Jarrett Stidham, New England Patriots. (Photo by Steven Ryan/Getty Images)
Jarrett Stidham could have really used Dante Scarnecchia’s help this season.
The Jarrett Stidham era of New England Patriots football is upon us.
The former Auburn Tigers starting quarterback via the Baylor Bears has the tallest of tasks of being the guy who replaces Tom Brady in New England. It’s a losing cause no matter how you slice it because no matter how good Stidham can be as an NFL passer, he’ll never be what Brady was for the Patriots. Simply put, he’ll need all the help he can get to pull this thing off.
Unfortunately, longtime Patriots offensive line coach Dante Scarnecchia retired this offseason, this time for good. The 72-year-old spent 48 years in coaching with a two-year gap out of football from 2013 to 2015 due to his first retirement. Scarnecchia told ESPN’s Mike Reiss he is happy in retirement and isn’t all that comfortable coaching via videoconferencing anyway.
“I look at the landscape that currently exists relative to this upcoming season, and more in particular now training camp, because OTAs aren’t going to happen, and say, ‘Oh my gosh, this as it currently exists is not for me,’” said Scarnecchia. “Virtual meetings with the players would be a nightmare for me because I’m not techno-savvy. I don’t like Zooming and doing all that.”
While Scarnecchia did more than his fair share in helping the Patriots become a dynasty under head coach Bill Belichick, Stidham would have probably liked having the NFL’s best offensive line coach help keep him upright in his first year as a starter rather than watching New England games as a spectator. Beggars can’t be choosers, but this isn’t looking good for Stidham or the Patriots.
Jarrett Stidham won’t benefit from Dante Scarnecchia’s coaching going forward.
While it’s not to say Patriots co-offensive line coaches Cole Popovich and Carmen Bricillo can’t have success on the New England staff, they too are like Stidham in that they’re attempting to replace a legend. Truthfully, having co-coaches really means you don’t have one. Parlay that into a second-year pro starting at quarterback for the first time and the results could be disastrous.
Though New England will win games because of its defensive prowess and culture in place, we can’t expect the Patriots to hang tough in a shootout with their current offensive personnel. One could argue the Patriots have the blandest offense in the NFL from a roster standpoint. Unless you’re a Julian Edelman fan or a Sony Michel believer, what excites you about their offense?
As for Stidham, he could be the next Jimmy Garoppolo or Jacoby Brissett in Foxborough. However, if he really was the next Garoppolo, we would have heard something about it from the Patriots camp by now. So he might be another Brissett, a low-end starter on a mid-tier team who showed promise at either Power 5 school he played for, but isn’t a difference-maker at the next level.
Though Stidham played in an offense at Auburn that required the quarterback to be decently mobile, it was always a wonky fit down on The Plains for him in Gus Malzahn’s system. Stidham may throw a more beautiful spiral than Garoppolo or Brissett, but it’s not going to matter if he’s living on his back because he can’t escape the pass rush behind a declining Patriots offensive line.
While we couldn’t expect Scarnecchia to coach forever in New England, a bridge year would have served Stidham in his development. It would have given him a real fighting chance to become the next former fourth-round quarterback to become a star in this league like Kirk Cousins and Dak Prescott before him. Now, we’re just wondering if the Patriots would win more with Brian Hoyer?
Scarnecchia and the Patriots had a great run together, but Stidham will wish it didn’t have to end.