Dante Scarnecchia isn’t coming out of retirement. He’s not walking through that door to rescue the Patriots offensive line.
But with his Hall of Fame ceremony on tap Saturday – he’s being inducted alongside three-time Super Bowl-winning linebacker Mike Vrabel – it’s hard not to remember his impact and what it meant having him coaching the offensive line.
He was known for being tough, detail-oriented, and a stickler for fundamentals and technique. He also built a reputation for being able to do more with less.
He turned accomplished college wrestler Stephen Neal into a top-notch NFL guard. He pushed Trent Brown into being arguably the NFL’s best left tackle in 2018. He also took several undrafted players, and molded them into solid NFL linemen.
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And while Adrian Klemm has been dealt a tough hand, largely due to having to navigate the process with multiple starters being injured, and the team not doing more to shore up the right tackle position, it’s easy to flash back to Scarnecchia’s time, and think he’d somehow find a way to make the line better.
During MassLive’s latest “Eye on Foxborough” podcast, Patriots center David Andrews was the guest, and listening to him talk about why Scarnecchia is so deserving of being in the Patriots Hall of Fame, it was hard not to be struck by how much Scar meant to the success of the those championship teams.
Of course, the Patriots had Tom Brady, who gets the lion’s share of credit, but he wasn’t going to rip off six championships without being protected up front.
And, now, with the team at 1-5 after losing to Las Vegas on Sunday, and struggling mightily on the line, it becomes even more obvious how much Scar is missed.
That’s not necessarily a knock on Klemm, who played for Scarnecchia during the first run of championships. It’s just a reminder that once upon a time, the Patriots had one of the greatest offensive line coaches of all time preparing the line.
Andrews, who played four years under Scarnecchia, is convinced he should be in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, not just the Patriots Hall.
“Not a lot of people can teach you how to block a 325-pound D-lineman who has longer arms than you, who’s stronger, more explosive, and faster than you,” Andrews said during the podcast, “and you’re backpedaling and he’s going forward and you have to try and stop him.
“Not many people can articulate how to do that at such a fundamental level,” he went on. “I think that was always something that was really impressive to me about Scar.”
A few members of the current Patriots offensive line have trouble picking up basic stunts. Rookies Antonio Mafi and Sidy Sow, who have been forced into starting roles, have struggled to adapt. They keep making the same fundamental mistakes from week to week.
There have also been a flood of pre-snap penalties, namely false starts.
The players seem to be missing something in the translation from Klemm, or they’re just not cut out to be starting caliber NFL linemen.
Whatever the case, none of this is to say Scarnecchia didn’t have problems or issues with some of his players, it just didn’t seem like those problems took so long to solve or correct.
Who knows, maybe this group would have gotten the best of him, too. But given his track record, it sure seems like he would have met the challenge.
On the podcast, Andrews was great telling stories, and sharing memories. He said Scarnecchia was always such a calming influence no matter what the situation, or adversity the team was facing. And that had a huge impact on his players.
There also weren’t many coaches who could motivate a group quite like Scarnecchia.
“To be a great coach, you’ve got to be a great motivator. You’ve got to get people to believe in you,” said Andrews. “If you don’t have belief in the things you’re doing, as a player, that can cause issues. He worked us, he worked us hard. He knew when to push, and when to pull.
“He was one of us,” Andrews went on. “He wasn’t built like one of us, but you knew he had your back. He had our back 100 percent, which meant a lot.”
Scarnecchia is being inducted in the contributor’s category, an honor that was bestowed by Patriots Chairman and CEO Robert Kraft. He’s just the fourth person selected by Kraft as a contributor, joining Patriots founder Bill Sullivan (2009), play-by-play announcer Gil Santos (2012) and long-time cheerleader director Tracy Sormanti (2021).
In his 34 seasons with the team, Scarnecchia was on board for 10 of the team’s 11 Super Bowl appearances, and five of the six championships.
“He won’t take credit for the success but if you look at some of the offensive linemen that came in, and quote-un-quote maybe shouldn’t have, and had great careers, the Ryan Wendells, me, Steve Neal wrestler, the guys he developed and taught the game, they had a lot of success in large part because of him,” said Andrews. “I’m forever grateful for what he’s done for me, my family and my career. I don’t think there’s anyone more deserving than maybe No. 12, for this honor this weekend.”
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