Bill Belichick has given two interviews this offseason and on both occasions he praised Matt Patricia, who has returned to the organization following a few seasons as head coach of the Lions.
Belichick did it when speaking to the media for his pre-draft video conference and then did it again during a 1-on-1 with Scott Zolak for Patriots All-Access.
At least as of now, it seems Patricia is doing a lot of work on the personnel side.
“He’s done this for the last three years in a different organization, so he’s very familiar with our process, his process and all the things that go around that," Belichick said. "He’s been really a valuable resource and confidant and somebody to talk to who has been through the same things we’ve been through. His experience and perspective has been extremely valuable.”
The Patriots coach also noted things are going well when it comes to replacing Nick Caserio.
“Fantastic," he said. "Dave [Ziegler] and Eliot Wolf and Matt Groh have done a fantastic job of putting things together this spring. It’s been good to have Matt Patricia back and he’s been involved as well. I think we’ve gotten a lot done and I think we’re well prepared. We’ve got a lot of good information and hopefully we can make some good decisions here.”
The NFL Draft will begin Thursday night and the Patriots will select at No. 15 overall.