January 16, 2025 • 19 mins
Gary Tanguay Fills In On NightSide with Dan Rea
The big sports story this past week was the New England Patriots hiring former NFL linebacker and three-time Super Bowl champion, Mike Vrabel as the Pats new head coach. Albert Breer, sportswriter for Sports Illustrated joined Gary to discuss the future of the Patriots.
Ask Alexa to play WBZ NewsRadio on #iHeartRadio and listen to NightSide with Dan Rea Weeknights From 8PM-12AM!
The big sports story this past week was the New England Patriots hiring former NFL linebacker and three-time Super Bowl champion, Mike Vrabel as the Pats new head coach. Albert Breer, sportswriter for Sports Illustrated joined Gary to discuss the future of the Patriots.
Ask Alexa to play WBZ NewsRadio on #iHeartRadio and listen to NightSide with Dan Rea Weeknights From 8PM-12AM!
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
You're on night Side with Dan Ray on Boston's news radio.
Speaker 2 (00:08):
Bert Breer, My friend, what is going on?
Speaker 3 (00:12):
Hey?
Speaker 4 (00:13):
Gary? How are we doing it?
Speaker 1 (00:15):
It's been too long, but like hey, personality is back
in Foxborough. Man Mike vrabel At, the stand up comedian,
the guy that used to hold court in front of
his locker during it, you know, every every Wednesday down
there in Foxboro is now running the ship. So Burt
from sports illustrator that's joining us here on night Side.
I want to start with Mayo. We're going to cover
the coaching situation for the Patriots. I want to start
(00:35):
with Mayol.
Speaker 2 (00:35):
I love the guy.
Speaker 1 (00:36):
I'm biased. I worked with him. I thought he was
in a no win situation.
Speaker 2 (00:42):
What did you think?
Speaker 1 (00:43):
Because I just feel terrible for him.
Speaker 3 (00:45):
Yeah, I mean, I you know, obviously he wasn't ready
for the job. So I think that's where you start.
But then you do that going in. You know, I
think what happened last year or over the course of
this year, or was it just a complete system failure?
And everything that could go wrong with that franchise has
gone wrong over the last five years, And you know,
(01:08):
I don't think you can isolate the single year and
act as if like it was just a blip because
they've been building towards.
Speaker 4 (01:19):
Us for a while.
Speaker 5 (01:19):
The roster was no good, right the the the organization
is behind the rest of the NFL in a lot
of different ways, and look like it's because they were
doing it in a way that worked for them for
a long long time under Bill.
Speaker 4 (01:33):
But Bill's one of one.
Speaker 3 (01:34):
There aren't there is anybody else who can do the
job the way that he can. So you take that
piece out, you don't replace it with the sort of
numbers that you needed.
Speaker 4 (01:45):
They were short all over the place. And you know, I.
Speaker 3 (01:49):
Think some of that even showed up while Bill was
still the.
Speaker 6 (01:51):
Coach, And so certainly and Girodd was Drod was inheriting
something that that that was in need of total overhaul,
and you know he's starting that overhaul while he's learning
how to do the job.
Speaker 3 (02:04):
It was an impossible situation. And yeah, I say that
in restros tech now it's easy to in restrosp I
just think it's the truth.
Speaker 1 (02:10):
Yeah, I think so too, And like I said, I
hope the guy gets another shot to coach. When he
went back into coaching, he was working with us. He
was also working with in the pharmaceutical world. He's a
bright guy. He had a couple of businesses. I said,
you're nuts, said, you're out of your mind. If you
want to go back and coach, you're going to take
a pay cut from your business life.
Speaker 2 (02:28):
I go, You're you're crazy. But he wanted to do it.
Speaker 1 (02:31):
I just you know, I just hope he if he
decides to get back in, and I hope he gets
another chance. Now bringing us to Vrabel, you know, Vrabel
did say that Bill had given him a chance or
asked him to come coach, and he backed away from it.
And I think the blueprint is exactly what he did.
He left New England, and we all know he get
(02:52):
traded to to the Texas and I mean Kansas City,
Kansas City, Kansas City. But he was an assistant at
Ohio State. He was a position coach with the Texans.
And then did he ever become defensive coordinator with you
Siner or with Rome.
Speaker 4 (03:09):
He was the DC for one year, He.
Speaker 1 (03:11):
Was the DC for one year after Roami retired, okay,
and then he becomes the head coach. My point is
like Rabel didn't come back here and just sit under Bill,
because I really think in some ways it's hard to
develop your own style and become your own man over
somebody like Bill, who's arguably the greatest defensive coach in
the history of the game.
Speaker 4 (03:30):
Yeah, and I'd also say this.
Speaker 3 (03:32):
I remember having a conversation with with my back when
he was a player, and I love the connection, the
High of State connection, and we were talking about Chris Stielman,
and you know, Chris film is obviously a legendary and
everything else. When Jim Trussell got the job at Ohio State,
Chris Fielman was up for it and really wanted it,
(03:53):
but he'd never coached before. And you know, Mike, Mike
had said to me. This was obviously years later.
Speaker 4 (03:59):
I was a college on trust with that higher but.
Speaker 3 (04:02):
Mike had said to me something along the lines of, well,
you know, I felt like saying to Chris, like, yeah,
of course he didn't get the job.
Speaker 4 (04:10):
It's a huge job.
Speaker 3 (04:11):
You have to learn how to do it. It takes
a while to to put the skins in the wall
to get a job like that. And you know, I
think that's sort of the approach he took to climbing
the ladder. And you know, I think a lot of
people felt like once he went back to Columbus he
would never leave, you know, but he he winds up
spending three years there. Then a Bill O'Brien comes and
(04:33):
gets him. Bill O'Brien had tried to get him a
Penn state, and you know, I think there was some
loyalty to O'Brien. He gets to see the way that
system work, and then he gets for his own ship.
And yeah, I think going through working in college, seeing
the way Ervin Meyer ran a program, seeing the way
Bill O'Brien ran.
Speaker 4 (04:47):
A program, gatting the chance for on his own program, and.
Speaker 3 (04:50):
Then this year going back and getting to see kemic
Stepanski and Andrew.
Speaker 4 (04:53):
Berry do it a completely different way than what he
had learned.
Speaker 3 (04:57):
Yeah, I think gives him a good, you know, a
good on a spectrum.
Speaker 4 (05:00):
Of experience to draw them.
Speaker 3 (05:03):
And you know, I think it's some of the job now.
I think that the mistake the Patriots can make here
is again they think this is a one person problem
because it was. And I think that's some fair to
drive Mayo to look at it that way. I think
it's whistling by the graveyard if you're the team and
you know it's The one concern I have with the
hire is that you didn't go through a full process.
(05:24):
So how much looking in the mirror did you really
do when you went and brought back a guy who's
from your quote unquote family, your football family show, without
running much of a certain That's the one concern Gary
is like, are they just identifying this as a one
person problem and Mike Frabel is going to come in
and fix everything up? That's the way they were looking
at it that I think they got another thing coming.
Speaker 1 (05:45):
Well, I agree with you, and it's a whole rebuild.
They have the quarterback and they have a cornerback and
that's that's about it right now. So have you been
able to pinpoint the structure of the team is now?
Speaker 2 (05:59):
Wolf has to be out. I mean he has to
be right.
Speaker 3 (06:02):
I mean no, see, I I don't think so, and
I I think they have a few months to figure
this out. But I mean we will say. I know
for a fact, Mike's done his research on Elliott. You
know he's they have, you know, common friends. There's one
in Tennessee, Chad Brinkers his name, he's the president of
football operations there. He came up in the business with
(06:23):
Elliott in Green Bay, and Mike and Chad, both Ohio guys,
worked together in Tennessee for a year, so there are
some common connections there, and you know, look like the
jobs big for one person, you know.
Speaker 2 (06:37):
So the call I mean that I agree with.
Speaker 4 (06:41):
You think it's Mike. No, I think I think it's Mike.
Speaker 3 (06:42):
I think but but but here's where here's where I
think you make you can make a mistake very easily,
is thinking it's.
Speaker 4 (06:49):
Going back to being the way it wasn't a built
because that.
Speaker 3 (06:51):
Doesn't really exist anywhere anymore. Like where I mean Bill
was like running in season while he you know, like
he'd be he'd he'd be with the scouts on Friday mornings,
on a Friday morning, looking at like the tight ends
in the next year's draft. You know, he was trying
to wear all hats Bill was. Mike's not going to
(07:13):
do that, you know what I mean, Like, and you
can't ask the coach to do that in this day
and age. The job is just too big and so
it won't be set up that way. But I do
think Mike is going to have, you know, a very
big say in personnel, and I think it's going to
be set up the way some of the more coach
centric structures across the NFL are. Again like it's you know,
(07:34):
that doesn't mean that he's going to be setting the
draft board or breaking down four hundred college players, you know,
but obviously he's gonna be very influential in the way
that Elliott Wolf in that department look at things, and
and Ryan cavan is going to be a voice for
him in that department as well.
Speaker 1 (07:48):
Well, that's good to hear because and by the way,
Burbrew was with us some Sports Illustrated talking about the
Patriots and Rabel because you just long, this by committee
stuff doesn't work, you know where and again I don't
know what was going on with your Rod, but there's
all kinds of rumors like he was meeting with ownership
during the week and then you know, was he in
charge of the offense? Was the offense on their own page?
(08:11):
All of these things that it was, you know, a
democratic society and it doesn't work.
Speaker 2 (08:16):
I mean, well, you know you have to say that, you.
Speaker 3 (08:18):
Can say, you can say that, but like look at Baltimore,
look at Pittsburgh. You know, there are there are situations
where it does work, like that you know what I mean.
Speaker 1 (08:26):
Okay, Well, give me an example of Burt, Like I say,
Baltimore and for Baltimore Pittsburgh. If there's a disagreement on
picking the player, who makes.
Speaker 3 (08:35):
Somebody has to have the trigger, somebody who.
Speaker 2 (08:37):
Has the trigger. That's all I'm saying.
Speaker 3 (08:39):
But it's not like nobody had the trigger last year.
You know, Elliott had the trigger last year. So like
I'm not like I I I think like again, like
we're talking about two different things here, like we're you
know again, like these jobs are just too big now, Gary, you.
Speaker 2 (08:56):
Know I get it.
Speaker 1 (08:56):
No, Bird, Bird, I hear you. I just want to
make you know. It's just like I just once, I'm like,
okay o, they we'll push the players. He determines the players,
He sets the roster, Mike takes a rockster, and he
goes long as long as the responsibilities are determined, so
nobody's getting pissed at each other and you don't have
these little fiefdoms within the building. That's all I'm talking about.
Speaker 3 (09:18):
Yeah, and that and that's let me look by my
experienceiest way you avoid that is to win, because there's
not a lot of fingerpointing when winning how.
Speaker 2 (09:28):
Many how many years? Bert? What do you think? How
many years do you give years? I say three?
Speaker 3 (09:33):
Anyways, I think I think, like you know, by by
twenty twenty six, you want to be in the playoffs, yes,
And I think you have to give him some grace
this year because I do think like and I know
a lot of people have looked at and said, well,
you can just spend one hundred and whatever million dollars
in free agency and fix everything. I actually, I actually
think there's going to be some subtraction here too. Like
(09:56):
I think, you know, everybody talks about addition. I think
there's some degree they've done, like what a message has
been the last couple of years. Mike's gonna be weeding
some players out too, you know, so you have you
may have some holes on the roster in three months
that you don't that don't exist right now. In other words, like, yes,
you're adding, but you're also gonna be subtracting in some areas,
(10:18):
and so to some degree you might be triding water.
Speaker 4 (10:21):
You know.
Speaker 3 (10:23):
I think you know you're looking for this year. I
think some level of improvement, and I think you want
the team to be getting better by the end of
the year, and I think, you know, you get to
December January, and now you're starting to see what the
team's going to become when they're really good, and then
you feel like you're going into twenty twenty sixth fine,
you know, I don't think all six and eleven or
(10:45):
seven in ten seasons are created the same, but I
think if they're in that in that range and it
looks like they're ascending at the end of the year,
then I think you can you can live with that,
you know, well, you can't live with I think. And
the problem for Jiro was at the end of the year,
there was really no light at the end of.
Speaker 4 (11:03):
The tunnel, you know.
Speaker 3 (11:05):
And I think like if you look at some of
the teams that were bad over the last few years
that had new coaches that were figuring it out, Like
I'd even look at that Arizona team. They were not
very good last year, but the last month of the
season they beat Pittsburgh and Philly, so you started to
see what Jonathan Gannon was building. And then the next
year they're close to five hundred, you know, Detroit, like
(11:27):
in twenty twenty one, they started I think it was
like I think it was ten and one, and they
finished the season three and three. Now you're still three
thirteen to one, but you see a little light at
the end of the tunnel. I think that that's what
Mike's gotta get the team, give the franchise, fan base,
everything else by the end of the year.
Speaker 2 (11:44):
Burt, can you hang on or you just get a
few more questions for you?
Speaker 4 (11:47):
Yep?
Speaker 1 (11:47):
All right, thanks, Bert bur joins our Sports Illustrated. We're
back after this in wbz's Nightside. Now back to Dan
Ray live from the Window World Nightside Studios on WBZ
News Radio Sports Illustratings with us in the next few minutes. Here, Bert,
thanks for hanging in. Okay, I watched all of the
press conferences from Foxborough, where you know, Vrabel comes walking
(12:12):
out and goes, hey, Roachie, you know, and just so
it's not so inside baseball when Mike was here. Mike
used to bust our chops in the media constantly. There
was nobody better at it. He was great at it.
I think sometimes he was really pissed off and other
times he was just you know, you know, joking around.
(12:35):
We did one bit on NBC Sports Boss and it
was Comcast Sports and at the time where I put
on a helmet and he like bull rushed me, and
I mean he barely moved. He sent me twenty five
yards down the field and it hurt. But I want
to tell him that the honeymoon period's going to end quickly.
Speaker 2 (12:55):
Yeah, you know that's does he get that? Like it's
not you know, it's not going to be easy.
Speaker 3 (13:05):
Yeah, he's a popular higher of course, you know. I
think that again, Like it's weird because I don't know
that like anybody should expect some sort of magic turnaround here,
But I think there are like little things that you
can have as your expectations, right, Like, so whoever he
(13:27):
chooses to be the offensive coordinator the quarterbacks coach, like
I think you should you should reasonably expect some improvement
from Drake May. And like you know, it's like Bill
would say, like the biggest improvement players between year one
and year two. Okay, Like, so what does that look
like with Drake May? And what did Drake May look
like going into going into twenty twenty five and coming
(13:51):
out of twenty twenty five? Does the defense look like
it's playing with some identity? This Christian Zalid fuck he's developed?
What do they do at receiver?
Speaker 4 (13:59):
Right?
Speaker 3 (14:00):
Have they hit on a couple of receivers? Is a
tackle situation look a little bit better? So, you know,
I think that there are things that like, I think
there are things that we can identify as problems that
you would hope that like would start to show the
signs of being fixed. And then and not that you
can be.
Speaker 4 (14:16):
Able to fix.
Speaker 3 (14:17):
All the biggest issues with Patriots have is that so
they have so many holes that happened to be at
premium positions. It's really hard to fix all of those
that wouldn't want to fell swoop, you know. And then
I think the development of young players is going to
be really important because you know, when he when he
walked into Tennessee, he did sort of have already made team,
you know, and that team had been in the playoffs
(14:38):
the year before. Dave de Parker Murray at running back,
Dereck Henry was the back of the time. I believe
Thede Marcus Mariotto was a young veteran at the time,
you know, So you had some pieces in place that
Kevin Byron was there in the secondary, and they had
they they had been a pretty good team the two
years previous hundered by ball Arkey. This team's behind where
(15:00):
that team was. Like, let's see, like we'll how the
young players are developing, Let's see how if the problems
are starting to be fixed. I think that's how you'll
be able to judge him in the year one. And
you know, I think where the honeymoon ends is if
you know those things, if you don't see some of
those things happening, regardless.
Speaker 4 (15:17):
Of whether or not a teams you know, more wins
than the.
Speaker 2 (15:20):
Scoreboard, does Josh become the O C.
Speaker 3 (15:23):
Yeah, I think it's possible. You know, Josh gonna have
a lot of interest, and there are gonna be teams
that are gonna lose their offensive coordinators for good reasons,
right like you know your destroys your Buffalo is Like
there'd be teams like that that are gonna lose their
offensive coordinators that I think will have an interest in Josh.
So there could be an opportunity for Josh to go
and join a winner. You then they're gonna be I think,
(15:46):
you know, other opportunities for Josh with first time head
coaches or new head coaches going into places that that
that they.
Speaker 4 (15:54):
Would have Josh on their list.
Speaker 3 (15:55):
So I think he's gonna have opportunity in different places.
And you know, I like I. I certainly think like
the New England is something he consider, But I don't
think it's the only possibility for him, you know, and
and and and I do think this undergreen Mike has
in the past at least leaned in different directions offensively.
(16:16):
So you know, how does he how does he see
Josh versus somebody who comes from the sort of west
coast system that we we saw him run and we saw.
Speaker 4 (16:26):
Him oversea, at least in Tennessee.
Speaker 3 (16:29):
I think that's another interesting question to ask.
Speaker 1 (16:31):
Yeah, the final thing here, Bert, I just heard it
was reported that Belichick had not signed his University of
North Carolina contract.
Speaker 2 (16:40):
Yep, what's going on.
Speaker 3 (16:43):
Not unusual, So they have I think it's I think
it's I think it's called a memory memorandum of understanding
that is more or less the term sheets. A long
perform contract hasn't been done yet. For context, this happened
in Michigan last year when Shrown Moore took the job
from Jim Harbor. I don't he look this up. I
(17:03):
don't think that contract was signed until September or October.
So obviously the question then is whether or not the
ten million dollar buyout applies. And I'm not going to
pretend that I'm smart enough to understand a contract well enough.
Speaker 4 (17:16):
To know whether it does. There could be some dispute
over that though.
Speaker 2 (17:18):
Well, I mean, I never wondered does he get hide
by like the Bears or.
Speaker 3 (17:23):
I mean, here's the thing, though, like, I think if
that was going to happen, I think, just from a
timing standpoint, and like like Bill, I don't think Bill's
going to go run off an interview with somebody, now, Okay,
it would kill him. It would kill him in recruiting, right,
which is like the lifeblood of building a college football team,
And I'd imagine it wouldn't go over well with his
(17:45):
new bosses. So I like, because of that, Gary, at
least at this point, it's hard for me to see
it happening unless someone just blindly comes in and flat
out and offers him the job. And that doesn't happen
very often in the NFL, you know what I mean,
where there's no vetting and there's no sit sit down
and meet and great and all that different stuff. So
I think at this point, like could it happened, I guess,
(18:08):
but you know it would take a pretty rare circumstance
where somebody just comes in and offers him the job.
I don't know. I don't know whether or not that happens.
Speaker 4 (18:17):
I would think probably not, but I've seen crazy. Bert.
Speaker 2 (18:20):
I owe you.
Speaker 1 (18:21):
Thank you for hanging out and talking to me, but
best of your family. Hope everybody's good and we'll talk soon.
Speaker 3 (18:28):
Do you too, Gary, appreciate you having no more problem.
Speaker 1 (18:30):
Burt Brier one of the good ones, Albert Breer. Albert
Breer is official byline. As Rob Brooks asked me, do
we put on the document out? I said, yes, you
put Albert Breer. Tom Currne only want to call them Albert.
I think even his mother.
Speaker 2 (18:42):
Still calls them Bert. So Burt Breer on what's going.
Speaker 1 (18:47):
I'm telling you that it's going to be interesting to
see what happens with the Rabes.
Speaker 2 (18:52):
Thanks get ugly.
Speaker 1 (18:53):
The media doesn't turn on you, the media does your job.
Then we'll see how that goes. Karen Miller is going
to join US Boston Globe. Where are all the teachers going?
Better paying jobs, probably less headaches, probably more support. Probably
Sam Medler and what's going on in California with the
(19:14):
wildfires and the weak in trump Land. It's all coming
up right here on wbz's Nightside.
You're on night Side with Dan Ray on Boston's news radio.
Speaker 2 (00:08):
Bert Breer, My friend, what is going on?
Speaker 3 (00:12):
Hey?
Speaker 4 (00:13):
Gary? How are we doing it?
Speaker 1 (00:15):
It's been too long, but like hey, personality is back
in Foxborough. Man Mike vrabel At, the stand up comedian,
the guy that used to hold court in front of
his locker during it, you know, every every Wednesday down
there in Foxboro is now running the ship. So Burt
from sports illustrator that's joining us here on night Side.
I want to start with Mayo. We're going to cover
the coaching situation for the Patriots. I want to start
(00:35):
with Mayol.
Speaker 2 (00:35):
I love the guy.
Speaker 1 (00:36):
I'm biased. I worked with him. I thought he was
in a no win situation.
Speaker 2 (00:42):
What did you think?
Speaker 1 (00:43):
Because I just feel terrible for him.
Speaker 3 (00:45):
Yeah, I mean, I you know, obviously he wasn't ready
for the job. So I think that's where you start.
But then you do that going in. You know, I
think what happened last year or over the course of
this year, or was it just a complete system failure?
And everything that could go wrong with that franchise has
gone wrong over the last five years, And you know,
(01:08):
I don't think you can isolate the single year and
act as if like it was just a blip because
they've been building towards.
Speaker 4 (01:19):
Us for a while.
Speaker 5 (01:19):
The roster was no good, right the the the organization
is behind the rest of the NFL in a lot
of different ways, and look like it's because they were
doing it in a way that worked for them for
a long long time under Bill.
Speaker 4 (01:33):
But Bill's one of one.
Speaker 3 (01:34):
There aren't there is anybody else who can do the
job the way that he can. So you take that
piece out, you don't replace it with the sort of
numbers that you needed.
Speaker 4 (01:45):
They were short all over the place. And you know, I.
Speaker 3 (01:49):
Think some of that even showed up while Bill was
still the.
Speaker 6 (01:51):
Coach, And so certainly and Girodd was Drod was inheriting
something that that that was in need of total overhaul,
and you know he's starting that overhaul while he's learning
how to do the job.
Speaker 3 (02:04):
It was an impossible situation. And yeah, I say that
in restros tech now it's easy to in restrosp I
just think it's the truth.
Speaker 1 (02:10):
Yeah, I think so too, And like I said, I
hope the guy gets another shot to coach. When he
went back into coaching, he was working with us. He
was also working with in the pharmaceutical world. He's a
bright guy. He had a couple of businesses. I said,
you're nuts, said, you're out of your mind. If you
want to go back and coach, you're going to take
a pay cut from your business life.
Speaker 2 (02:28):
I go, You're you're crazy. But he wanted to do it.
Speaker 1 (02:31):
I just you know, I just hope he if he
decides to get back in, and I hope he gets
another chance. Now bringing us to Vrabel, you know, Vrabel
did say that Bill had given him a chance or
asked him to come coach, and he backed away from it.
And I think the blueprint is exactly what he did.
He left New England, and we all know he get
(02:52):
traded to to the Texas and I mean Kansas City,
Kansas City, Kansas City. But he was an assistant at
Ohio State. He was a position coach with the Texans.
And then did he ever become defensive coordinator with you
Siner or with Rome.
Speaker 4 (03:09):
He was the DC for one year, He.
Speaker 1 (03:11):
Was the DC for one year after Roami retired, okay,
and then he becomes the head coach. My point is
like Rabel didn't come back here and just sit under Bill,
because I really think in some ways it's hard to
develop your own style and become your own man over
somebody like Bill, who's arguably the greatest defensive coach in
the history of the game.
Speaker 4 (03:30):
Yeah, and I'd also say this.
Speaker 3 (03:32):
I remember having a conversation with with my back when
he was a player, and I love the connection, the
High of State connection, and we were talking about Chris Stielman,
and you know, Chris film is obviously a legendary and
everything else. When Jim Trussell got the job at Ohio State,
Chris Fielman was up for it and really wanted it,
(03:53):
but he'd never coached before. And you know, Mike, Mike
had said to me. This was obviously years later.
Speaker 4 (03:59):
I was a college on trust with that higher but.
Speaker 3 (04:02):
Mike had said to me something along the lines of, well,
you know, I felt like saying to Chris, like, yeah,
of course he didn't get the job.
Speaker 4 (04:10):
It's a huge job.
Speaker 3 (04:11):
You have to learn how to do it. It takes
a while to to put the skins in the wall
to get a job like that. And you know, I
think that's sort of the approach he took to climbing
the ladder. And you know, I think a lot of
people felt like once he went back to Columbus he
would never leave, you know, but he he winds up
spending three years there. Then a Bill O'Brien comes and
(04:33):
gets him. Bill O'Brien had tried to get him a
Penn state, and you know, I think there was some
loyalty to O'Brien. He gets to see the way that
system work, and then he gets for his own ship.
And yeah, I think going through working in college, seeing
the way Ervin Meyer ran a program, seeing the way
Bill O'Brien ran.
Speaker 4 (04:47):
A program, gatting the chance for on his own program, and.
Speaker 3 (04:50):
Then this year going back and getting to see kemic
Stepanski and Andrew.
Speaker 4 (04:53):
Berry do it a completely different way than what he
had learned.
Speaker 3 (04:57):
Yeah, I think gives him a good, you know, a
good on a spectrum.
Speaker 4 (05:00):
Of experience to draw them.
Speaker 3 (05:03):
And you know, I think it's some of the job now.
I think that the mistake the Patriots can make here
is again they think this is a one person problem
because it was. And I think that's some fair to
drive Mayo to look at it that way. I think
it's whistling by the graveyard if you're the team and
you know it's The one concern I have with the
hire is that you didn't go through a full process.
(05:24):
So how much looking in the mirror did you really
do when you went and brought back a guy who's
from your quote unquote family, your football family show, without
running much of a certain That's the one concern Gary
is like, are they just identifying this as a one
person problem and Mike Frabel is going to come in
and fix everything up? That's the way they were looking
at it that I think they got another thing coming.
Speaker 1 (05:45):
Well, I agree with you, and it's a whole rebuild.
They have the quarterback and they have a cornerback and
that's that's about it right now. So have you been
able to pinpoint the structure of the team is now?
Speaker 2 (05:59):
Wolf has to be out. I mean he has to
be right.
Speaker 3 (06:02):
I mean no, see, I I don't think so, and
I I think they have a few months to figure
this out. But I mean we will say. I know
for a fact, Mike's done his research on Elliott. You
know he's they have, you know, common friends. There's one
in Tennessee, Chad Brinkers his name, he's the president of
football operations there. He came up in the business with
(06:23):
Elliott in Green Bay, and Mike and Chad, both Ohio guys,
worked together in Tennessee for a year, so there are
some common connections there, and you know, look like the
jobs big for one person, you know.
Speaker 2 (06:37):
So the call I mean that I agree with.
Speaker 4 (06:41):
You think it's Mike. No, I think I think it's Mike.
Speaker 3 (06:42):
I think but but but here's where here's where I
think you make you can make a mistake very easily,
is thinking it's.
Speaker 4 (06:49):
Going back to being the way it wasn't a built
because that.
Speaker 3 (06:51):
Doesn't really exist anywhere anymore. Like where I mean Bill
was like running in season while he you know, like
he'd be he'd he'd be with the scouts on Friday mornings,
on a Friday morning, looking at like the tight ends
in the next year's draft. You know, he was trying
to wear all hats Bill was. Mike's not going to
(07:13):
do that, you know what I mean, Like, and you
can't ask the coach to do that in this day
and age. The job is just too big and so
it won't be set up that way. But I do
think Mike is going to have, you know, a very
big say in personnel, and I think it's going to
be set up the way some of the more coach
centric structures across the NFL are. Again like it's you know,
(07:34):
that doesn't mean that he's going to be setting the
draft board or breaking down four hundred college players, you know,
but obviously he's gonna be very influential in the way
that Elliott Wolf in that department look at things, and
and Ryan cavan is going to be a voice for
him in that department as well.
Speaker 1 (07:48):
Well, that's good to hear because and by the way,
Burbrew was with us some Sports Illustrated talking about the
Patriots and Rabel because you just long, this by committee
stuff doesn't work, you know where and again I don't
know what was going on with your Rod, but there's
all kinds of rumors like he was meeting with ownership
during the week and then you know, was he in
charge of the offense? Was the offense on their own page?
(08:11):
All of these things that it was, you know, a
democratic society and it doesn't work.
Speaker 2 (08:16):
I mean, well, you know you have to say that, you.
Speaker 3 (08:18):
Can say, you can say that, but like look at Baltimore,
look at Pittsburgh. You know, there are there are situations
where it does work, like that you know what I mean.
Speaker 1 (08:26):
Okay, Well, give me an example of Burt, Like I say,
Baltimore and for Baltimore Pittsburgh. If there's a disagreement on
picking the player, who makes.
Speaker 3 (08:35):
Somebody has to have the trigger, somebody who.
Speaker 2 (08:37):
Has the trigger. That's all I'm saying.
Speaker 3 (08:39):
But it's not like nobody had the trigger last year.
You know, Elliott had the trigger last year. So like
I'm not like I I I think like again, like
we're talking about two different things here, like we're you
know again, like these jobs are just too big now, Gary, you.
Speaker 2 (08:56):
Know I get it.
Speaker 1 (08:56):
No, Bird, Bird, I hear you. I just want to
make you know. It's just like I just once, I'm like,
okay o, they we'll push the players. He determines the players,
He sets the roster, Mike takes a rockster, and he
goes long as long as the responsibilities are determined, so
nobody's getting pissed at each other and you don't have
these little fiefdoms within the building. That's all I'm talking about.
Speaker 3 (09:18):
Yeah, and that and that's let me look by my
experienceiest way you avoid that is to win, because there's
not a lot of fingerpointing when winning how.
Speaker 2 (09:28):
Many how many years? Bert? What do you think? How
many years do you give years? I say three?
Speaker 3 (09:33):
Anyways, I think I think, like you know, by by
twenty twenty six, you want to be in the playoffs, yes,
And I think you have to give him some grace
this year because I do think like and I know
a lot of people have looked at and said, well,
you can just spend one hundred and whatever million dollars
in free agency and fix everything. I actually, I actually
think there's going to be some subtraction here too. Like
(09:56):
I think, you know, everybody talks about addition. I think
there's some degree they've done, like what a message has
been the last couple of years. Mike's gonna be weeding
some players out too, you know, so you have you
may have some holes on the roster in three months
that you don't that don't exist right now. In other words, like, yes,
you're adding, but you're also gonna be subtracting in some areas,
(10:18):
and so to some degree you might be triding water.
Speaker 4 (10:21):
You know.
Speaker 3 (10:23):
I think you know you're looking for this year. I
think some level of improvement, and I think you want
the team to be getting better by the end of
the year, and I think, you know, you get to
December January, and now you're starting to see what the
team's going to become when they're really good, and then
you feel like you're going into twenty twenty sixth fine,
you know, I don't think all six and eleven or
(10:45):
seven in ten seasons are created the same, but I
think if they're in that in that range and it
looks like they're ascending at the end of the year,
then I think you can you can live with that,
you know, well, you can't live with I think. And
the problem for Jiro was at the end of the year,
there was really no light at the end of.
Speaker 4 (11:03):
The tunnel, you know.
Speaker 3 (11:05):
And I think like if you look at some of
the teams that were bad over the last few years
that had new coaches that were figuring it out, Like
I'd even look at that Arizona team. They were not
very good last year, but the last month of the
season they beat Pittsburgh and Philly, so you started to
see what Jonathan Gannon was building. And then the next
year they're close to five hundred, you know, Detroit, like
(11:27):
in twenty twenty one, they started I think it was
like I think it was ten and one, and they
finished the season three and three. Now you're still three
thirteen to one, but you see a little light at
the end of the tunnel. I think that that's what
Mike's gotta get the team, give the franchise, fan base,
everything else by the end of the year.
Speaker 2 (11:44):
Burt, can you hang on or you just get a
few more questions for you?
Speaker 4 (11:47):
Yep?
Speaker 1 (11:47):
All right, thanks, Bert bur joins our Sports Illustrated. We're
back after this in wbz's Nightside. Now back to Dan
Ray live from the Window World Nightside Studios on WBZ
News Radio Sports Illustratings with us in the next few minutes. Here, Bert,
thanks for hanging in. Okay, I watched all of the
press conferences from Foxborough, where you know, Vrabel comes walking
(12:12):
out and goes, hey, Roachie, you know, and just so
it's not so inside baseball when Mike was here. Mike
used to bust our chops in the media constantly. There
was nobody better at it. He was great at it.
I think sometimes he was really pissed off and other
times he was just you know, you know, joking around.
(12:35):
We did one bit on NBC Sports Boss and it
was Comcast Sports and at the time where I put
on a helmet and he like bull rushed me, and
I mean he barely moved. He sent me twenty five
yards down the field and it hurt. But I want
to tell him that the honeymoon period's going to end quickly.
Speaker 2 (12:55):
Yeah, you know that's does he get that? Like it's
not you know, it's not going to be easy.
Speaker 3 (13:05):
Yeah, he's a popular higher of course, you know. I
think that again, Like it's weird because I don't know
that like anybody should expect some sort of magic turnaround here,
But I think there are like little things that you
can have as your expectations, right, Like, so whoever he
(13:27):
chooses to be the offensive coordinator the quarterbacks coach, like
I think you should you should reasonably expect some improvement
from Drake May. And like you know, it's like Bill
would say, like the biggest improvement players between year one
and year two. Okay, Like, so what does that look
like with Drake May? And what did Drake May look
like going into going into twenty twenty five and coming
(13:51):
out of twenty twenty five? Does the defense look like
it's playing with some identity? This Christian Zalid fuck he's developed?
What do they do at receiver?
Speaker 4 (13:59):
Right?
Speaker 3 (14:00):
Have they hit on a couple of receivers? Is a
tackle situation look a little bit better? So, you know,
I think that there are things that like, I think
there are things that we can identify as problems that
you would hope that like would start to show the
signs of being fixed. And then and not that you
can be.
Speaker 4 (14:16):
Able to fix.
Speaker 3 (14:17):
All the biggest issues with Patriots have is that so
they have so many holes that happened to be at
premium positions. It's really hard to fix all of those
that wouldn't want to fell swoop, you know. And then
I think the development of young players is going to
be really important because you know, when he when he
walked into Tennessee, he did sort of have already made team,
you know, and that team had been in the playoffs
(14:38):
the year before. Dave de Parker Murray at running back,
Dereck Henry was the back of the time. I believe
Thede Marcus Mariotto was a young veteran at the time,
you know, So you had some pieces in place that
Kevin Byron was there in the secondary, and they had
they they had been a pretty good team the two
years previous hundered by ball Arkey. This team's behind where
(15:00):
that team was. Like, let's see, like we'll how the
young players are developing, Let's see how if the problems
are starting to be fixed. I think that's how you'll
be able to judge him in the year one. And
you know, I think where the honeymoon ends is if
you know those things, if you don't see some of
those things happening, regardless.
Speaker 4 (15:17):
Of whether or not a teams you know, more wins
than the.
Speaker 2 (15:20):
Scoreboard, does Josh become the O C.
Speaker 3 (15:23):
Yeah, I think it's possible. You know, Josh gonna have
a lot of interest, and there are gonna be teams
that are gonna lose their offensive coordinators for good reasons,
right like you know your destroys your Buffalo is Like
there'd be teams like that that are gonna lose their
offensive coordinators that I think will have an interest in Josh.
So there could be an opportunity for Josh to go
and join a winner. You then they're gonna be I think,
(15:46):
you know, other opportunities for Josh with first time head
coaches or new head coaches going into places that that
that they.
Speaker 4 (15:54):
Would have Josh on their list.
Speaker 3 (15:55):
So I think he's gonna have opportunity in different places.
And you know, I like I. I certainly think like
the New England is something he consider, But I don't
think it's the only possibility for him, you know, and
and and and I do think this undergreen Mike has
in the past at least leaned in different directions offensively.
(16:16):
So you know, how does he how does he see
Josh versus somebody who comes from the sort of west
coast system that we we saw him run and we saw.
Speaker 4 (16:26):
Him oversea, at least in Tennessee.
Speaker 3 (16:29):
I think that's another interesting question to ask.
Speaker 1 (16:31):
Yeah, the final thing here, Bert, I just heard it
was reported that Belichick had not signed his University of
North Carolina contract.
Speaker 2 (16:40):
Yep, what's going on.
Speaker 3 (16:43):
Not unusual, So they have I think it's I think
it's I think it's called a memory memorandum of understanding
that is more or less the term sheets. A long
perform contract hasn't been done yet. For context, this happened
in Michigan last year when Shrown Moore took the job
from Jim Harbor. I don't he look this up. I
(17:03):
don't think that contract was signed until September or October.
So obviously the question then is whether or not the
ten million dollar buyout applies. And I'm not going to
pretend that I'm smart enough to understand a contract well enough.
Speaker 4 (17:16):
To know whether it does. There could be some dispute
over that though.
Speaker 2 (17:18):
Well, I mean, I never wondered does he get hide
by like the Bears or.
Speaker 3 (17:23):
I mean, here's the thing, though, like, I think if
that was going to happen, I think, just from a
timing standpoint, and like like Bill, I don't think Bill's
going to go run off an interview with somebody, now, Okay,
it would kill him. It would kill him in recruiting, right,
which is like the lifeblood of building a college football team,
And I'd imagine it wouldn't go over well with his
(17:45):
new bosses. So I like, because of that, Gary, at
least at this point, it's hard for me to see
it happening unless someone just blindly comes in and flat
out and offers him the job. And that doesn't happen
very often in the NFL, you know what I mean,
where there's no vetting and there's no sit sit down
and meet and great and all that different stuff. So
I think at this point, like could it happened, I guess,
(18:08):
but you know it would take a pretty rare circumstance
where somebody just comes in and offers him the job.
I don't know. I don't know whether or not that happens.
Speaker 4 (18:17):
I would think probably not, but I've seen crazy. Bert.
Speaker 2 (18:20):
I owe you.
Speaker 1 (18:21):
Thank you for hanging out and talking to me, but
best of your family. Hope everybody's good and we'll talk soon.
Speaker 3 (18:28):
Do you too, Gary, appreciate you having no more problem.
Speaker 1 (18:30):
Burt Brier one of the good ones, Albert Breer. Albert
Breer is official byline. As Rob Brooks asked me, do
we put on the document out? I said, yes, you
put Albert Breer. Tom Currne only want to call them Albert.
I think even his mother.
Speaker 2 (18:42):
Still calls them Bert. So Burt Breer on what's going.
Speaker 1 (18:47):
I'm telling you that it's going to be interesting to
see what happens with the Rabes.
Speaker 2 (18:52):
Thanks get ugly.
Speaker 1 (18:53):
The media doesn't turn on you, the media does your job.
Then we'll see how that goes. Karen Miller is going
to join US Boston Globe. Where are all the teachers going?
Better paying jobs, probably less headaches, probably more support. Probably
Sam Medler and what's going on in California with the
(19:14):
wildfires and the weak in trump Land. It's all coming
up right here on wbz's Nightside.
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