New England Patriots offensive line coach Adrian Klemm was tasked with cleaning up a messy offensive line situation that had lingered ever since legendary coach Dante Scarnecchia retired and rode off into the sunset.
But honestly, it was an impossible situation considering the Patriots hadn’t really addressed the personnel issues in the offseason.
That reportedly got things off to a rocky start between Klemm and Patriots director of personnel Matt Groh. Per the Boston Herald’s Doug Kyed and Andrew Callahan, via NESN’s Zack Cox, Klemm confronted Groh early in the season and got into a “loud exchange” over the talent available on the roster.
The Herald wrote:
Outside the front office, a few staffers privately pointed fingers back at decision-makers about the talent available. That is, save for Klemm, who confronted director of player personnel Matt Groh early in the season in a loud exchange that reverberated through the organization. Klemm, according to sources, didn’t feel heard, while some offensive veterans didn’t want to believe their eyes.
Klemm ended up leaving the team in November due to health-related issues, and he is reportedly not expected to return in 2024.
It shouldn’t come as any surprise Klemm would be frustrated considering the lack of attention paid to the offensive side of the ball in the offseason. Instead of making a splash in free agency to help boost the offensive line, the Patriots went the bargain bin route with players like Riley Reiff, Conor McDermott and Calvin Anderson.
All three were banged up with injuries in the season, and the team attempted to make up for it with trades for Vederian Lowe and Tyrone Wheatley Jr. Neither one of those two moves panned out, and the Patriots’ offensive line was among the worst in the NFL.
It’s even more frustrating considering the Patriots knew they had serious deficiencies on the offensive line and at receiver heading into the offseason last year, and they barely did anything to address those issues.
After the patchwork fliers in free agency, they used their three premium draft picks on defensive players, while waiting until the mid and later rounds to go after offensive talent.
Drafting a potential game-changer like Christian Gonzalez was understandable because few, if any, expected him to fall to No. 17 on the draft board. But the Patriots could have gone after offensive linemen in the second and third rounds. Keion White and Marte Mapu are two great young players, but did the Patriots really need to draft them?
“We didn’t invest in the offensive line until the fourth round, didn’t take a receiver until the sixth,” a separate Boston Herald source said, via Cox. “How do we spend the first three picks on defense when tackle was the biggest problem on the team last year?”
If anything, it points to dysfunction at the highest level that Klemm could be brought in and felt like his voice wasn’t being heard. Wasn’t that the reason he was hired in the first place? To help fix things?
He never got that opportunity in New England, and from the looks of things, it doesn’t seem like he ever will.
