 but just your overall thoughts and biggest points to make

01:02 here, Greg, with these three names.

01:03 I'm encouraged by all of them.

01:06 I mean, I'm encouraged that they're moving

01:09 towards the Shanahan-McVay offense.

01:13 I think when we've talked about this before,

01:16 I think both of our plea was sort of to,

01:19 you know, the whole process,

01:20 whether it was head coach, general manager, coordinators,

01:23 like just open it up and talk to the best

01:26 and the brightest and then see what happens.

01:28 I mean, it didn't happen with the head coach position.

01:31 Doesn't look like it's gonna happen with general manager

01:33 since they haven't scheduled any of those interviews

01:37 and those guys are starting to be placed around the league,

01:41 but it looks like they're doing that

01:43 with offensive coordinator.

01:45 Now, Nick Kaley is a guy who,

01:48 that we talked about when Patricia got the job

01:51 that we wanted Nick Kaley, the internal guy

01:54 to get more of a look.

01:55 I think the sense at the time was that

01:58 he wasn't quite ready for that role.

02:01 He hadn't had enough experience with the quarterback.

02:05 Now, you know, one year with Sean McVay,

02:07 does that make him all of a sudden

02:09 some sort of McVay guru?

02:11 No, I don't think so.

02:12 But look, it doesn't hurt to talk

02:16 and see how he's grown and things like that.

02:20 I think Zach Robinson is probably the best prospect

02:24 of the bunch, like you said, with Pitcher.

02:26 Brian Callahan got the job with the Titans.

02:32 Pitcher's next man up, has a relationship with Joe Burrow.

02:35 Now, the problem is,

02:37 this is where the slowdown's gonna happen

02:38 and I can understand people are gonna get very frustrated

02:41 is that, you know, now that the Bengals

02:44 have a coordinator position open,

02:46 now they have to interview two minority candidates.

02:48 They just can't promote.

02:50 Maybe the next sort of thing is that we see

02:54 successor contract language for offensive

02:58 and defensive coordinators now.

02:59 You know, because you could,

03:02 look, if Brian Callahan moves on,

03:04 you'd want the quarterback's coach to be the next guy.

03:07 So this is gonna take a while.

03:09 At least that opens it up to where the Patriots,

03:13 if they really like 'em,

03:14 they can try to outbid the Bengals,

03:15 who are notoriously cheap.

03:17 But it looks like, from appearances,

03:20 that everything that they've done for Joe Burrow

03:22 in terms of spending on receivers,

03:25 revamping the offensive line,

03:27 it looks like Mike Brown's not quite the idiot

03:29 some of us make him out to be,

03:31 that he's trying to do everything he can for Joe Burrow.

03:33 So I don't think they're gonna,

03:35 I don't think they're gonna cheap out

03:36 on who could be calling plays for Joe Burrow

03:40 for the foreseeable future.

03:41 But in general, I like the direction.

03:45 It's not just retreads quite from the Patriots' tree.

03:49 We're looking at a different offense, it looks like.

03:52 So that's encouraging.

03:53 - Yeah, get away from that, you know,

03:56 Earhard Perkins offensive scheme.

03:58 It's too precise, too much on the quarterback.

04:00 Simplify things, evolutionize this offense, make it easier.

04:05 You're gonna have a lot of turnover this offseason,

04:07 I think, on offense.

04:09 So to throw a difficult system at a new quarterback

04:12 and all these new pieces could be a disaster.

04:14 I do wonder about Pitcher, you know,

04:16 the play calling aspect.

04:18 Obviously Taylor has a lot as far as on his plate,

04:22 play calling for the Bengals.

04:23 And, you know, would Pitcher be more interested

04:26 in going somewhere where he would have 100% say

04:28 on the play calling?

04:30 That would be interesting.

04:31 Zach Robinson, I'm with you.

04:33 I think he makes the most sense.

04:34 His quarterback history, the fact that he was a quarterback

04:37 was drafted as a quarterback after he left the NFL,

04:40 worked with quarterbacks and developed them.

04:42 Makes a lot of sense if you bring a young quarterback in

04:45 with that third pick in the draft.

04:47 I wanted to ask you, what are the chances, Greg,

04:49 that Robinson and Kaley could actually end up here

04:52 if Mayo kind of messes around with those titles?

04:54 Oh, I mean, yeah, that's certainly interesting.

05:00 Now it depends on how much time Nick Kaley has left

05:05 on his contract.

05:06 He can interview and leave for a coordinator job.

05:09 He can't leave for a positional job,

05:11 even if it's, I don't even think quarterbacks.

05:15 Like say he was named quarterbacks coach.

05:16 Like I don't think that's possible,

05:18 but maybe he's at the end of his contract.

05:19 I don't know.

05:21 But that's certainly interesting.

05:23 And those guys have now worked together at least for a year.

05:26 But like we talked about, I think not only

05:29 is the offensive coordinator hire important for Gerard Mayo,

05:34 but a plan for sustainability for the quarterback

05:38 is also important because let's say you get

05:41 Zach Robinson, a guy who's been groomed forever

05:45 as sort of the past game coordinator for McVay,

05:48 quarterbacks, former NFL quarterback himself.

05:52 He's one of these prototypical guys,

05:54 like say Bobby Slowick, who keeps

05:56 getting all these interviews, that as soon as he has success,

05:59 if he comes in year one, has success

06:01 with the young quarterback, with the Patriots, he's gone.

06:05 He's going to get a head coaching job somewhere.

06:07 So not only do you need to plan for today,

06:10 but if you're Gerard Mayo, a defensive head coach,

06:13 you need to plan for tomorrow and have a succession plan,

06:17 or else you end up flat on your face,

06:18 just like Bill Belichick did.

06:20 Yeah, build depth within that staff.

06:23 It's going to be crucial.

06:25 One quick question before we move on to the defense.

06:28 I don't know this.

06:28 I don't know if you know this.

06:30 If they wanted both Caley and Robinson,

06:33 if they named Caley passing game coordinator,

06:36 is that seen as a lateral move from tight ends coach,

06:39 or would that be seen as a promotion and a step up?

06:42 I would have to change the language on that,

06:45 but I'm pretty sure it has to be a coordinator position.

06:51 I think my interpretation of the rule

06:54 is that it has to be one of the three coordinator positions,

07:00 offense, defense, or special teams.

07:02 Those are the only ones that have special designation.

07:05 So the only way you could do that with Robinson and Caley

07:08 is if you made Robinson assistant head coach or something

07:11 like that?

07:12 Would that be the way they would work it?

07:14 No.

07:16 There's no assistant head coach doesn't matter.

07:18 It's head coach, the three coordinators, that's it.

07:22 Now, if you wanted to land Robinson and Caley,

07:26 you name Robinson offensive coordinator,

07:29 and either Nick Caley's contract is up,

07:32 or the Rams who, look, they sort of found a spot for him,

07:39 didn't really come up with McVay.

07:41 Maybe McVay's just like, yeah, go ahead.

07:44 That's a better opportunity for you over there.

07:46 So you're free to go.

07:48 Gotcha.

07:49 Defensive side, Demarcus Covington, very familiar name.

07:53 Christian Parker, who is the Denver Broncos defensive backs

07:57 coach.

07:57 Michael Hodges, Saints linebackers coach.

08:00 Tim Lukaboo, who was the Panthers outside linebackers

08:03 coach.

08:04 Same question, but on the defensive side, Greg, for you,

08:06 what stands out the most and some of the points

08:08 you see when you look at these names?

08:10 Well, again, one thing on the offensive coordinator

08:17 that we didn't touch on that is not here,

08:19 because I'm pretty sure all four candidates are minority

08:25 candidates.

08:26 But for offensive coordinator, the Patriots

08:29 still need to interview two minority candidates

08:32 in person, which those interviews could

08:35 have started on Monday.

08:37 It sounded from Gerard's interview with EEI

08:40 that this stuff is progressing this week.

08:43 You also have the senior bowl next week, where if Mayo--

08:47 oftentimes, a coach in Mayo's position

08:50 doesn't go, because he's worried about interviewing.

08:52 But a lot of people are there, depending

08:55 on how teams look at it.

08:57 Sometimes they send their coaching staffs,

08:59 others just send their front offices.

09:01 Gerard could go to the senior bowl

09:02 and knock out a bunch of interviews if he wanted to.

09:05 We'll have to see whether that happens.

09:09 Defensive coordinator, as far as the group,

09:11 again, flowers to Mayo and the Patriots,

09:16 because I don't think this is Mayo alone.

09:18 I think this is--

09:19 I think the Crafts, with their connections in the league,

09:22 which Gerard even referenced at one point

09:26 around his press conference, as far as coaching candidates

09:30 and things like that, that the Crafts have

09:32 a bunch of contacts around the league.

09:33 Robin Glazer, I'm sure, is involved with securing these.

09:37 But flowers to the Patriots and Gerard for--

09:40 these are all top candidates.

09:42 These are all young, energetic.

09:45 Obviously, Covington, to me, is the best candidate.

09:50 Just if you believe in the Patriots' defense and continuity

09:53 and where they are, then--

09:56 and it's no secret.

09:57 We've talked about it countless times,

09:59 how impressive Demarcus Covington has been

10:02 as a positional coach for the Patriots,

10:03 I think, year after year, especially the last three

10:06 or four years.

10:07 His defensive line group, to me, has been the best unit

10:10 on the team, bar none.

10:13 And so I think that he would be a great candidate

10:16 if you're looking for continuity and to keep things the same

10:19 way.

10:20 But those other guys are all top notch.

10:22 They have top notch reputations, young guys, good minds,

10:26 all interesting candidates.

10:29 Interestingly enough, Hodges was co-defensive coordinator

10:32 with Covington in 2016 at Eastern Illinois.

10:35 So there is that link.

10:37 Also, we know that Covington, as you've mentioned,

10:39 on the staff, continuity.

10:41 Also, Covington was one of the only, if not the only,

10:43 coaches that was spotted at the press conference.

10:46 And I know a lot of the coaches were on vacation.

10:49 So we don't want to go too far with that.

10:51 But if you start to put the pieces together,

10:53 the Hodges interview, the fact that he was there

10:57 at the press conference, the fact

10:59 that he's there and a trusted guy,

11:01 would you say Covington, out of those names,

11:05 would be, by far, the one with the inside track for the gig?

11:10 I would think so.

11:11 Yeah, I would.

11:12 And look, I think there's a good chance

11:16 that Gerard is one of these coaches that tilts a little bit

11:20 to his side of the ball defense.

11:22 So I'm sure he's going to have more input there.

11:24 I would guess that he's certainly

11:26 going to be a CEO, head coach, big picture

11:28 type of guy, which I fully endorse.

11:31 And I think he'll be good at that aspect of the job.

11:34 But I'm hoping that he largely turns the offense over

11:37 to somebody who's head coach offense.

11:41 Gerard deals with the broad strokes, that type of thing,

11:43 in-game strategy.

11:45 But the combination of Mayo and Covington

11:47 leading the defensive side of the ball,

11:49 I'm extremely comfortable with that.

11:53 Does this say anything about Steve Belichick?

11:55 Or is it reading too much into it?

11:56 I know Mike Reese wrote over the weekend

11:58 that if Belichick came back, it would

12:00 be in an assistant head coach, senior advisor role, which

12:05 I don't know if that means he would be calling defense

12:08 or not.

12:09 Is that, again, more fun and games with the title stuff?

12:12 But how do we feel about Steve Belichick right now?

12:15 My understanding is that, at least,

12:19 this is the scuttlebutt around the staff, the team,

12:24 is that the public decorations that Steve and Brian would

12:28 be welcomed back was more just sort of public-facing,

12:33 putting a good face on it, that I think they're

12:37 hoping everybody moves on.

12:39 But yeah, what Reese reported, I mean, that's interesting.

12:42 I don't even know how that works.

12:44 So is basically Gerard removing Steve Belichick

12:48 from coaching the defense, certainly calling the defense,

12:52 senior advisor role?

12:55 He's not very senior.

12:56 I don't know.

12:57 I just don't get how that works.

12:59 But it seems like Gerard is moving on.

13:03 If you had to ask me from talking

13:05 to people around the team, it seems

13:07 like Gerard and the Crafts, I think,

13:09 are interested in a complete break from the Belichick

13:15 regime.

13:16 Outside of a few people here and there,

13:18 like DeMarcus Covington, who obviously deserve promotions.

13:23 Special teams, Thomas McGahee from the Giants,

13:27 Marquise Williams from the Falcons, both those guys,

13:29 special teams coordinator titles.

13:31 Jeremy Springer, Rams assistant special teams coach.

13:33 So again, another name from the Rams tree there with McVay.

13:39 Yeah, I mean, look, I don't know much about special teams.

13:41 It can't get much worse than the Patriots were last year.

13:44 But it's obviously clear that since they're interviewing,

13:48 that means that the coordinator position is open.

13:50 They're interviewing for all these.

13:52 So that means that all the coordinator positions are open.

13:54 That means Bill O'Brien's out, which we now know.

13:58 They didn't have a defensive coordinator.

14:00 So that's open.

14:01 And special teams coordinator is now open.

14:04 So whatever it is, they are moving on.

14:07 And I think everybody is in agreement

14:09 that go find a new special teams coach, because whatever

14:13 they were doing here wasn't working.

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14:53 How about the GM, Greg?

14:58 Not much said about the GM since the introductory press

15:01 conference last week with Kraft and Mayo.

15:05 Any concern about that?

15:06 What are you hearing?

15:08 Yeah, I hear crickets on the GM front.

15:11 To me, that's a little scary.

15:13 This is a crucial offseason for the Patriots.

15:19 It's a chance to reset the franchise for at least

15:22 the next five years, if not longer,

15:24 with the third overall pick and cap space and a bunch of guys

15:29 up for free agency.

15:30 And again, this is another situation

15:34 where at least talk to people to see what their ideas are.

15:41 What do they think about the Patriots roster?

15:43 Where do they think they're deficient?

15:45 What would you do with the third overall pick?

15:46 What do you think of the three quarterbacks in this draft?

15:50 Maybe other teams have really good sources with, say,

15:53 LSU with Jaden Daniels, better than the Patriots do,

15:57 or USC with Caleb Williams, or what have you.

16:02 It seems like-- I'm just trying to think if there's time.

16:08 I mean, I guess there's time if they named a new GM in February.

16:12 I guess there's time for that.

16:14 But let's just give them the benefit of the doubt

16:17 and say that they're more focused on the coaching staff

16:21 right now.

16:22 They may or may not get to the general manager search, which

16:25 means Elliott Wolfe and/or Matt Groh are in charge.

16:30 And internally, obviously, they think a lot of these guys

16:35 and think they can do the job.

16:37 We shall see.

16:38 It's like they're on a battlefield,

16:40 is the analogy I would use right now.

16:42 And certain lacerations, certain bullet holes, stuff like that,

16:47 like there are some spots that you're bleeding out.

16:51 There are some spots that you can kind of just patch up.

16:53 And so to me, it's like offensive coordinator

16:56 is bleeding out.

16:57 You don't have anybody in-house.

16:59 McDaniels, if Belichick gets a job,

17:01 which we'll talk about in a minute,

17:03 McDaniels could end up with Belichick.

17:04 O'Brien is gone.

17:06 You have to rebuild this offense from a personnel standpoint

17:09 and a coaching staff standpoint.

17:11 So that's where it's hemorrhaging right now.

17:14 You've got to look at that and take care of that first.

17:18 It's difficult. Look, you could talk to everybody.

17:21 You could talk to GMs and all.

17:22 But I do think the concerted effort is on the offensive side

17:24 this week.

17:25 Defense, I think, will get wrapped up relatively quickly.

17:29 And also, I would just say two things.

17:31 Elliott Wolfe is there.

17:32 So of course, if they trust Elliott Wolfe,

17:35 Greg has spoken highly of him.

17:36 I've seen other guys, Andrew Callahan and Mike Reiss

17:39 and Albert Breer.

17:40 I mean, pretty much everybody to a man

17:41 says Elliott Wolfe can do the job.

17:43 So if Wolfe is running the ship, then fine.

17:47 I would also remind people that during that introductory press

17:49 conference-- and I'm sure Greg and others will keep Kraft's

17:52 feet to the fire on this--

17:54 he did come out and he said, look,

17:56 we're going to name a guy who's going to be the lead

17:58 or a woman that's going to be in the lead position

18:00 in the front office.

18:01 We're going to anoint somebody is how he said it,

18:04 or appoint somebody.

18:05 And he said that that will happen before key decisions

18:08 have to be made.

18:09 So let's hold him to that.

18:12 The clock's ticking.

18:13 He's got a couple of weeks here before you

18:14 start talking combine and all these other things.

18:16 But especially free agency in March,

18:19 we should be anticipating and expecting

18:22 the lead of this front office to be named before March

18:26 and have a clear idea as to who's making the decisions.

18:29 Because that's what Robert Kraft said will happen.

18:31 So let's keep him to that.

18:32 Let's jump to Belichick.

18:34 The Falcons are interviewing everybody and anybody.

18:37 If you've got a resume, you can send it to Arthur Blank.

18:40 He's willing to take a look at it.

18:42 I'm waiting for my phone to ring.

18:44 I was going to say, Greg might have an interview by Friday

18:46 down at Atlanta.

18:47 Meanwhile, Belichick's just sitting there watching

18:50 all of his memes on Twitter and whatever the hell else

18:52 he does with his--

18:53 which is fascinating to me.

18:55 What does Belichick, who just lives and dies by football,

18:57 what's he doing with all of this empty time right now?

18:59 But what's happening in Atlanta?

19:01 They're talking to everybody while Belichick just

19:03 flails in the wind here.

19:05 Yeah.

19:07 A couple of things could be at play, Nick.

19:09 One could be that the Falcons want to make it look good,

19:15 that it's not in the bag for Belichick,

19:18 that their Rooney Rule interviews are not a sham,

19:22 and things like that.

19:23 And by casting an extremely wide net--

19:25 and I'm just looking at a list--

19:28 3, 6, 9, 12.

19:30 I think they've interviewed 15 people,

19:32 including Belichick and Harbaugh

19:34 have gotten second interviews.

19:36 I think we heard that there's a couple more.

19:39 Yeah.

19:42 And the other thing, Nick, could be that--

19:45 look, if I'm a Falcons fan, I feel really good about--

19:51 at least they're scouring the Earth.

19:52 They're doing exactly the anti-Patriots.

19:55 They are scouring the Earth.

19:56 They're talking to everybody.

19:59 Seriously, anybody who could be a head coaching candidate.

20:02 I mean, they even interviewed Brian Johnson, the Eagles

20:06 OC, who just got fired, I think.

20:08 And so they are talking to everybody.

20:14 I give them credit for that, that they are not

20:16 putting their blinders on, are looking at everything.

20:19 Look, could Belichick get into an issue?

20:24 Could he lose out on this, where the Falcons look at it

20:27 and say, all right, why are we going

20:28 to go with a 72-year-old guy when we could get a 35-year-old

20:35 offensive guy, say Bobby Slowick or somebody like that?

20:38 Or even like Belichick's now against Mike Vrabel.

20:40 I mean, we've talked about it.

20:42 I'd rather have Vrabel over Belichick.

20:45 And you have longevity.

20:47 You know he has the potential to be there 10,

20:50 20 years, where Belichick's only two to five years.

20:54 So I think Belichick could be in a little bit of trouble on this.

20:59 I don't know anything.

21:01 I still think he's going to get the job.

21:02 I think that Arthur Blank is desperate.

21:04 And I think Bill is the guy to come in and sort of fix

21:07 that in the short term.

21:08 But we'll have to see.

21:10 It's amazing, because right off the bat

21:13 immediately you have questions because of how

21:15 this is being handled.

21:17 And Belichick's going to go from one kind of drama situation

21:21 to maybe another drama situation.

21:23 It truly is incredible.

21:25 You've got the McKay factor down there, Fontenot, who's the GM.

21:30 He's going to get slid to the back.

21:32 So you have a power dynamic that they're trying to figure out.

21:35 So Belichick, with all the drama and issues with the power

21:40 dynamic here in New England, could waltz right

21:42 into another spot where they're talking about power dynamic

21:45 down in Atlanta.

21:46 You wonder if Arthur Blank knows that it's Atlanta or bust.

21:50 To our knowledge, nobody else has talked to Belichick.

21:53 Now, there's been reports that Belichick has shot down

21:56 a couple of opportunities.

21:58 Teams reached out to him.

21:59 He said, thanks, but no thanks.

22:00 We've also heard from Mike Florio,

22:03 who swung and missed massively on the Washington thing so far.

22:07 But we've heard from Florio that Belichick has other teams

22:11 kind of looking at him.

22:14 But you wonder.

22:15 Blank could be looking at this and saying,

22:17 he's got no leverage.

22:18 It's us or nobody.

22:20 He has to coach this year.

22:21 He knows it.

22:22 So this could be an epic stare down between Arthur Blank

22:25 and Belichick for power within the organization.

22:28 And if Belichick's only looking at Atlanta, he knows that.

22:31 So maybe they had these conversations,

22:34 and Arthur Blank said, we're going to just talk

22:36 to a lot of different people, Bill.

22:38 We'll get back to you.

22:39 And Bill was like, all right, I got nothing else to do.

22:41 The other part of this is the quarterback position.

22:44 I mean, if you're Atlanta, the number one hole

22:47 on this football team is quarterback.

22:49 And after you just saw how Mac Jones was handled,

22:52 do you think Bill Belichick is the right guy

22:55 to spring this franchise into the future

22:58 with a young, impressionable quarterback,

23:01 or even if it's a Kirk Cousins?

23:03 Spend that kind of money, and if Bill ends up not liking

23:07 his quarterback by month two, you just

23:09 paid the guy $45 million coming off of a blown Achilles

23:12 at 36 years old.

23:13 So there's a lot going on here.

23:15 Let's talk about Bill O'Brien.

23:17 He gone.

23:19 He went to the Ohio State.

23:21 His choice, the team's choice, or a mutual decision, Greg?

23:26 From what I understand, I think it was a mutual decision.

23:29 Now, I think that the Patriots--

23:33 certainly, there were reports from Tom Kern a month ago

23:37 that it was going to be-- that Bill Belichick was going

23:40 to be out, Gerard Mayo was going to be the head coach,

23:42 and Bill O'Brien was going to be the offensive coordinator.

23:44 Two out of the three things happened.

23:48 I don't know if this is a byproduct of the drama

23:51 behind the scenes with the coaching staff.

23:53 It very well might have been that at some point,

23:57 those two might have been working together.

24:02 I'll just say this.

24:03 I think that Bill O'Brien, at the end of the season,

24:06 had really no interest in returning to the Patriots.

24:09 With all that went down, with the stuff

24:13 that we documented during the season,

24:15 the assistant coaching staff, the personnel,

24:18 and then you put on top of that, Gerard Mayo

24:22 has successor language in his contract.

24:25 Did Bill O'Brien know that?

24:27 How would you have felt if you came back here and thought,

24:30 well, if I come back here and I work hard, I do a good job.

24:33 Maybe I have a chance to succeed Bill.

24:35 And then all of a sudden, it turns out that Gerard Mayo

24:38 already has it in his contract.

24:40 And the way Gerard Mayo conducted himself

24:44 during the season, did that make a favorable impression

24:48 on some guys who maybe thought they would be back next year?

24:53 I think it's all part of it.

24:54 I think that the Patriots were open to it.

24:59 He was under contract for two more years.

25:01 From what I understand, there was a bit of a face-off

25:05 on this that O'Brien wanted the Patriots to uphold his contract,

25:12 that he wasn't just going to quit and what have you,

25:16 that the Patriots--

25:17 or maybe it's Mayo, because obviously the Crafts

25:22 thought a lot of Bill O'Brien to bring him back

25:24 and to give him that contract, which a lot of people

25:27 think was not cheap.

25:31 Did they want to honor the contract?

25:34 All that stuff.

25:34 So from what I understand, Bill O'Brien

25:39 did not want to be back here.

25:40 And it was just a question of what was best for him,

25:44 what was best for his future and for his family.

25:47 And he decided that Ohio State was the best place.

25:50 I think it looks like he may now go the college route,

25:53 that maybe he's a little bit sick of the NFL route.

25:56 Yeah.

25:57 All right, before we get into a free agency,

25:59 check these guys out over at BSJ.

26:01 $50 for the year.

26:02 Bidart and Giardi tag teaming on the Patriots.

26:05 And you got Corrales.

26:06 You've got somebody by the name of Nick Cattles

26:07 throwing a column in there every week.

26:09 So check it out at BSJ.

26:10 Also, I want to remind you, this episode

26:12 is brought to you by FanDuel, the exclusive wagering

26:14 partner of the CLNS Media Network.

26:16 New customers get $150 in bonus bets guaranteed

26:19 when you place a $5 bet.

26:21 All right, two free agency notes.

26:22 Jeremy Fowler of ESPN, Greg, reported over the weekend

26:25 that the Patriots pretty much know that Michael

26:28 Wenow is out the door.

26:30 Is that what you're hearing?

26:31 And what was your reaction to that report when you saw it?

26:35 I don't even think they've gotten to that point yet.

26:38 I mean, look, do they think that he's

26:42 going to get to market and he's going to be highly paid?

26:44 Yes.

26:47 But I wouldn't rule him out returning.

26:50 This is a different regime.

26:51 This is not Bill Belichick.

26:53 You could almost certainly say that if Bill Belichick was

26:58 here, you'd be like, there's no chance of resigning a Wenow.

27:01 They'll have to pay top of the market.

27:02 Bill's not going to do that.

27:03 But I don't even think they're there yet.

27:09 I mean, they have to get alignment

27:11 on the coaching staff and the front office

27:13 and all that stuff.

27:14 I wouldn't rule it out.

27:16 I think it's long odds that he'll be back.

27:19 Yes.

27:19 But we have to figure out what this new regime, what

27:22 they're going to prioritize.

27:25 Are they going to be comfortable replacing

27:27 both tackles next year?

27:29 That's a tall order.

27:31 And when it comes to, which we're

27:33 going to talk about, Gerard Mayo talking about we're

27:35 going to burn some cash, well, who are you going to spend it

27:37 on?

27:39 It's nice to say that, oh, yeah, they're

27:41 going to be active in free agency.

27:43 But when you talk about the franchise tag

27:46 and what's out there, there's really not a whole lot

27:49 out there, especially if guys like T. Higgins and Michael

27:56 Pittman, who's not even that good,

27:57 if they're franchise tag by their teams, what's left?

28:00 And if you're going to burn cash,

28:02 then you might as well burn it on the guys that you know.

28:04 And if you get a Wenu that's either

28:06 going to lock down right tackle or right guard,

28:09 then that frees you up.

28:11 So why not spend the money on Michael Wenu,

28:14 who could be building block in the offensive line?

28:16 And now all you really need is left tackle

28:19 and to figure that out.

28:20 So I don't think it's over yet.

28:23 It's early for that.

28:25 They haven't even named a GM.

28:27 We don't know who's making these decisions,

28:29 but it would seem early to me.

28:31 That offensive line, lots of questions, man.

28:33 Obviously, Trent Brown, a free agent.

28:35 I would not trust him as far as I could throw him.

28:37 And obviously, I can't throw him even an inch.

28:40 Cole Strange has the injury situation.

28:43 He was injured a lot this past season.

28:45 David Andrews has one year left on his contract.

28:48 Said he feels like he still has a lot left in the tank.

28:52 Is that a contract leverage thing?

28:54 What's going on with that?

28:56 Siddy So I would think is right now,

28:58 you're starting right guard.

29:00 Can he develop?

29:02 And then you've got a Wenu at right tackle.

29:04 I mean, there's just, there's so many different questions

29:06 about this offensive line.

29:08 Adrian Clem, is he coming back?

29:10 Are you hiring a new offensive line coach?

29:13 Bill Belichick left this organization in disarray

29:18 with his mismanagement of this roster.

29:21 Gerard Mayo, you just mentioned it, Greg.

29:23 He was on the Greg Hill Show yesterday,

29:25 said that the team is going to burn some cash.

29:27 They're gonna a thousand percent add some talent.

29:31 Just your thoughts on Mayo's comment there

29:34 and what free agency could look like for this team.

29:37 - Well, I mean, I love the comment.

29:40 I love the honesty and he went on there

29:42 and they were even asking about coordinator interviews

29:45 and stuff like that.

29:46 And he was confirming like, hallelujah, love it.

29:49 New day.

29:50 I'm up for it.

29:54 And look, you know,

29:57 Mike Giardi wrote this a month ago,

29:58 considering how the Patriots have spent,

30:01 they have no other option but to spend money.

30:05 And it's not just to improve the team.

30:06 Like you have to get to the salary floor

30:08 and they spent like drunken sailors in 2021,

30:12 2022 and 2023, they didn't spend like every three years.

30:16 Like you have to be, I think like 90% of the salary cap

30:20 and the Patriots aren't close to that.

30:21 So they have to spend.

30:23 They have no other choice.

30:25 It's just, how are they going to do it?

30:28 Mayo seems to talk about outside talent.

30:32 Okay.

30:33 There comes some definite trepidation

30:39 with dealing with people.

30:40 Look at what the Patriots did in 2021

30:42 and the people that they signed, who worked out,

30:44 who didn't work out.

30:46 To me, I'd be more interested in resigning the players

30:49 that they have.

30:50 Maybe selectively letting a few people go.

30:53 I would start working the compensatory pick

30:58 sort of formula where you say, all right,

31:01 well, what are we going to sign?

31:03 What's our plan?

31:04 Should we let this guy go?

31:06 So then we can get a third round comp pick

31:07 in a year from now to sort of replenish this roster

31:12 and build upon the youth movement

31:14 that it seems like we have going a little bit.

31:17 So there are a lot of big decisions

31:18 that the Patriots have to make,

31:19 but love the honesty, love Gerard talking like that.

31:24 I said this on my podcast today.

31:26 I do a solo podcast Monday through Friday

31:28 if anybody wants to check it out, Nick Cattleshell Pod.

31:31 Numbers are growing thanks to Greg's help with BSJ

31:35 and some other things, so that's good.

31:36 But I mentioned the thing about Mayo,

31:39 people are criticizing how he's handling the media

31:42 at certain points.

31:44 I think he's done a really good job.

31:46 I thought the first introductory press conference,

31:49 the number one priority for Gerard was to tell everybody,

31:52 I am not Bill Belichick.

31:53 You're replacing a guy who's been here

31:55 for a quarter of a century.

31:57 A lot of the criticism when Mayo was hired was,

31:59 A, he's a defensive guy, and then B,

32:01 oh, he's just another Belichick.

32:02 We heard it all, right?

32:03 The media has been yapping about it.

32:05 Not all of us, but some.

32:07 Oh, well, you know,

32:08 this is just going to be another Belichickian guy.

32:10 He's another Patriots guy.

32:12 So he had to separate himself from Bill,

32:14 and I thought he effectively did that.

32:16 And then I thought with the Greg Hill interview,

32:19 this is how you intelligently put the pressure on ownership.

32:23 Coming out and publicly saying,

32:26 oh, we've got money to burn,

32:27 that immediately puts the crafts in the crosshairs.

32:30 And look, the crafts might not love that,

32:33 but Mayo wants talent.

32:36 He knows his team needs talent,

32:38 and now he's put that out there.

32:40 So if the crafts don't go out there and spend

32:42 and bring in outside talent, then it's on them.

32:47 And so I thought this was a very smart way,

32:49 without causing any big friction or being a dink about it,

32:54 it's a very smart way to just put that out there.

32:56 Oh, we got money,

32:57 and we're going to burn some of that cash.

32:59 I.e., Robert, let's go.

33:02 And so I just thought it was a smart way to do it.

33:05 - I don't disagree.

33:07 I also think that the crafts have no choice.

33:11 So, you know, we talked about the salary cap floor,

33:13 but also just look,

33:16 they fired Bill Belichick, they hired Gerard Mayo.

33:19 They need this to look good.

33:20 They need to improve the team greatly,

33:23 and also the whole criticism of the crafts and the spending,

33:28 how they're, you know,

33:29 even Mike Reese pointed out this weekend,

33:31 that they're the lowest in the last decade

33:33 in terms of cash spending around the league.

33:35 And the crafts, if you talk to them or people around them,

33:39 they always pointed the finger at Bill and said,

33:41 "It was him, like he could do whatever he wanted to.

33:45 That's what he chose."

33:46 And there's a lot of evidence to say it was Belichick,

33:49 including his beliefs going back to the Cleveland days

33:51 in terms of how much to pay players

33:53 in relation to how much he makes.

33:55 So the first year out from Bill Belichick,

33:58 they got to open up that wallet and start making it rain.

34:03 - That might just be part of my podcast as well.

34:05 And I might also on X/Twitter have a clip, a tease,

34:10 involved in that very idea, that very idea, that craft.

34:13 They got to be all in.

34:15 If you go out there

34:16 with the introductory press conference

34:17 and point the finger at Bill, Bill's no longer here.

34:21 Times are changing.

34:22 You got to prove it.

34:23 He's Greg, I'm Nick.

34:25 We'll talk to you later.

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34:39 [MUSIC PLAYING]

What would you ‘burn cash’ on? | Greg Bedard Patriots Podcast

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