Locked On Patriots - Daily Podcast On The New England Patriots - New England Patriots: Chiefs vs. Pats Dynasty; Brady, Mahomes GOAT? Hightower and more: Mailbag

Episode Date: February 14, 2024

The New England Patriots may be a long way from contending for their seventh Super Bowl championship. However, their six rings still make them the NFL’s premier dynasty — even after the Kansas City Chiefs victory over the San Francisco 49ers in Super Bowl LVIII. Joining host Mike D’Abate is Thomas ‘Murph’ Murphy to discuss the Pats-Chiefs comparisons, why Patrick Mahomes is great, but Tom Brady is still the GOAT and the Patriots new-look coaching staff in this Mailbag episode. #nfl #patriots Find and follow Locked On Patriots on your favorite podcast platforms:Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast...Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1c5ZxFm...Stitcher: https://www.stitcher.com/show/locked-...And follow host Mike D’Abate on X, where he’ll be sharing the latest news about the New England Patriots and talking with fans — @mdabateNFLSupport Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!eBay MotorsFor parts that fit, head to eBay Motors and look for the green check. Stay in the game with eBay Guaranteed Fit at eBayMotos.com. Let’s ride. eBay Guaranteed Fit only available to US customers. Eligible items only. Exclusions apply.NissanOur friends at Nissan have a lineup of SUV’s with the capabilities to take your adventure to the next level. Take the Nissan Rogue, Nissan Pathfinder, or Nissan Armada and go find your next big adventure. Shop NissanUSA.com.BetterHelpThis episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. Make your brain your friend, with BetterHelp. Visit BetterHelp.com/LOCKEDON today to get 10% off your first month.PrizePicksGo to PrizePicks.com/lockedonnfl and use code lockedonnfl for a first deposit match up to $100!GametimeDownload the Gametime app, create an account, and use code LOCKEDON for $20 off your first purchase.FanDuelGet buckets with your first bet on FanDuel, America’s Number One Sportsbook. Right now, NEW customers get ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY DOLLARS in BONUS BETS with any winning FIVE DOLLAR BET! That’s A HUNDRED AND FIFTY BUCKS – if your bet wins! Visit FanDuel.com/LOCKEDON to get started.FANDUEL DISCLAIMER: 21+ in select states. First online real money wager only. Bonus issued as nonwithdrawable free bets that expires in 14 days. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit FanDuel.com/RG (CO, IA, MD, MI, NJ, PA, IL, VA, WV), 1-800-NEXT-STEP or text NEXTSTEP to 53342 (AZ), 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org/chat (CT), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN), 1-800-522-4700 (WY, KS) or visit ksgamblinghelp.com (KS), 1-877-770-STOP (LA), 1-877-8-HOPENY or text HOPENY (467369) (NY), TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

You are Locked On Patriots, your daily New England Patriots podcast. Part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day. Hello to all of you, Foxborough faithful, and thank you once again for making Lockdown Patriots a daily part of your New England Patriots coverage and also your first listen each and every day. Remember, Lockdown Patriots is free and available on all platforms, including YouTube, so smash that subscribe button, download, follow wherever you get your podcasts to ensure that you get the latest episode as soon as it's available.

I'm your host, Mike Debate. I cover your New England Patriots for Patriots Country of Fan Nation. So reach out to me and let me know what's on your mind on X at M-D-A-B-A-T-E-N-F-L. And while you're out there showing some much deserved love to Lockdown Patriots via social media, please follow our account there as well at LO underscore Patriots. And Pats fans, today's episode is brought to you by FanDuel. Make every moment more. Right now, new customers get $150 in bonus bets with any winning $5 bet.

That's $150 if your bet wins. Visit FanDuel.comuel.com to get started. And Pats fans, thank you very much for joining us here today on Mailbag Tuesday. Feeling a little under the weather on Monday, especially knowing the outcome of Sunday's game. No, I kid you not, folks. We know I love my Kansas City brethren. I could not resist the joke. But bottom line, we ran into some weather problems on Tuesday.

And if there's elements out there, it means Newman doesn't deliver the mail. He doesn't work in the elements, Murph. He just doesn't like it. He doesn't like the rain. You can't imagine him liking snow any better. But here we are, folks. The mailbag did get delivered. We've sorted through.

And once again, we have a phenomenal slew of questions for you today and here to help me break them all down is the man the mailbag was created for the man mondays were created for here on lockdown patriots my good friend the count of murphy fisto himself a legendary thomas murphy thank you for coming to me in friendship today on this mailbag tuesday don't murph that's's it, man. A little Telegraph Tuesday. I hope to live up to the hype and keep it as real as possibly can when I'm working on no sleep.

You know what? A sleepless Murph might be exactly the Murph we need on this Tuesday. Murph, where else are we going to start? We start with the Super Bowl champions. Super Bowl 58 is in the books. The Kansas City Chiefs defeating the San Francisco 49ers 25-22. An overtime victory. The last time the Super Bowl went to overtime, Murph, Super Bowl 51. And we all know what happened.

Tom Brady leading the New England Patriots back from a 28-3 deficit. Yeah, that's right, folks. We're going to find any way to incorporate 28-3 into our discussion simply because it's that damn good. But, Murph, the Chiefs' victory definitely illuminates a lot in the world of the NFL. It's their third Super Bowl victory in the last five years, looking at three Super Bowl MVPs for one Patrick Mahomes. You can hear the chatter all over. The New England Patriots, the Kansas City Chiefs, Dynasty. Murph, you and I both know that

six championships is more than three. I think some people in the national media have difficulty understanding that concept, but what the Chiefs have done over the course of the last five seasons is truly something to marvel at, folks. It definitely is something to be proud of, and they deserve the accolades for doing that. But when it comes to the actual dynasty talk, and you talk about this Chiefs team now being on par or maybe sitting at the same table or in the same discussion now with the New England Patriots you're hearing a lot of the same things about Patrick Mahomes and Tom Brady as he entered the GOAT conversation can he be considered the greatest

of all time with what he's done at such a young age Murph I think I know which way you're going to go on this one but you know what our? Our good friend, our longtime everydayer, the guy that actually defines, I think, the word everydayer here on Locked On Patriots, our good friend Ted from Chickapee Mass wants to know, Murph, our first question of Mailbag Tuesday, are Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs at the same table with Tom Brady and the New England Patriots? No, no, they're not.

It's just, no. You know, it's a fantastic feat. I'm not taking anything away from anybody here. What Patty has been able to do over the last five years, six years in the league is phenomenal. This is a much different league right now than it was back when Tom had taken his first, gotten his third ring. That's when Tommy had really come into his own. But the game has changed to the point where I'm not sure the numbers that Patty is putting up are comparable to the numbers that Tom put up in his first five or six, seven years in the league. It was just a different league back then.

If they were playing under these kind of rules and it, and it was more of a quarterback led league at the time. You know, you could do it, but it, but it isn't. And I'm not, I'm not trying to run it. Go.

Nobody has won back to back in 20 years. All right. This is something that is very special. Don't get me wrong. But, but three and five years is not the same. And, uh, it's, it's just do the math folks. Six is not, is not three. Uh, seven is not three. Three is not seven. No matter how you want to add it up or subtract it. Uh, it's not the same. He's not in that vein yet.

He's got a long way to go. It is very difficult to keep doing this year in and year out through coaching changes, through personnel changes. We saw it this year. We saw Mahomes and the Chiefs struggle at times and in these playoffs. It's not going to be easy. The second three, believe me, is not as easy as the first. And if you can't believe it, just go back and look at Tom's second three

and the drought, if you want to call it a drought, what he was doing during those years because he was still going and he just didn't punch his way through. There's just too many bad bounces. There's just too many. I mean, just imagine if that punt had touched Edelman's finger back against Atlanta. And, you know, there was a change there. And Tom didn't end up winning that one. But it didn't. What happens if that punt, ifs and buts are candy and nuts,

it's not a dynasty yet. It's not in the same chapter. Okay. It's, it's just not, it's in the same book, but it's not in the same chapter yet. I would say that three championships in the last five years puts them in the dynasty conversation in terms of all time NFL dynasty, Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas city chiefs now are in the room that they get to enter the lounge. But there's a certain room in the back that serves top shelf cigars and brandy where they're not quite there yet. And I think we need to remember that.

I think we all need to understand that. You look at the New England Patriots and what they did. You want to talk dynasty, folks? 19 consecutive winning seasons for the New England Patriots during the Brady Belichick era. 17 division titles, including 11 consecutive from 2009 to 2019. 13 AFC Championship game appearances. That includes eight consecutive from 2011 to 2018. The only undefeated 16-game regular season in history in 2007. Moment of silence there.

That really should have... It's tough to bring that up but it is an accomplishment so i wanted to bring that up the patriots appeared in half of all the super bowls played during brady's 18 seasons right as the primary starter in order to enter that conversation you need to accomplish that it's not enough to say hypothetically you're on pace you're on target to do it. There are so many things that can throw that pace off. There are so many things that can derail that. And that is where I think we need to really pump the brakes.

I think take a temperant and maybe more of a logical approach when it comes to anointing the next big thing. What Tom Brady has done is absolutely phenomenal in this league. And to me, he still is the greatest quarterback to ever wear shoulder pads that's not to say that Patrick Mahomes cannot turn his way into that conversation when all is said and done the debate may end up going in his favor and if it is I will give him his props and I will give him his just due but until he reaches holding the postseason record for appearances wins pass attempts completions yards touchdowns Tom Brady holds all of those records right now you can say

all you want to that you're on pace to break them until you do you're not at his level I'm sorry that's just the way I feel on the subject Tom currently holds every Super Bowl record in passing, except for completion percentage and interception. In his 10 appearances in 22 years, seven wins, five MVPs, including one appearance, a win, and an MVP with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers that didn't happen up here in New England. And who was that against Murph? It was against Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs. To me, the scales are still tipped very much in favor of Tom Brady. You can talk about projections all you want, but until you reach that plateau, I don't necessarily think that this is even a conversation right now. Back to us in five years, it definitely may be. And at that point, you and I may even feel differently about the subject. We're not too proud to admit folks. if someone legitimately passes another on this race this is not a couple of patriots yahoos here that are just going to

dig their heels in and never give credit where credit is due murph and i would never ever do that it's not fair to patrick who in my opinion is without question the best player in the game right now he is but you can't use hypotheticals to determine what's going to happen in the future there are too many factors that can work. It's the same thing that, you know, when people go and they talk about draft picks and what somebody should have done three years ago or eight years ago, and you would have still won a Super Bowl. You don't know that. I know I won a Super Bowl with Sonny Michel. OK, I did.

I know I won a Super bowl with sony michelle and and i wouldn't have i might not have won that with a with a certain quarterback that that shall go unnamed that that everybody thinks the patriots should have drafted back then um the same people that are screaming it why did you move on from tom brady when he was you know 40 it's true you're absolutely right and look i mean he was doing it at a high level for so many different years and look there was something very brady like about patrick mahomes final drive in that super bowl i did i said it absolutely that night i say as soon as they missed the extra point there it is right there and i said as soon as as soon as they um they uh the

san francisco went down and i said you left down, I said, you left him too much time. Absolutely. You left him too much time. Okay? He's far too good. You knew it was going to happen. He's just too good. You know it's going to happen.

Murph, one thing that I think is an interesting point that was brought up over the weekend, and I think it is something that really deserves a little bit of discussion here, and we're going to do so, folks, in just a minute, is that the Hunt family is guiding right now the modern-day dynasty, the present-day dynasty here in the NFL. But if we're really being honest, the Kraft family is the one that set the standard here in the modern NFL. 20-plus seasons, six championships, conference titles, division titles, you name it, the New England Patriots have done it. Where does that leave right now what the Hunts are doing

compared to what the Crafts have done? And are they now edging out the Crafts as the premier family and ownership group in the National Football League? It's talking Patriots, coaching changes, and continuing to break down the aftermath of Super Bowl 58 when this episode of the Locked On Patriots podcast continues. A proud part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day. Locked On listeners, what a football game that was on Sunday.

From overtime to the game-winning drive, got to give a tip of the cap to the back-to-back champs. But if all of us New Englanders are being honest honest the commercial stole the show am i right especially that one with a certain greatest of all time and a couple of legendary actors wearing orange track suits yeah couldn't get enough of that one but door dash went all out for game day as well and they door dash stuff from all the ads to one lucky winner cars snacks you name it they did And somehow, they pulled it off. I'm a little bummed that I didn't win, but I gotta hand it to them.

It was one heck of a delivery. DoorDash is the all-in-one app for all of your everyday needs, from restaurants and groceries to flowers and gifts. So next time you're running low on dinner ideas, pet supplies, or just time, you can get so much more than you realize delivered whatever

watch party or anything party you've got coming up get it delivered with door dash football season may be over but we're in the thick of basketball games the school year and let's face it winter i can think of a million reasons daily to order door dash hop on the app and make your day a little easier get dinner for tonight, groceries for the week, or a consolation prize for all of us here lamenting the days of the dynasty in New England. You can do it all on

DoorDash. DoorDash, your door to more. Head to the DoorDash app and get everything you need delivered. Patriots fans, thank you once again for joining us here today on Locked On Patriots. It is Mailbag Tuesday, one day late, but that's okay.

Newman came through late, but he still came through and delivered the mail, folks. And joining me, as always, on Mailbag Tuesday, on hashtag LockedOnMurfTuesday, is my good friend Thomas Murphy, the legend himself, always willing to lend his wisdom and counsel. And folks, in the previous the previous segment yeah Murph and I kind of let our emotions rule the roost there

and talk about the dynasty talk and the goat talk and all of these narratives right now that are surrounding the New England Patriots and the Kansas City Chiefs who are the reigning Super Bowl champions back-to-back Super Bowl champions the first back-to-back team to do it since the New England Patriots did it in the early days of the New England Patriots dynasty. But Murph, one of the things that has arisen from this Super Bowl victory by the Chiefs is a lot of people are now looking to the Hunt family as the standard bearers. They are now the architects, you might as well say, of the modern day dynasty in the NFL, with the Kansas City Chiefs taking three of the past five Super Bowl championships. We both know that the crafts helped

set the standard long ago, especially when it comes to the modern day NFL. Six Super Bowl championships, nine conference titles, you do not get to that level without knowing how to manage a team and how to hold superstars together. Obviously, those days have gone now in New England. The 4-13 finish last season definitely has cemented the end of the dynasty. Bill Belichick is no longer head coach of the New England Patriots. Tom Brady is no longer quarterback of the New England Patriots. Patrick Mahomes, still very much quarterback of the Kansas City Chiefs. Andy Reed is still very much the coach of the Kansas City Chiefs. And it leads you to believe that

what the Hunts are doing are trying to keep it going and do something the Patriots haven't done, do something no team has done in the NFL, and that is win three in a row. If the Kansas City Chiefs can do that and go on that type of run. They will only enhance their mystique. They'll only enhance their reputation amongst the NFL's greatest dynasties. But when it comes to ownership, how much credit do you believe the Hunts deserve for that? And have they surpassed the Crafts right now as the premier ownership group slash family when it comes to NFL owners? That's a really tough question. It comes down to, you know, over the years,

I've really admired Robert Kraft for the fact that he stepped back. I'm not entrenched enough in Kansas City in that biosphere, you know, for lack of a better word, as to how much the Hunts have to do with this. I mean, they go out, they okay you spending money, they allow their GM to make moves, they allow their coach to coach his team, and they allow Patty Mahomes to be the best that he can possibly be. Have they made smart moves? I think so, and they get credit for that in saying that's good money thrown after bad when it comes to certain players that I don't even enjoy talking about.

We all know who he is. He's down there in Miami now. But no, I'm not putting them on par with the crafts. It's, I mean, Lamar Hunt stands head and shoulders above so many people in this conversation anyway. That's the reason that the trophy is named after him, folks. So I am not trying to begrudge Lamar Hunt anything. But the way Robert Kraft has run this organization,

has seen to its success, and the things that he has done. And again, I'm not sure what the Hunts are doing publicly for, you know, the greater good. We all know what the Crafts have done for greater good. You know, Robert Craft has always stepped up, whether it be with transporting medical supplies or, you know, his charitable endeavors in using the, you know, the, the Patriots assets to do that, his assets, um, to do that. I'm not sure what the Hunts are doing behind the scenes, but no, I, I really don't think that, uh, that the Hunts have surpassed the Patriots. We're, we're talking about, uh, 25 plus years of, of greatness. And, you know, but I'm not going to sit here and belittle or berate the Hunt family and what they've done throughout the years.

We're definitely talking about people that have ever been accused of harming their ball club, which you can definitely say about other ownership groups around the NFL. Yeah, without question. I mean, and I want to give a tip of the cap to Andrew Carraway at Carraway Six, one of our great everydayers who I know can't wait to get active when it comes to Mock Draft Monday.

And stay tuned to the end of Locked On Patriots today because Murph and I are going to be giving you explicit instructions on how to take part in Mock Draft Monday. I digress, Murph. We will get back to the topic at hand, and I completely understand where you're coming from. Lamar Hunt did set the standard in terms of owners, and that's why the AFC Championship Trophy, like Murph said, is named in his honor. Look, I think there's something to be said about the Hunt's ability or the Hunt's willingness to spend money, invest in their ball

club uh they gave patrick mahomes at the time they handed it out it was the richest contract ever handed out to an nfl quarterback a lot of people raised their eyebrows said that the cap hits that were automatically built into that were going to be crippling to this team they weren't going to be able to find their way out of it i give them a lot of credit they've been able to you know maneuver themselves through the cap and they've been able to find ways to remain not only competitive, obviously, but remain at the top of the heap. One of the things though, about this team this year is we didn't see a whole lot of those big names on offense. Give Mahomes a lot of credit. He had Travis Kelsey, who was a hall of famer at the tight end position. Beyond that, Rishi Rice as a rookie coming in, doing his thing. You don't necessarily know exactly what his career is

going to hold, but right now he's looking like he could be a good receiver, but not a lot of resume there. Nicole Hardman is someone that was right place, right time. He was on the scrap heap with the New York Jets, not more than just a few months ago. So you're looking at guys, Isaiah Pacheco came in. I think he exceeded a lot of expectations. Tip of the cap for how well he played this year, but you're not seeing a lot of the big names. I talked to Peter Bukowski yesterday here on these airwaves on Locked On Patriots and

of course on Locked On Sports Today. And we talked about the final drive, especially of Patrick Mahomes and it being very Brady like. That's what stuck out to me in terms of what Patrick did on Sunday it was Brady-like because we've seen Tom do this so many times before we've seen him elevate guys like David Givens the late David Patton we've seen him elevate guys like Jabbar Gaffney Malcolm Mitchell was a huge part of that team Jermaine Wiggins, folks. We've seen Tom Brady find players that are not necessarily Hall of Fame receivers,

that are not necessarily even All-Pro or Pro Bowl receivers. Guys that may be considered also Rams on a lot of other teams. He makes them look a lot better. To me, this is where the Crafts right now have set the standard. And I think the hunts i think the hunts in order to remain in this conversation or eclipse the crafts are going to have to continue to do this right because something that i think the crafts did that is brilliant and to me one of the more brilliant things that any ownership group has done in any

of the major professional sports they let the football people run the football operations until this year uh but i'm sorry who said that i didn't even hear that i'm sorry that was that's just you know that's a little but in any case what they did was they did allow bill belichick and his team and his brain trust to dictate what happened on the field when it came to personnel when it came to finding the right fits for their system and when it came to executing on the field. Right now, I just don't think it's a situation where they are necessarily a better ownership group yet. We're going to have to see what this new regime now in New England is going to be all about. Did they make the move at the right time to Gerard Mayo? We'll find out. History will judge

them based on that. If not, not then yeah maybe the hunts may have an argument there for being the best ownership group but at the end of the day they're the ones holding the lombardi trophy three out of the last five it's kind of hard to argue with that right i couldn't agree more i couldn't agree more fantastic points michael no just fantastic points they're they're in the conversation and it, but right now it's a very short conversation because they've done it for a short period of time. Yeah, absolutely. And again, I think in so many ways, and that's one thing that I think we've seen an awful lot of over the last 48 to 72 hours, my friend is the victim of the moment syndrome. Fans fall into it. The media definitely

falls into it. Uh, sometimes they fall into it subconsciously. Um falls into it. Sometimes they fall into it subconsciously. Sometimes it's a concerted effort to fall into that realm because you want to hype what's in the moment. And what's in the moment is what's last in your head. You want that to be hyped as the greatest you've ever seen. Mahomes makes us throw across his body. It's the greatest we've ever seen on this level. He'll make a game-winning drive. This is the greatest game-winning drive we've ever seen. You know, history, I think, will judge that a lot more fair than what happens in the moment. So be careful for a lot of those tweets that were floating around over the last 24 to 48 hours. It's easy to feel good in the era

of good feelings. When you take a look back at things in hindsight, be in 2020, that's when the truth comes out. And I think that's when you'll see a lot of truth come out with regard to how this Super Bowl win by the Kansas City Chiefs has been covered at a national level and even at a local level

here in New England. So, Andrew, what can we say? Thanks for a great question. Thank you for allowing us to continue our GOAT and dynasty discussion, because let's face it, that question was a little bit of an extension of it. And it is the story of the day and the story of the week here in New England. But you know what, folks? We're going to take our leave of the past. We're not going to

worry about other teams. We are forging on and we're going to take a look at the present for the New England Patriots. And Murph, the Patriots have a new wide receivers coach. They also, as we know from last week's show, have a brand new inside linebackers coach. A lot of excitement when it comes to the return of Dante Hightower. The wide receiver position, well, a lot of people are still wondering what the fate is there. But folks, we are going to take a look and prognosticate the future

of the Patriots coaching staff when this episode of the Locked On Patriots podcast wraps up right here on the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day. Locked On listeners, get buckets with your first bet on FanDuel, America's number one sports book, because right now, new customers get $150 in bonus bets with any winning $5 bet. That's $150 if your bet wins. Basketball season is in full swing. With FanDuel, you can make cheering on your favorite green team in the hub more enjoyable, more exciting, and maybe even a little more profitable. Bet on all of your favorite NBA players and teams with quick bets,

live same-game parlays, exclusive props, and more. Just visit fanduel.com slash locked on and shoot your shot. That's fanduel.com slash locked on. FanDuel, official sportsbook partner of the NBA. LockedOn listeners, thank you once again for joining us here today on LockedOn Patriots, spending part of your Tuesday-slash-Wednesday morning here on LockedOn Patriots with us. Again, we thank you, especially all of you everydayers, for hanging in with us with some feeling under the weather issues and also some weather issues. All of you everydayers,

all of you locked on faithful are truly amazing. Murph and I appreciate you more than words can say. And thank you for always hanging in with us on locked on Patriots. And if you are an everyday or a long time, everyday or even a casual listener, you'll know that back by popular demand this Monday, February 19th, 2024 murph it's the return of mock draft monday that's right folks all the fun begins again mock draft monday originated right here on these airwaves murph you know as well as i my good friend and predecessor mark

schofield used to request emails from all of his listeners and he would grade their mock drafts here on the air murph and i took that to another level by sharing them right there on the screens. Thanks to Lockdown's upgrading to YouTube. And we're going to continue to do that. Folks, do not worry. No matter the platform you listen to us on, whether it's audio or video, Murph and I are always interactive. We tweet out the mock drafts we receive.

We also make sure to read back each and every one of the details. So no one's feeling left out here. You're a part of it, whether you're audio, whether you're video, whether you're both. We can't wait to see your great work. So make sure to screenshot and submit those mock drafts to either myself at MDABATENFL or to Murph directly at TMurph207, or you can tag the Locked On Patriots account at LO underscore Patriots.

Folks, get your mock drafts in, because right here next Monday, Mock Draft Monday returns, and you are all the stars of Locked On Patriots. A lot of fans this week, Murph, obviously were concerned about the Super Bowl. They were concerned about the Dynasty talk and the GOAT talk, but a lot of the New england patriots foxborough faithful

still want to know the fate of this team in foxborough this year so we're going to put the past behind us folks for a little bit and we're going to talk about the future of this team and we're going to talk about even the present of this team murph i thought it was ironic that the gentleman that holds the distinction of being one of the very few in NFL history, certainly the only one in Patriots history, that was released just hours before Super Bowl kickoff actually had his return to the organization announced or reported during the Super Bowl. That's right, folks. Taquan Underwood is on his way back to new england as assistant wide receivers coach he spent the last couple of years coaching receivers at the university of pittsburgh

obviously we know him from his time here in new england during 2011 but taquan has really developed quite a reputation as a pretty good coach in the collegiate ranks and now he comes in here as the assistant wide receivers coach murph your thoughts on this hire and what do you think it means for the future of the position? Because our good friend Tucker wants to know as well with the return to Quan Underwood, who we'd like to see as the head wide receivers coach here assisting him because Tucker believes Troy Brown isn't returning. What are your thoughts on this? Well, I don't think Troy Brown is returning. I've wanted Troy Brown out of here for quite some time. And that takes nothing away from what Troy Brown did here as a New England Patriot, as a player. I just don't think that he has gotten

enough out of, you know, whether you want to call it the limited weapons that he had to work with or not? I think that consistency was was lacking going, you know, from from his position group. And I don't think to say to deal with, but in communicating with, uh, younger players is, is something that's, that's going to, uh, to only be a help to this team. But once again, he is the assistant wide receivers coach. He isn't the wide receivers coach. Right. And the guy that, that we're talking about, talking about i mean uh there are a lot of names

being bandied about folks talking about wes welker coming back uh people talking about uh julian edelman becoming the the the coach of uh of the wide receivers room um i i can't i really hard pressed to find somebody that would fit the mold of the Patriot way more than that but I also believe right now that um a new voice is is definitely needed here in New England especially at this position group and uh that voice that that I want to see brought in here to New England is David Culley former head coach of the, the Houston Texans. And okay. David Cully has been in this league for decades.

People. He has worked with Sam Weish in Tampa Bay. He's worked with Bill Cower in Pittsburgh. This is a man that goes back decades. As I just said, you know, he worked, he worked with Andy Reed in Philadelphia and in Kansas city. He's been in Buffalo. He's been in Baltimore with, you know, he worked, he worked with Andy Reid in Philadelphia and in Kansas

City. He's been in Buffalo. He's been in Baltimore with, you know, oh God, man, John Harbaugh. And, and finally was, was hired and then unceremoniously fired in, in Texas. And I don't think, you know, I, you can't argue with the success that Texas has had this year, but that's got, you know, a lot to do with the quarterback that they brought in last year. But I think David Cully has the pedigree and has the brain to come in here and make this wide receiver room that much better.

He's somebody who has the swag and and the reputation of making wide receivers uh better getting the most out of those guys and he has for a very long time in this league and worked with some of the best uh that have ever coached this game yeah Cully is definitely an interesting choice and in terms of how Gerard Mayo was building his staff, you can see an awful lot of youth and awful lot of vitality, but in the flip side of that, you're seeing a lot of veteran leadership, a lot of veteran savvy guys that have experience. Cully coming in with head coaching experience is something that I think would be a real interesting dynamic to this coach's room and bringing that level of, uh, of expertise and bringing that level of uh of expertise and bringing that level of experience to the table is interesting so folks keep an eye on that uh the way Gerard's been building

this staff nothing would surprise me at this point and Murph I think that's an excellent point uh we do hear a lot about the guys like Welker and Edelman and look I understand folks it would be a lot of fun to see Wes Welker here back in New England it would be tons of fun to see my wife back out there um I know everyone would love to see Wes Welker here back in New England. It would be tons of fun to see Julian Edelman back out there. I know everyone would love to see Jules back here. But bottom line, you also want to make sure that the guys that you're bringing in are going to command immediate respect because of the experience they have. Cully would absolutely do that. So I agree with you, Murph.

I think I'm not necessarily saying it will be Cully, but I think it's going to be someone like that that's going to command that respect. A seasoned veteran wide receivers coach or a seasoned veteran coach that's coached all over the offensive side of the ball to come in and to lend that wisdom and counsel that the Pats are going to need so richly this year. That's it. I agree. And I'm not sure if Cully is interested in becoming a wide receivers coach again. I just know that he's a damn fine one. And he would make a great addition to

this, this very young Patriot staff. And I don't just mean an age wise, but I mean in, in, in coaching years. Absolutely. Very good point. And Tucker, as always, excellent question, a very poignant question and wide receivers position. Murph is only one of two positions still available on Gerard Mayo's staff right now. Obviously, the tight ends coach vacated Will Lying, who is now joining his old friend, Bill O'Brien, in Boston College.

Those two are the only ones left, folks. Obviously, the hiring on Tuesday of Taylor Embry, the former New York Jets running backs coach who did, I think, a phenomenal job with Brees Hall and really worked well with Michael Carter. This is a guy that knows how to manage top-level talent, and I think he did it for the most part. I'd love to see what he can do with guys like Ramondre Stevenson and Kevin Harris. I think that's going to be a good hire for the Patriots in the long run. So the wide receivers coach still available and the tight ends coach still available. But our good friend Mike Reese is continuing to report that the Patriots are looking to move quickly. Supposedly on Tuesday, a lot of the recent hires that the New England Patriots brought in under

Gerard Mayo all met together for the first time, the first of many of those meetings. So the Mayo Brain Trust now is ready to go into effect. And Murph, it's not just the offensive side of the ball that's going to have new and exciting coaches. Obviously, we covered here last week that Donta Hightower is coming back as a linebackers coach here in New England. Most likely going to coach the inside because the outside linebackers coach, because former New York Giants coach Drew Wilkins is coming in to coach the outside linebackers coach because former New York Giants coach Drew Wilkins is coming in to coach the outside linebackers so Murph that being said with now Drew Wilkins in the fold a lot of people are still wondering about Dante Hightower looking at his qualifications and all of the qualifications that Dante has to be a linebackers coach in this league are all based on what he's done on the field as a player.

He doesn't have a line item on his resume that reads coach anywhere. And our good friend, Corrine in Agawam, Massachusetts, shares that sentiment. She wanted to know, Murph, from the two of us, should there be any concern about Dante Hightower's lack of coaching experience? Murph, what would you say to Corrine if she was sitting here right now regarding this matter on Donta Hightower? Relax. Relax. Donta Hightower was a coach on the field his entire career. And I don't just mean here in New England. You know, you can go all the way back to Alabama. And it was, he's one of the smartest, most astute football minds on that side of the

ball that I have ever had the pleasure of shaking hands with. And he is a phenomenal individual. He's somebody that is, you know, just brought up, you know, constantly on social media as to how much time and effort these guys were going, these millionaire ballplayers were going to put into their new job, into coaching. Believe me, from the moment he gets up in the morning, early in the morning, until the moment he goes to bed at night, Donta Hightire does nothing but eat, sleep, and drink football. And, uh, especially, uh, you know, at, you know, what to do, where to be at that position. Uh,

this is never a man who was out of position. You never caught him sleeping, um, at the controls. This is a man who wore that dot on his, uh, on his helmet proudly. And he will, a man who wore this uniform proudly, and he'll do the same thing and take the same pride into this situation. And there are enough people around him, you know, who played his position, who were on this coaching staff that are going to make sure that he is running things in a manner that they always should. Not that he's really going to need it, but that backup is there. Gerard Mayo is one of the best in the business on that side of the ball. And I think if, you know, I can't think of a better conciliary than Mayo.

Yeah, it's true. If you ever need help, who's a better conciliary than Gerard Mayo? I mean, really, that is the best of the best when it comes to what you're going to need in terms of how to blend on-field leadership, on-field coaching ability with coaching ability on the sidelines. Gerard's done it with class. He's done it with precision up until now. And now that he's in the head seat, he's really going to give Dante an opportunity to kind of grow into that role as well. I agree with you. I think Dante Hightower's ability to dictate and direct traffic on the field gives him a heads up on the competition. When you have that green dot on the back of your helmet, folks, it says a lot about your ability,

not only to understand the game, but to teach it and to relay it in a manner that's going to allow your teammates to understand it and understand it quickly. This is not just tutoring that goes on on the field where you're asking them to do something and then repeatedly drill it two, three, four times until they get it. The message has to be relayed precisionally. It has to be relayed accurately and immediately, and it has to take effect. Dante Hightower more often than not made sure that his teammates were always ready for the play that was coming because he knew how to communicate it, and he knew how to impart that wisdom right there on the field. Makes me feel a lot better about the job that he's going to do.

The other thing that really makes me feel good about this hire now is Drew Wilkins coming in. I actually like this hire an awful lot. Drew spent 12 seasons in Baltimore under Wink Martindale, Don Martindale folks, but obviously everybody calls him Wink. One thing that stuck out at me when it came to this guy's resume, helped coach Matthew Judon to two Pro Bowl appearances when they were in Baltimore together. Obviously he has a good relationship and a good rapport with Judon. Judon, I think is going to be

one of the key members of this team this year that's going to help with morale. It's going to help boost the team's confidence and really rally the troops into a frenzy for the new head coach in Gerard Mayo. So if Matthew Judon's happy with him and they have a good working relationship, that should tell you something that it's going to help and it's going to be a good compliment to Dante Hightower. Not only that, Martindale had glowing things to say about this guy.

Even when the two of them left Baltimore and they went to New York on the staff of Brian Dayball, Link Martindale said very shortly after that, and he even said, you can ask Dave's, you can ask Brian Dayball to confirm this. He looked at him and said, look, even if you don't hire me, you want to hire Drew Wilkins. This kid is a rising star in the coaching ranks, and he's going to be a special one. this he looked at him and said look even if you don't hire me you want to hire drew wilkins this kid is a rising star in the coaching ranks and he's going to be a special one folks i'm not necessarily saying the patriots have a head coach in the making here no who knows definitely seen stories like that happen but in the short term i think this guy is going to be a very good

compliment to dante hightower and here's experience. You want experience in the linebackers room. You've got the savvy, you've got the ability and you've got the camaraderie that Dante Hightower automatically brings. And then you've got the experience of Drew Wilkins. I think this is the beginning of a pretty good friendship, Murph. Maybe it can be a beautiful one.

We'll see. It's going to take time for that though. It definitely is. It's going to take a little bit of time. But I think that it was a fantastic hire. It was a astute hire. And I can't wait to see these guys and what they're going to do come next, I don't know, God, man, it's June, July, August.

I'm going to be there. I'm going to be there every day. Absolutely, folks. You know, training camp starts in late july and it is going to be a lot of fun to watch we know a lot of you out there still have a little bit of a sour taste in your mouth from how 2023 ended do not carry that over into 2024. it's a new dawn it's a new day in foxborough i'm going to miss bill belichick as much as anyone and so is murph but i think it's going to be a lot of fun to watch what Gerard Mayo is going to bring to this team a new head coaching staff probably a new quarterback

we're going to get to that later in the week folks and probably a whole lot of new faces but the one thing that will remain constant is that Patriot way folks that desire to return to the top of the mountain it's going to be burning bright you know Robert Kraft you know the Patriots brain trust you know Gerard Mayo we're going to want to get back out therebert craft you know the patriots brain trust you know gerard mayo we're going to want to get back out there and get back into contention as soon as possible try to help break up that budding dynasty going on right now in the midwest but the tip of the cap to you kareem for a phenomenal question to help close the mailbag here this week but bud what can i say you're always there for the hand. You're always there to help me guide through a robust mailbag each and every week.

Newman may have let us down and delivered the mail late, folks. Murph always delivers in his wisdom and counsel. Bud, before I let you go today, please let everyone know where they can reach out to you and what you got cooking this week in Murph's kitchen when it comes to the New England Patriots, the Boston Red Sox, or whatever happens to be on your mind right now. Well, you know, the Red Sox are right over on the horizon. So I'm going to be taking a tough look at the pitching staff and what they have to do. You can check that out at diehardbostonsports.com.

And of course, you know, you can do whatever else happens to tickle my fancy or just get me a little bit green. You know, you can check that out at TMURF207 on Zitter. Absolutely, folks. Definitely check it out. Whether Murph puts pen to paper, voice to microphone, it's appointment listening, it's appointment reading, and it always is going to entertain and inform.

You can't ask for better than that. In the meantime, I'm Mike DeBate. He's Thomas Murphy. And we both remind you to stay safe and to stay well and to be the change you wish to see in the world. Have a great day, everyone. We'll see you back here again tomorrow on Locked on Patriots.