Mike Tomlin’s name keeps popping up as a possible NFL return, and if the New York Jets end up being the landing spot, that could create a headache the New England Patriots don’t need.
Bleacher Report’s Moe Moton named the Jets as a potential fit for Tomlin if he comes back to coaching next season. He’d have other - and better - options to weigh, but Moton’s case makes sense: Tomlin would be a strong match for that job. For the Patriots, that’s not exactly comforting news.
Tomlin’s track record against New England hasn’t been especially imposing in Foxborough. He went 3-10 against the Patriots before taking a Sabbatical, including 3-9 in the regular season and against Bill Belichick.
He’s also 3-0 against head coach Mike Vrabel. But if he does return, the landscape would look different now, and the matchup could be a lot less forgiving for the Patriots.
The problem is what Tomlin brings, even when the roster isn’t perfect. He’s not the coach you hire to solve an offense, and the Jets’ collection of promising weapons wouldn’t suddenly become something else under him.
But on the other side of the ball, he knows exactly how to build a defense that can dictate terms. He has spent years winning with tough, physical units and squeezing out games his team wasn’t supposed to win.
That’s the part New England would have to worry about. The Patriots have always had trouble with the Miami Dolphins, and the Buffalo Bills remain the division’s biggest threat and a legitimate Super Bowl contender. Adding another team that can turn games into ugly, low-scoring slugfests would only make life harder.
Even with Sauce Gardner and Quinnen Williams gone, the Jets still have a stout defense. With Tomlin in charge, that could become a hard-hitting front that gives Drake Maye trouble.
Of course, they’d still be the Jets, and they’d still have to prove they can stop tripping over themselves. Even a pile of valuable draft picks in a loaded class might not be enough to fix that franchise.
But Tomlin has spent more than a decade avoiding losing seasons, and that kind of steady, disciplined coaching is hard to ignore. It isn’t flashy, but it works. And for the Patriots, the last thing they need is another smart defensive mind twice a year.
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Patriots Fans Got An Immediate Reminder Of The Stefon Diggs Debate
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Diggs night also carried the sort of edge that has always come with him, as his touchdown celebration drew a 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty that affected Washingtons chance to line up for a two-point try. Even so, the bigger takeaway for Patriots fans was harder to miss: the veteran receiver still looked very much like a player who has not regressed, which only sharpens the hindsight around New Englands call. [Read more 🡒]
Patriots Already Face A Reggie Gilliam Question After Week 1
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That puts Gilliam in the middle of a subtle but important question for a team trying to get its run game moving. With A.J. Brown sidelined by injury, New England may need to lean harder on personnel that can help it create cleaner looks and more stability on the ground, and Gilliam fits that description as a potential piece of the answer. Whether his role grows quickly will say a lot about how the Patriots want to attack defenses after a Week 1 opener that exposed some familiar issues. [Read more 🡒]
Patriots Make Another Early Depth Move Ahead Of Week 2
The Patriots continued fine-tuning their back end this week, making another round of practice squad changes as they prepare for Week 2. New England added wide receiver Chandler Brayboy and outside linebacker Xavier Holmes, a pair of moves that gives the team a little more depth at two spots while also keeping the roster churn moving early in the season. To make room, the Patriots released running back Hassan Haskins and safety Elliott Davison from the practice squad.
Brayboy and Holmes now get a chance to settle into the system, while the departures of Haskins and Davison show how fluid these early-season depth decisions can be. For a team still sorting out its weekly layering of position groups, the practice squad remains a useful place to keep options open, and these kinds of moves often hint at where the staff wants a little extra insurance heading into the next game. [Read more 🡒]