• yesterday
CLNS Media’s Taylor Kyles and SI’s Mike Kadlick sit down with ESPN’s Daniel Oyefusi for an in-depth look at Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel’s 2024 season with the Cleveland Browns

************************************************
Patriots Content Brought to you by....
💰 Prize Picks - https://prizepicks.onelink.me/LME0/CLNS
Download the app today and use Code CLNS at PrizePicks.com/CLNS & Get $50 instantly when you play $5!

🎫 Gametime - https://gametime.co
Take the guesswork out of buying NFL tickets with Gametime. Download the Gametime app, create an account, and use code CLNS for $20 off your first purchase. Download Gametime today. Terms apply. What time is it? Gametime!

Category

🥇
Sports
Transcript
00:00I am joined by Robert Griffin, the third James White field. Yes, Mina Kimes. All right. So
00:10first play, we're going to look at second into one of the Patriots first offensive plays.
00:17What is going on everybody? Mike Caddick, Taylor Kyles here for CLNS media back with
00:22another episode of the Patriots daily podcast powered by prize picks and powered by game
00:27time. And today we are joined by a very, very, very special guest. It's Daniel Oyefusey
00:33from ESPN covers the Cleveland Browns. And I'd also be remiss to not thank a loyal listener.
00:39Dan Farris of the show had to give him a shout out. Daniel's old roommate put us in touch
00:45with Dan who, like we said, was in Cleveland last season for what I've kind of considered
00:51Mike variable's gap year sabbatical in between coaching staffs.
00:54And we've heard a lot about it, right? You know, he was a consultant, he did this, he
00:57did that. But again, Daniel was there for the whole thing. So we want to take a deep
01:01dive into that. But before we do so, Daniel, thank you so much for joining us and how we
01:06doing today. I'm doing great. Thanks for having me. Yeah. It's kind of funny how this all
01:09came together. Kind of serendipitous, I guess, but I'm glad to be here with y'all. Yeah,
01:12we love serendipity. Yeah, exactly. So let's start right off the bat. Right. I mentioned
01:18that it's this whole story of variable going, taking a year off, learning some different,
01:25you know, offensive stuff, defensive things, uh, as a consultant, but from your understanding,
01:30I guess, overview, like what did variables role truly look like for this last year working
01:35with the fancy work with Andrew Barry in the front office? Yeah. So he, he really, uh,
01:40came to Cleveland or kind of return. No, he's an Akron guy. Um, you know, how's the guy
01:44he kind of returned back, uh, and as a consultant role in terms of coaching personnel scouting.
01:50Um, and it was really like the, the Browns saw it as an opportunity for them to bring
01:54in a very well-respected coach. I'm coached with, with local ties, grew up a Browns fan.
01:58Um, and just like, just use him as, you know, he, as he allowed and use his wealth of knowledge.
02:04Um, I don't think that there was a set kind of guideline or set role that they
02:08envisioned for him. You know, he, he joined them around March, which was kind of prime scouting
02:12period. So, uh, Andrew Barry, the general manager did lean on him as kind of an extra set of eyes
02:16from what I've been told. I'm saying, Hey, like, can you look at some film of these guys?
02:20Kind of write some reports. Let me know what you think about those guys. Um, and as, as we
02:23got into OTA, as we got to the season, uh, you really saw him as, um, I think, uh, Andrew
02:28Barry described him as like the world's like most respected, uh, quality control coach.
02:32Like you saw him, you know, he was lining up in, in walkthroughs and install as a, as a safety,
02:37as a, as a middle linebacker, uh, he's running with, uh, Jamis Winston and getting stuff
02:42over there. Uh, and at the beginning of the year, we really saw him work, uh, with the tight end,
02:46specifically, you know, they saw it as, you know, a former linebacker, a defensive guy,
02:49they wanted to use his defensive expertise to help the opposite side of the ball.
02:53So he was working with David and joke with their Pro Bowl tight end and a lot of the tight ends.
02:57Um, and as the, the season, uh, shifted his role, uh, kind of shifted as well. You know,
03:01obviously that was a offense that struggled a bit, uh, you know, with Sean Watson before he
03:05went down and shuffling through quarterbacks and the offensive line, which was usually a
03:09pillar of strength for that team. Um, they, they were struggling. So they kind of shifted him and
03:14he was coaching up those guys. And from what I'm told, uh, you know, I checked in with some,
03:18some officials, some higher ranking folks in Cleveland. Um, and they said he had a really
03:21big impact, uh, on kind of stabilizing that group, so to speak, you know, they did have some,
03:25some young coaches in there and they had some new, uh, some new coaches, some turnover that year.
03:29Um, but variables, they were to come in, really work with a lot of the young guys, guys who were
03:32kind of the backups that were called into action and really stabilize that group specifically with
03:36the one Jones, um, who's an Ohio state guy. Um, they're really talented, um, uh, tackle.
03:42He was kind of struggling during the year with, with weight, with conditioning. Um, they moved
03:46him over to left tackle. Um, you know, from what I've been told, you know, they, they really credit
03:49Rabel, uh, for kind of forming that relationship with them and helping them even through his rehab.
03:53Cause he fractured his leg, um, in November and he was lost for the rest of the year,
03:58but they said, Rabel was still working with him, helping him through his rehab.
04:01Um, so the people that I spoke to said they had nothing but glowing reviews about his time. And
04:06they were like, Hey, if you were still with us, you know, we'd love to have them getting ready to
04:09scout some, scout some draft guys, but obviously he's a gone off the greener pastures.
04:14And the Browns are pretty awesome to let them out of the contract and let him pursue another
04:18job. Of course. So I'm curious, you mentioned like he was working around, like doing different
04:22things with different people in the Browns obviously struggled last season, but when it
04:26comes to personnel in the front office and building a team, there are one of the teams
04:30that's really at the forefront when it comes to that area. So I'm curious, what is it with
04:34your in-depth knowledge of the organization that sets them apart when it comes to coaching Kevin
04:39Stefanski coach of the year, right? Also personnel, Andrew Barry. Yeah. The Deshaun Watson thing
04:44doesn't look good, but for the most part, a lot of their moves have been pretty great.
04:48So what is it that makes them special? And what can Patriots fans hope that Mike
04:51Rabel took from his time in Cleveland? Yeah. I think back to a conversation I
04:55had with, uh, with Andrew Barry, even before I joined this, but you know, years ago, he's a,
04:59he's a local Baltimore guy. I'm, I'm from Baltimore. Um, and I was writing a story on
05:03him, uh, during his first year, he spoke about how, and Kevin's fancy spoke to this as well,
05:07about how, um, the word alignment, like, uh, Andrew Barry was with that team when they went
05:12through that, that rough stretch of, I believe it was one in 31, oh, and oh, and 16, and everyone
05:17was fired. And, um, he eventually went to Philly, I believe, and he was brought back.
05:20Um, but he spoke about having alignment from, from top to bottom. So like, uh, um, an overall
05:25understanding, um, of, you know, the vision, the organization of the organization and how decisions
05:30are going to be made. Um, and I think that again, you know, the Deshaun Watson move has really
05:34backfired on them, but for the most part, um, this has really been, you know, outside of this
05:37past year, it's been the most kind of prosperous time for, for, for the Cleveland franchise since
05:41they returned, um, back to the city in 1999. A lot of that is just, um, Andrew Barry and Kevin
05:46Stefanski being really in sync about the decisions, uh, that are made. And then obviously, you know,
05:50I think we're going to get into it a little bit later, but, um, the way they've been able to,
05:53to, you know, kind of infuse, uh, analytics into the decision making, and maybe not it be like
05:59every decision is made solely off of analytics, but like using it, using that as a data point,
06:03because, you know, like the film was a data point. You look at the film, uh, to, to study
06:07prospects and, and, and make game plans and whatnot, but then you bring in the numbers to
06:10kind of give you another piece of information, uh, that can help you into your decision-making.
06:14So, um, I think that, you know, we're very well given an opportunity to not only spend time with
06:18the coaching staff, but with the front office and have those conversations. Um, you know, he,
06:21he kind of, I think it was really mutually beneficial because they were able to tap into
06:25his wealth of knowledge, but then he was able to kind of see how another organization goes about
06:29its business and maybe take some bits and pieces, uh, you know, here and there, even though it
06:32wasn't the most successful season on the field. Now, correct me if I'm wrong, were Andrew Barry
06:38and Kevin Stavansky didn't come in at the same time, right? They did. They did. They did. Okay.
06:43So I kind of want to build off that then because Elliot Wolfe is in the front office right now for
06:48the Patriots. He's their vice president of player personnel. And obviously Mike Bravo comes in as
06:53head coach, but a year after, so they're on kind of different paths. And you mentioned having that
06:58organizational kind of North star shared vision. How difficult do you think that can be when a guy
07:05in variable has to come in and sort of work with a different front office and not being on the same
07:09page? Like, yeah, I look at it and, um, you know, Stavansky and Barry come in at the same time.
07:14The Niners come in John Lynch, Kevin, uh, Kyle Shanahan come in at the same time when you're on
07:19sort of different paths, way pathways, how difficult can it be? Do you think it can work?
07:24And variable mentioned that too, in his opening press conference with the Patriots where
07:28we don't always have to be on the same page, but we want to work together
07:31to disagree, but disagree in sort of a constructive way.
07:35Yeah. That last point was really key. Cause I think that that's a big thing in Cleveland,
07:38where it's not necessarily that everyone is agreeing every single step of the way,
07:43but there is an organizational alignment that like, Hey, um, this is how we're going to go about it.
07:47And we're going to make sure that we're all on the same page and do our best to get the
07:50intended outcome. Um, and overall, that's a really good question because, you know,
07:54we know how his time in Tennessee ended with the change in general manager and in the front office
07:59and whatnot. You know, I'd like to think that as part of, you know, the, the discussions that
08:03Bravo had, um, with ownership, with the powers that be over a new England, you know, there was
08:09that kind of understanding of, you know, how that relationship was going to work, how decision
08:12making was going to be made. Um, and I would, I would think that like, especially after things
08:16ended in Tennessee, he wouldn't step into, uh, a new opportunity without really having a clear
08:21understanding of everyone's roles and a kind of hierarchy and ranking in the organization.
08:25So I really don't have a ton of, uh, uh, worries about that, uh, per se.
08:31As a quick follow-up to that, I was wondering in Cleveland, who does have final say, like you said,
08:35there needs to be a difference of opinion, but somebody has got to be, you know, the final
08:39decision maker. So is that Stefanski does he say, Hey, Andrew, that's on you. Where exactly,
08:45you know, is that last line chain of command? Yeah. That's the point of contention in Cleveland
08:48right now, especially with, uh, everyone trying to wonder what happened with the Sean, but I will
08:52say like, they do have it pretty set that like the coaching decisions are Kevin Stefanski. When it
08:57comes to making decisions on game plan, on hiring coaches, his staff, that's Kevin Stefanski, um,
09:03in terms of, you know, player acquisition, player personnel, like Andrew Barry is the final, um, he
09:09has final say on that, but obviously like they always say like, we always talk like Andrew Barry
09:13and Kevin Stefanski, they say we always have those deliberations and those conversations,
09:17but when it comes to actual player personnel, you know, Andrew Barry is the guy that's leading
09:21that effort. Interesting. All right. You mentioned analytics earlier. I want to kind of dive into
09:26that now, because that seems to be at the forefront of this Cleveland Browns team.
09:30Um, they've it's been raved about it. Paul, excuse me, Paul D Podesta, the baseball guy
09:36comes in and sort of is running their analytics department. The Patriot just brought in Joe
09:40McDonald from the Red Sox. Uh, so there's this sort of baseball side of the numbers game that
09:46both teams are now using. What is it about this raved about analytics department in Cleveland
09:51that works so well? And why are they seemingly like on top of this numbers game in football?
09:56I mean, truthfully it's the numbers game is the numbers game. The fact that they have the biggest
10:00staff in, in the NFL, you know, uh, every year for the past couple of years, ESPN has been
10:05publishing a story on, um, a poll of the analytics departments across the NFL. And, um, you know,
10:12you hear the responses and what people are saying across the league. It's like
10:15Cleveland just has so much invested. Um, obviously that kind of starts with, uh,
10:19Paul D Podesta as the chief strategy officer. And it's kind of a nebulous title, honestly,
10:23in Cleveland, people are wondering like, if he's like a shadow GM or like, what is he doing?
10:27Um, but then like, you know, you go down and they have just so many people, um, in various,
10:31um, analytical titles who are, who are, um, cranking out information and statistics,
10:37whether that's, um, contributing to, to coaching, to game planning, to training, to, uh, to scouting.
10:43Um, and again, it's not so much that like, they're just making decisions solely based on
10:47the analytics, but they're using, uh, those analytics, um, and marrying it with the scouting
10:52process as an additional data point and a reference point. So you can make the best,
10:57uh, decisions, uh, possible. And, um, again, this past season really backfired on the Browns.
11:02Um, but, but it's hard to, to not look at their, their overall body of work since, you know,
11:07that duo came in chemistry, fancy Andrew Barry in 2020. And they've kind of started to implement
11:11this, this vision that they've had. Um, and you know, it's, we've seen two playoff appearances,
11:15a playoff win, um, and a lot more success than, you know, the Browns of maybe your, you know,
11:20your dad's days, or maybe your brother's days are days to be honest. Yeah. Oh man.
11:25They, uh, if only they kept that Baker Mayfield down there, killing it in Tampa Bay, but Hey,
11:30no, you're right. I mean, I think it outside of that quarterback decision, it really has been
11:34a complete, uh, one 80 for that Cleveland team since the one in 32 days. So, uh, looking forward
11:40to seeing what variable can do and bring over analytics wise from that team. Uh, we're going
11:44to wrap up our conversation with Daniel on the Browns, but first a quick word from our friends
11:49over a prize picks. We'll be right back. Prize picks is the best place to get real money sports
11:55action with over 10 million members and billions of dollars in awarded winnings.
11:59Prize picks has made daily fantasy sports accessible to all. And all you have to do
12:03is pick more or less on at least two players for a shot to win up to 1000 times your cash,
12:09run your game all season long on prize picks. And the big game in the NFL is almost here,
12:14which means it's now or never don't miss out on the last football game of the season with prize
12:20picks the best place to win cash while watching the game. Prize picks is also giving away a free
12:25pick for the big game where one of the starting quarterbacks will only need to throw for one
12:31yard to win. And if you're correct on at least one more stat projection, you will win real cash.
12:36So sign up today on the prize picks app, you'll get $50 instantly. When you play $5, you don't
12:42even need to win to receive the $50 bonus. It's guaranteed. So make sure you sign up today,
12:48download the app and use code CLNS to get $50 instantly. After you play your first $5 lineup,
12:54that's code CLNS to get $50 instantly. After you play your first $5 lineup prize picks run your
13:02game. Taylor, I know I mentioned on yesterday's show about my prize picks lineup and how I was
13:07going to get back to it with the Celtics, unfortunately over too. So we got to get back
13:13got to get back to it for a conference championship weekend. We'll have our
13:16picks coming out every single week here on Patriot sailors. So if you want to join in the
13:20fun head over a use code CLNS, you get $50 instantly after you play your first $5 lineup.
13:26So Daniel, you mentioned player acquisition. You mentioned coach hiring. Are there any
13:32players or coaches that you think Mike Vrabel might end up poaching from Cleveland? Tommy
13:36Reese obviously was the headliner. He has now been promoted to offensive coordinator.
13:40So he's out of the running, but were there any connections? I know Dewan Jones, but he's, you
13:44know, he's probably going to be there for a while, sit on his rookie deal. Was there any connections
13:48he made that kind of stood out that was like, ah, if Mike Vrabel gets another head coaching job,
13:53that person just might follow him to wherever he goes. Yeah. Tommy Reese was obviously the one
13:57that we were all kind of watching for in Cleveland. And, um, you know, from, from what I was told
14:01there, there was, you know, some real interest, you know, uh, mutually potentially, but obviously,
14:05um, Cleveland and Stefanski made sure to kind of give him that promotion real quick.
14:09Um, the thing about the thing about the, uh, most time in Cleveland, it's like he didn't come in
14:13with a ton of connections. I think that the connections that he did have, uh, were specifically
14:17Bubba Ventron, the special teams coach and assistant head coach. So it's kind of tough to,
14:21to kind of give him a, a promotion. I'm not sure if there's anything left there for him.
14:26So it was going to be tough to take him Jim Swartz, um, who, you know, he actually brought
14:30on in a sort of consultant role. Um, he's a defensive coordinator, so it's going to be
14:34tough to take him away. Um, but, but player wise, you know, the Browns don't have a ton of, you know,
14:39kind of marquee names or anybody out there set to hit free agency outside of maybe Nick Chubb.
14:44Um, but you know, if we're kind of staying on the theme of him, uh, working with the offensive line,
14:48um, Jessica Wills is set to be, uh, his contract is going to avoid, so he's going to be
14:52unrestricted free agent. Um, you know, he's a former force round pick, um, top, you know, 15,
14:5712 picks. So, uh, I believe, um, the past couple of years he's been hurt and he hasn't been as
15:01consistent. Um, but he does still have that pedigree and the physical ability. I'm not sure,
15:06um, how much, uh, variable got to work with him just because he was in and out the lineup so much.
15:10Um, but you know, looking at the Patriots needs offensive line tackle, um, that's something that
15:14they're going to look to upgrade. Um, he's a guy that I think that if you want to take a flyer on
15:18just the youth, uh, the, the physical skillset, and maybe it can blossom into something and you
15:23kind of get a bang for your buck. He's a guy that maybe, uh, he, he could tap, uh, he could, you
15:27know, take over, uh, the new England. Kind of reminds me of McKay Becton a little bit, like
15:31the guy with the pedigree got hurt, didn't live up to it, but probably isn't going to be very
15:36expensive for all those reasons. Hopefully wherever he goes, he can put it together and
15:39the young man can find some success. Exactly. So before we let you go and get you out of here,
15:44Daniel, uh, from the outside looking in, I just have one last question with what you've seen from
15:48Drake Bay, with what you've seen from Mike Brable in Cleveland, can you give Patriots fans some hope?
15:54Was this the right hire? Should they have went Ben Johnson was Mike Brable, like again, from what
15:59you've heard and what you've seen, do you think this can be successful in the Patriots can actually
16:02turn this around with him as a head coach? Once again, I mean, I I'll be honest. I'll be honest.
16:07I've been telling a lot of my friends, a lot of people I've been telling Dan, you know, I'm
16:10expecting at least eight or nine wins next year. I mean, if, and I see it, I see it this way,
16:17if Drake May is the guy that we all expect him to be as a, as a, as a top pick, um, in last year's
16:23draft, um, you got so many resources. I'm not sure exactly the exact amount of cap space, but they're
16:28going to be able to make some moves and then you're going to have some, some high draft picks.
16:31Um, Brable is a guy, he's a, he's a, he's a floor raiser. I believe like, you know, you look back to
16:37what he did in, in Tennessee, kind of taking teams that maybe didn't have the most talent,
16:40but, you know, being a tough physical team and able to grind, grind, grind out wins.
16:45Um, you know, if they're able to kind of hit some, hit on some pieces and free agency,
16:49hit on some pieces in the draft, um, and then you surround him, Drake May specifically,
16:53I'm speaking about, uh, with the right infrastructure in terms of the players.
16:58I think that we could see, I mean, we've seen the past couple of years with the commanders,
17:01with the Broncos, with teams like that, where you go from three, four, five, six wins.
17:06And then you're, you know, in the playoffs, um, I see no reason, uh, why the Patriots can't do
17:10that in 2025. That was awesome. That was awesome. Thank you so much. People made it. This was, uh,
17:17this was fun. We appreciate the insight. We appreciate the info. Uh, one more thing before
17:21we let you get out of here. Where can people find you? I know you have a ton of great stuff
17:25on the Cleveland Browns. What are you up to? Where do we follow you? And where do we find
17:28all your good stuff? Yeah, you can find all my work at ESPN.com. Uh, follow me on social media,
17:34Twitter, Instagram at Daniel Yafusi, just like you see, uh, right below me.
17:39Awesome. Thank you so much. This was fun. Thank you for joining us, Daniel. And hopefully again,
17:42if there's some Cleveland Browns connection, maybe a game coming up, I don't know if they
17:46play this year, but I think they do. I believe they do. Let's go. We'll get you back on the
17:50show. We'll do a joint preview. We'll talk about, uh, Pat's first brand. So thank you again.
18:00All right. That was cool. Taylor, any quick thoughts we're going to, uh,
18:03actually to give you guys some, uh, figure out who's here and who's listening live.
18:07We're going to hit on a couple more quick Patriots news and notes, uh, that have happened
18:11today and yesterday, but first of all, Taylor thoughts from Daniel, what do you think? Does
18:15it give you any more hope about Mike variable and what's going to happen with the past year?
18:19Daniel's awesome. Honestly, I love little family that we have here and a little quilt of, uh,
18:24you know, different guests, everything over at Pat's daily, but it does give me a little bit
18:28more hope. Um, a lot of it is kind of what I was hoping with the analytics where, because
18:32the Browns just have so many resources, you would hope that being there and being exposed to would
18:37help them out a little bit. Jedrick wills, honestly, the profile that he gave made me a
18:41little more optimistic that the Patriots could, if they didn't want to, you know, blow a ton of
18:45money on left tackle necessarily, he could be an option, you know, maybe more, a little bit more
18:49affordable. Um, what did you think? I'm curious. Cause a lot of it was what I was hoping to hear.
18:56Yeah. Um, and not a whole lot that scared me, which is nice. But what did you think is you're
19:00better at spotting the red flags? So I like, I like not hearing the red flags, right? I like how,
19:07you know, being so in the new England ecosystem, it's we'll bring Vrabel back and bring McDaniel's
19:13back. Cause there are guys that people hate that. It's like, go get some outside perspective, but I
19:17think it's good. Not only that Vrabel has that outside perspective, but that somebody who watched
19:22him and saw what happened with him throughout the entire 2024 season actually sees as well that,
19:29uh, you know, it's, it's not just some, some local Patriots person who were taking for, uh,
19:36you know, taking their opinion on variable, right. He actually saw it last year. It's not,
19:40and he had nothing bad to say. It was, Oh, variable is a cold. I like the floor razor
19:44too. Like eight or nine wins and here we go. So, uh, definitely some good stuff there. So again,
19:49we appreciate Daniel joining us. We'll have him on before the Cleveland Browns game next season.
19:55I'm excited. And we'll have some fun. Uh, all right, let's get to the news and notes
19:59for the Patriots. And we'll start, I think we start with the, we'll start most recent
20:04Terrell Williams, according to Matt Zenitz of CBS sports and 24 seven sports. Uh, he's been
20:10involved in the college game a lot, but he has a recent report that the Patriots are targeting
20:15lions, defensive line coach, Terrell Williams to be their next defensive coordinator under Mike
20:20variable. So, uh, that seems to be the report. I don't know if anybody else has confirmed it just
20:24yet, but it kind of felt like this is where it was going all along. So we do have DC, uh,
20:30in Mike, the first to directly Mike Reese, was he the first to directly report that he was the
20:35Patriots top target? I believe he was. And then it was Ryan Crow, Bobby King. And then there was
20:41one more name in there as well. But yeah, Terrell Williams, cause he was the assistant head coach
20:45under variable. It seems like someone he values pretty highly. Although I do know Ryan Crow,
20:49Ohio state guy, they were together in Ohio state and Tennessee, those connections.
20:54He also seems like a very well-respected coach. I saw him. There was a video of him addressing
20:58Ohio state and the command that he had and the way the players are responding to him and like
21:03little huddle after practice or something was pretty significant. I feel like he's another
21:06guy that they'll at least, um, want to join the staff. Also Miami could block them, I think,
21:10from interviewing him if they want division rival, but yeah, Terrell Williams just makes
21:14the most sense. A hundred percent. Um, all right, let's get to the old offensive coordinator news
21:18in a second, but first a quick word from our friends at game time. We'll be right back.
21:22This episode is also powered by game time, the best place to get tickets to anything,
21:27concerts, games, and more. They have the game time picks feature that makes getting tickets
21:33even easier. It filters out the fluff and only shows you incredible deals on great seats. So
21:38you don't have to waste time searching through thousands of tickets to find the best value.
21:42They also have the lowest price guarantee, and they have seat views to check out exactly what
21:47it's going to look like from your seat. So make sure you download the game time app today to
21:52take the guesswork out of buying tickets, download the app, create an account and use code CLNS for
21:58$20 off your first purchase terms apply again, create an account and redeem code CLNS for $20
22:04off download game time today. Last minute tickets, lowest price guaranteed. Why does your camera do
22:13camera? It's it's putting the eyes on your phone.
22:20You should have seen during the break. I wasn't playing attention. I was like,
22:23I was like texting you on either screen. I look up and it's just my eyes.
22:27That is so funny. Oh my God. We'll head over to Terrell Williams before we move on. This is my
22:33get out of jail free card. I actually do have to read this. I was just going to say, head over to
22:36game time, use that code CLNS, get those $20 off your first purchase terms always apply.
22:42That thing in my eyes, stop moving. It's distracting me, but game time, do it all in
22:50price. That's it. I always talk about the all in price, but it's the best thing because I hate those
22:53damn fees at the end, but you don't have those with game time. If you turn on that features,
22:56head over there, use that code CLNS, you get $20 off your first purchase terms apply.
23:00All right, Taylor, what do you got for us on Terrell Williams before we move on to the rest
23:03of the OCS? Another thing was Mike Vrabel. In addition to making him the assistant head coach,
23:08actually let him be the head coach for a preseason game. I forgot about that, but I do
23:13remember him doing the press conference where he said that he thanked Mike and said, this is pretty
23:17awesome that I'm even getting this opportunity. So that's another kind of piece I wanted to throw
23:22on the ring there. These two are very well connected. I know that there's a chance that
23:25Detroit could also promote him, but I would be pretty stunned if he doesn't go back with
23:29Vrabel considering how much respect they clearly have for each other. I think so too. It seems like
23:34the right choice. It sounds like he's going to be coming this way. I know that the Crow interview
23:41was just a request, right? That hasn't actually... Yeah, just a request.
23:45So interesting. So, I mean, it makes the most sense. There's the connection there. I do feel
23:48bad for Dan Campbell and the Lions. There has just been an attrition of coaches there. It sounds like
23:54Aaron Glenn's probably going to go to the Jets today. Ben Johnson obviously went to Chicago
23:58and Terrell Williams losing that type of leader along their defensive line. It's tough stuff,
24:03but sounds good for the Patriots, someone who Vrabel knows and trusts.
24:07We do have other offensive coordinator news today as well. Sports Illustrated's Albert Breer
24:11reports that Grant Udinski has already interviewed for the Patriots offensive coordinator job.
24:18That is the third known candidate along with Thomas Brown and Marcus Brady. Udinski has worked
24:23with the Minnesota Vikings for the last couple of seasons directly under head coach Kevin O'Connell.
24:29He was the assistant to O'Connell in his first season, has moved on to assistant quarterbacks
24:34coach and assistant offensive coordinator this year with Josh McCown. So they are there working
24:40together and it sounds like he is on the Patriots radar. So what do you make of this move? What do
24:45you make of the fact that we haven't heard much on the Josh McDaniels front just yet and they're
24:49still slowly trickling in these candidates for OC? I would hope that we're not hearing anything
24:54about Josh because they're trying to be smart and not just like throwing his name out there
24:59and making it very obvious he's their guy if he in fact is. But I do like the interview because I
25:04like that it's another coach who has experience not only working with an offense coordinating
25:08an offense and all that but also actually working with quarterbacks. Like I said I think that's
25:12going to be critical for whoever takes over this offensive coordinator job and also someone that
25:17as Evan Lazar pointed out because he knows much more about league-wide coaching staffs than I do
25:21this is a guy that the Vikings have been trying to make sure they kept in house. So the Vikings are
25:26holding him in that high esteem clearly he's a guy who's doing quite a bit for them wears a lot
25:31of hats. So I like it if he's one of the next up-and-coming you know stars on offense again
25:37I really like the idea of a Josh McDaniels who's never going to leave but if it's a guy who can
25:41bring innovation to your offense maybe he can create his own little pipeline. It's not the
25:45worst thing in the world but obviously with Mike Vrabel's history of actually hiring um offense
25:51coordinators not just promoting them from within you know it makes you a little nervous. I want I
25:55think so too and I want to correct myself I did say that McCown's the OC there. Here's the
25:59quarterbacks coach it's Wes Phillips who is the Vikings offensive coordinator. Wade Phillips son
26:04actually they have so many smart minds on that offensive side of the football in Minnesota. You
26:09talk about O'Connell actually calling the play as Wes Phillips as the OC and then you have Udinski
26:13as the co-OC or the assistant OC. Quarterbacks coach with him and Josh McCown. I feel like that's
26:19four guys that you really want to keep there and it sounds like each one aside from Wes Phillips
26:24who's the actual coordinator McCown's getting head coaching interviews. He could become an
26:28OC if he wants to leave as quarterbacks coach so it'll be interesting to see what happens there
26:34and Patriots continue on with this OC search. Defensive coordinator Troy Williams sounds like
26:39he's coming in and slowly but surely we will have an offensive coordinator so I believe that's going
26:44to do it today for us here on a quick hitter Patriots Daily. If you missed it earlier we
26:49interviewed Daniel Oyefusey from ESPN. The Cleveland Browns reporter told us all about
26:54the happenings and what happened with Mike Vrabel in Cleveland in his sabbatical gap year. Took a
26:59year off went and learned abroad in his hometown or his home state of Ohio so good stuff there from
27:05Daniel if you missed it back up and check that all out. We'll be back tomorrow for our Wednesday
27:10mailbag as we always do we'll ask for questions in the morning so make sure to keep it locked in
27:13here on Patriots Press Pass and until next time thank you all for watching. Take care of yourselves,
27:19take care of each other and we will see you next time. Peace out everyone.

Recommended