Patriots' Matt Patricia; top coaching assistant

Pete Prisco of CBSSports.com wrote a great article on the NFL's best coaches assistant coaches under 40 years old. Right in the middle of the list was Patriots defensive coordinator Matt Patricia. Here's what Prisco had to say:

"Patricia, 38, has been calling the defenses in New England since 2009, even though he wasn't given the title of coordinator until 2012. He has learned defense at the foot of Bill Belichick, one of the great defensive coordinators of all time. Patricia has also coached on the offensive side of the ball, which could be helpful down the road. When he got into coaching, he was considering a career as an aeronautical engineer. Says something about his smarts -- or at least we think it does."

Patricia started working for the Pats in 2004, filing various assistant roles on both sides of the ball. As pointed out above, he then (essentially) took over the role of defensive coordinator in 2009, and officially was given the title for this past season. Though he specializes in defense, the history of coaching both defense and offense could come in handy.

Bill Belichick's coaching tree has been the foundation for multiple head coaches including Charlie Weiss, Romeo Crennel, Eric Mangini, Josh McDaniels, and even Nick Saban (during their time in Cleveland). Now, it's hard to predict things in the NFL, but I think it's safe to say that Patricia has a very bright future ahead of him.

Anthony Aidonidis
@aidonidis18