Pats Pulpit
One of the best offensive line coaches in NFL history is back in New England.
For the fifth year in a row, the New England Patriots will have somebody else coaching their offensive line. Doug Marrone, a former O-lineman who started his coaching career in the 1990s, was hired to work with the unit under head coach Mike Vrabel and offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels.
In order to help the 60-year-old make the transition to New England, the Patriots enlisted an old friend. Dante Scarnecchia, the team’s offensive line coach for five of its six Super Bowl wins, was brought in to consult Marrone.
Former Patriots assistant Bill O’Brien, a long-time friend of Marrone and current head coach at Boston College, confirmed the collaboration on his podcast.
“Dante’s already met with him a few times, which is good,” O’Brien said about Marrone arriving at One Patriot Place. “Dante’s back involved with the program, helping out as an advisor and things like that, and that’ll help Doug. Doug will do a great job with Josh.”
Scarnecchia spent a combined 34 years coaching in New England, most prominently as the team’s O-line coach under Bill Belichick. One of the most decorated assistant coaches in NFL history, he announced his retirement after the 2019 season.
However, the 76-year-old has remained involved with the team in a consulting role after stepping away — something that also is the case in 2025.
So, who will Scarnecchia be working with? According to O’Brien, Marrone gives the Patriots a “hard-nosed guy” leading the offensive line room.
“I feel like it’s a great move for the Patriots, great move by Mike,” he said. “He’s a great football coach. He’s very technical. He’s very knowledgable. He’ll understand that system. He worked for Sean Payton for many years in a similar type of system. He does a great job developing players.”
Marrone joining their new-look coaching staff was confirmed by the Patriots on Wednesday. He will be one of 26 assistants, and 22 new additions overall, to work under Mike Vrabel.
“It’s a good staff. A very, very strong coaching staff,” said O’Brien. “They just hired Todd Downing to coach wide receivers, which is a big hire. Now it’s going to come down to they got to get players in there. They got to get some receivers for this guy to throw to. They got to get some offensive linemen to protect him.”
