Even the outside offensive coordinator candidates have at least some previous ties with New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick, and Adrian Klemm is no different.
ESPN’s Mike Reiss reported the news on Wednesday that the Patriots intend to interview the Oregon Ducks associate head coach for their offensive coordinator job.
Not only is Klemm a former Patriots player, but he was actually the first player drafted by the team at the start of the Belichick era in 2000. He was an offensive tackle out of the University of Hawai’i taken in the second-round of the draft with the No. 46 overall pick.
Klemm’s previous coaching experience in the NFL was as an offensive line coach for the Pittsburgh Steelers.
The Patriots are interviewing Adrian Klemm as part of their offensive coordinator search. Klemm, the first-ever draft pick of Bill Belichick’s Patriots regime, currently serves as associate head coach/run-game coordinator/o-line coach at Oregon. Former Steelers OL coach.
— Mike Reiss (@MikeReiss) January 18, 2023
The Patriots are scheduled to interview tight ends coach Nick Caley on Tuesday, and they have also requested for an interview with Minnesota Vikings wide receivers coach Keenan McCardell, who played under Belichick during his head coaching stint with the Cleveland Browns.
So Klemm is another name in a long line of coaches that have worked under Belichick in some form, as a player or coach. Now, he finds himself in a position to vie for the Patriots’ offensive coordinator job.