Monday, February 07, 2005
February 8, 2005
Holding On to Dynasty Is Patriots' Next Challenge
By DAMON HACK
JACKSONVILLE, Fla., Feb. 7 - In the frantic final days before Super Bowl XXXIX, with schemes to study and history to clutch, the New England Patriots dispatched members of their personnel department to begin scrutinizing salary-cap numbers and college rosters for the draft in April.
Those are some of the behind-the-scenes maneuvers that have elevated the Patriots above the gravitational pull of parity. By preparing for every possibility - be it a coaching departure or the loss of a player - Coach Bill Belichick has rarely been caught unprepared.
"A lot of coaches in the N.F.L. work hard," Jimmy Johnson, the former coach of the Dallas Cowboys and the Miami Dolphins, said in praising Belichick last week. "But there is a difference between working hard and working smart."
The Patriots stamped themselves as a dynasty Sunday with their 24-21 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles at Alltel Stadium for their third Super Bowl title in four seasons. But New England's bid to claim a fourth Super Bowl crown next season - and a third straight, which would be a first - will face its most challenging test since the run began.
Romeo Crennel, the Patriots' defensive coordinator since 2001, has accepted the Cleveland Browns' coaching job. Charlie Weis is expected to report Thursday to South Bend, Ind., leaving the Patriots' offensive coordinator post for the Irish coaching job he accepted in December.
Although most of New England's starters will return, the Patriots could enter the free-agent period with some key unsigned players, including receiver David Givens, guard Joe Andruzzi and place-kicker Adam Vinatieri, whose contracts expire March 1.
The Patriots must also decide whether to keep the injured cornerback Ty Law, who is set to count roughly $12 million against the 2005 salary cap.
On Monday, just hours after he thanked Weis and Crennel for their contributions to New England, Belichick said of the vacancies, "We'll deal with that in due course."
The Patriots are probably dealing with it already.
Belichick refused to name candidates, but he has assistants with strong ties to the team. For the defensive coordinator job, the 34-year-old secondary coach, Eric Mangini, is thought to be the lead candidate. Mangini, like Belichick, is a graduate of Wesleyan in Middletown, Conn. He was later an assistant under Belichick in Cleveland in 1995 and worked under Bill Parcells and Belichick with the Jets from 1997 to 1999 before moving to New England with Belichick in 2000.
But he is also a rising star on the radar of several teams.
One potential replacement for Weis is Dante Scarnecchia, Belichick's assistant head coach and offensive line coach.
Scarnecchia, who will turn 57 on Feb. 15, has been a Patriots assistant for 21 seasons. In 35 years coaching in college and the N.F.L., Scarnecchia has also taught tight ends, special teams, linebackers and defensive backs. With a surprisingly low profile given his longevity and success, he has coached three different right tackles in three Super Bowls.
The tight ends coach Jeff Davidson and the running backs coach Ivan Fears have also been talked about as replacements for Weis.
How crucial is losing Crennel and Weis?
"They are two outstanding coaches, but the thing is, they have Belichick," the Eagles' defensive coordinator, Jim Johnson, said last week. "That's the key. They still have the head man, and I'm sure Bill has a plan. He probably already has someone else in mind."
Different forces have brought down the league's dynasties through the years, including age and the defection of talented assistants. New England must cope with both.
The Pittsburgh Steelers - who won four titles in six years through the 1979 season - and the San Francisco 49ers - who won five titles between the 1981 and 1994 seasons - remained strong until their Hall of Fame talent base, among other things, eroded.
The Dallas Cowboys, the only team besides the Patriots to win three titles in four seasons, sustained significant free-agent losses toward the end of their championship run in the 1995 season, one year after the start of the salary-cap era.
"The difference now is that you don't see other dynasties functioning at the same time," Bill Walsh, who won three titles with San Francisco, said in a telephone interview Monday. "When we were at our best, so were the Giants and Redskins and many other teams in the N.F.C. and A.F.C. We had to deal with other dynasties that were dominant. I don't think you see the caliber of teams now that you saw then because of free agency, but New England is an outstanding team, and their accomplishment is magnificent."
Walsh, who cited the quarterback position as the key to sustained success, said different factors could crack the foundation of a dynasty.
"Sometimes it's the combination of the players changing," he said. "Some age and don't perform as well. A loss of focus can occur. Coaching staffs change because men become head coaches out of the staff. We lost a series of guys that we had to replace, and I'm sure the Patriots will, too."
Only New England has won three titles in the cap era, which was intended to spur competition, not create dynasties. Commissioner Paul Tagliabue, however, said the cap was not designed to be so rigid that a team could not enjoy years of prosperity.
"When we did this system in the early 90's, we thought there was enough flexibility in it so you could keep teams together and have repeat success," Tagliabue said. "New England's done it, Philadelphia's done it, the Rams did it, the Broncos did it. Other teams have done it. Green Bay has had a phenomenal era and a phenomenal quarterback through the salary-cap years. And I think that's one of the lessons.
"We thought the system would allow for great competition and allow for repeat winners, and that's what's turning out to be the case."
New England is in an ideal position to remain atop the league.
Quarterback Tom Brady is signed through 2006, linebacker Tedy Bruschi through 2007 and safety Rodney Harrison through 2008. Though linebackers Roman Phifer and Ted Johnson may retire, the Patriots should attract A-list free agents.
"It takes a lot of discipline," Scott Pioli, the Patriots' vice president for player personnel, said of playing for New England. "It's not about how long their hair is or how much jewelry they wear. We have certain expectations for guys being in the right place at the right time and doing their job a certain way. That's discipline to us."
Belichick was still not ready to judge his team's place in history. The 2005 season beckons.
"We'll start at the bottom of the heap like everybody else," he said.
Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company
