Adams & Harrington: The Genius’s Behind The Genius

[FalconsIn2012]

This will likely get buried cause it’s long.  But if you are a football junkie and have a few minutes, read these articles.

I’m posting snipets of a fascinating article about Ernie Adams & Sean Harrington.  These are trusted Belichick advisors and it got me wondering, who is our Ernie Adams?  Do we employ genius from other fields to help us scout, draft & otherwise improve as an organization.  

 

Ernie Adams (right) is the Patriots’ director of football research and a close confidant of Bill Belichick.

 

The Patriots’ man behind the curtain

Is little-known Bill Belichick confidant Ernie Adams the secret to the Patriots’ success?

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By Dan Shaughnessy | Globe Staff

 

PHOENIX — You can see the Ernie Hotline in the phone bank near the Patriots bench. Sometimes when Bill Belichick is prowling and scowling on the sideline, you get a glimpse of the wall of black phones behind the coach. 

 

Under an NFL-shielded Microsoft Surface blue awning, in the middle of the row of old-timey wall phones, there is one handset with a strip of red tape affixed to the receiver. Somebody with a black Sharpie has identified the man on the other end of this line.

The five letters run from top to bottom of the 

handpiece.

E

R

N

I

E

 

JIM DAVIS/GLOBE STAFF

A bank of phones behind the Patriots bench includes one with orange tape and "Ernie" written on it.

Who is Ernie Adams? What does he do? These are the eternal questions surrounding the Mystery Man of the Patriots.

Adams, who is officially listed as “football research director,” is the man behind the Patriots’ iron curtain. He is the man who has Belichick’s ear. He is a football genius, a statistical savant, the Rain Man of the NFL. In the words of late author David Halberstam, Adams is “Belichick’s Belichick.’’

The magic game plan that beat the unbeatable St. Louis Rams in the Patriots’ first Super Bowl win? Hiking the ball off your own goal post to win an unwinnable game in Denver? Skull-imploding substitution plays that paralyzed John Harbaugh in New England’s playoff win over Baltimore? Adams’s DNA is sprinkled over all Patriot strategy and trickeration. History and anecdotal evidence suggest that Adams would know a lot about the PSI of a pigskin.

Adams is Belichick’s trusted football brother and confidant. He is like Robert Kennedy serving as attorney general for brother JFK in the New Frontier. He is **** Cheney, behind the scenes with George W.

Who is the Patriots’ true decider? We’re never quite sure.

 

When Adams worked with Belichick in Cleveland, Browns owner Art Modell famously said, “I’ll pay anyone here $10,000 if they can tell me what Ernie Adams does. I know he does something, and I know he works for me, and I know I pay him, but I’d love to know what it is.’’

No one on the Cleveland staff came forward with information for the reward.

Hall of Fame coach Bill Parcells, when asked about Adams this week, was hard-pressed to recall anything about Adams even though Adams worked with the Tuna for six seasons.

“I can’t really tell you anything about him,’’ said Parcells. “I just don’t know the guy.’’

Informed that Adams was the New York Giants’ “director of pro personnel” in 1983 and ’84 — when Parcells was head coach of the team, Parcells said, “He was? I don’t remember that. I don’t remember him being on my staff.

“If he was on my coaching staff, I don’t remember what he was doing. I don’t have Alzheimer’s. I have a pretty good memory, and I didn’t have any interaction with him.’’

It’s a pattern of Adams’s past. In the football world, Adams is tethered only to Belichick.

 

So what about it, Bill? How much interaction do you have with Adams on game day?

“Enough,’’ answered Belichick. “It varies.’’

“In a minute, we can get a lot communicated,’’ Adams told Northwestern magazine. “We don’t have to talk a lot.’’

He told the New York Times in 2004, “My responsibility is to do whatever I can think of to help us win. Part of it, I make up as I go along. Bill and I work together. If I think I can help us win, my job is to do it.’’

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.bostonglobe.com/sports/2015/01/29/mysterious-ernie-adams-patriots-man-behind-curtain/IrNCfgrysUphGpkcIjEaBL/amp.html

Edited January 24, 2019 by Falconsin2012

[FalconsIn2012]

On to Harrington, who in NE is called the new Ernie Sims

 

Patriots won't say what Sean Harrington does; meet 'genius' who rejected Google for New England's scouting department

Posted January 08, 2018 at 06:01 AM | Updated January 09, 2018 at 05:50 AM

 

 

 

 

 

1.1kshares

Comment

Photo courtesy Tufts Athletics

By Kevin Duffy | MassLive.com

FOXBOROUGH — Bill Belichick's top priorities in the spring of 2015 included seeking reinforcements along the offensive line, finding an edge-setting defensive end and collecting veteran cornerbacks to help replace Darrelle Revis.

Belichick was also searching for an infusion of knowledge within his player personnel staff.

Shane Waldron, who worked five years in New England and spent the 2009 season as the tight ends coach, heard from within the organization that the Patriots desired a computer science whiz with an extensive football background.

Waldron, a Tufts University alum, contacted Jay Civetti, the Jumbos' football coach. Civetti returned with an immediate answer.

Yes, he knew a guy: Sean Harrington, class of 2014, fiery outside linebacker and creator of a software designed to alter the way football coaches at all levels approach their jobs.

This was perfect. Harrington grew up north of Boston, starred as a quarterback at Chelmsford High School, and once dominated a regional 7-on-7 tournament at Gillette Stadium, leading his squad to nationals.

Of course he'd want to work for the Patriots.

Except the Pats faced some unlikely competition.

Google had just offered Harrington a job, too.

 

 

**

Perhaps the most fascinating aspect of the Patriots dynasty is the cast of characters surrounding Belichick, a quirky assemblage of football brainpower that has stayed a step ahead for decades.

Three coaches and three scouts hail from tiny John Carroll University in Ohio. So does Director of Player Personnel Nick Caserio, whose boundless energy spills onto the practice field, where he eagerly plays quarterback whenever he can.

Defensive coordinator Matt Patricia has a legendary beard and an aeronautical engineering degree. Ernie Adams, the team's longtime "football research director" and Belichick's childhood friend, is omnipresent. He often walks through the locker room during media availability, usually in a sweat-drenched gray T-shirt with a white towel draped over his shoulders.

Nobody talks to Adams. Despite all that has been written about him, no one, at least in the media, has a firm grasp on what he does. One former employee on Belichick's old Cleveland Browns staff believed Adams studied the tendencies of referees, among other responsibilities. Adams doesn't grant interviews, save for his epic appearances on the "Do Your Job" documentaries, which only amplify the mystique of the Patriots. We accept that he is a genius.

Adams left a job as an analyst and trader on Wall Street to join Belichick's Cleveland Browns in the early 90s, according to ESPN's Wright Thompson.

Nearly 30 years later, Sean Harrington turned down Google to join Belichick's Patriots.

Harrington holds the distinct job title of Senior Software Engineer in the Patriots player personnel department (which otherwise is comprised of pro and college scouts). Many teams employ analytics specialists or software developers. Based on a review of media guides across the NFL, Harrington is the only engineer working in player personnel in the entire league.

His name is buried deep in New England's digital media guide, on page 480. In the section listing the bios of almost every employee with an accompanying headshot, Harrington is nowhere to be found.

http://blog.masslive.com/patriots/2018/01/sean_harrington_patriots_engin_1.html

[Jesus]

I wish in 2008 the falcons had hired the hot scout from the Belichick tree to be their GM for the next 11 years....

[FalconsIn2012]

Just now, Jesus said:

I wish in 2008 the falcons had hired the hot scout from the Belichick tree to be their GM for the next 11 years....

I think it’s been a great hire for the organization.  Don’t you?

[Pacific_Falcon]

1 hour ago, Falconsin2012 said:

I think it’s been a great hire for the organization.  Don’t you?

I do. And my name is definitely not Sam Baker. Nope, definitely not.

[Jesus]

5 minutes ago, Pacific_Falcon said:

I do. And my name is definitely not Sam Baker. Nope, definitely not.

How do you reach the keyboard with arms that short?

[Jesus]

1 hour ago, Falconsin2012 said:

I think it’s been a great hire for the organization.  Don’t you?

Of course. It's just funny when people (not you) pine for other teams guys then forget that we got the best available GM from that tree at the time.

[FalconsIn2012]

2 minutes ago, Jesus said:

Of course. It's just funny when people (not you) pine for other teams guys then forget that we got the best available GM from that tree at the time.

I understood and wasn’t taking it personally.

The curiosity with these two is there is no tree.  They are simply genius analysts who made millions on Wall Street and Silicon Valley but turned down money for Belichick.  Do other teams have these kinds of people is my curiosity.

[Jesus]

55 minutes ago, Falconsin2012 said:

I understood and wasn’t taking it personally.

The curiosity with these two is there is no tree.  They are simply genius analysts who made millions on Wall Street and Silicon Valley but turned down money for Belichick.  Do other teams have these kinds of people is my curiosity.

Sports have been looking for a magic sauce ever since money all started. I'm sure it's happening everywhere. Anything that keeps these sorts of guys away from making the rich richer in wall street is always a win.

[Jpg428gggg]

While I have no doubt that the Pats are one of the most innovative teams in the league, my guess is all teams have a lot of really smart people working for them. There is way too much money involved and people want to work in sports. When I was younger, I was interested in a position with the Oakland A’s. I remember reading the job requirements and thinking the salary was 6 figures easy. I found out that it paid next to nothing and they still had thousands of applicants.

[FalconsIn2012]

5 minutes ago, Jpg428gggg said:

While I have no doubt that the Pats are one of the most innovative teams in the league, my guess is all teams have a lot of really smart people working for them. There is way too much money involved and people want to work in sports. When I was younger, I was interested in a position with the Oakland A’s. I remember reading the job requirements and thinking the salary was 6 figures easy. I found out that it paid next to nothing and they still had thousands of applicants.

Likely true.  If you read the article you see Belichick does more.  This quote from Parcells regarding Adams being on his Giants staff:

“Hall of Fame coach Bill Parcells, when asked about Adams this week, was hard-pressed to recall anything about Adams even though Adams worked with the Tuna for six seasons.

“I can’t really tell you anything about him,’’ said Parcells. “I just don’t know the guy.’’

Informed that Adams was the New York Giants’ “director of pro personnel” in 1983 and ’84 — when Parcells was head coach of the team, Parcells said, “He was? I don’t remember that. I don’t remember him being on my staff.

“If he was on my coaching staff, I don’t remember what he was doing. I don’t have Alzheimer’s. I have a pretty good memory, and I didn’t have any interaction with him.’’

It’s a pattern of Adams’s past. In the football world, Adams is tethered only to Belichick.”

[FalconsIn2012]

Or Art Modell regarding Adams during the Belichick/Adams tenure in Cleveland:

“When Adams worked with Belichick in Cleveland, Browns owner Art Modell famously said, “I’ll pay anyone here $10,000 if they can tell me what Ernie Adams does. I know he does something, and I know he works for me, and I know I pay him, but I’d love to know what it is.’’

[NeonDeion]

1 hour ago, Jpg428gggg said:

While I have no doubt that the Pats are one of the most innovative teams in the league, my guess is all teams have a lot of really smart people working for them. There is way too much money involved and people want to work in sports. When I was younger, I was interested in a position with the Oakland A’s. I remember reading the job requirements and thinking the salary was 6 figures easy. I found out that it paid next to nothing and they still had thousands of applicants.

This just isn’t true though. Football is very much quid pro quo - which absolutely stupid decisions all the time. DQ makes tons of them. He’s a brilliant defensive mind, but he totally ignores statistics and game theory. 

So many coaches do the same thing. If football would actually modernize and bring in moneyball guys (it worked Bc the As overachieved and then the Sox used it to win a ring and now every MLB team has an analytics department), this wouldn’t be happening. 

I actually don’t think BB is a genius. I think the rest of the league is incredibley stupid when it comes to using game theory and statistics to draft and win football games. 

Shanny and DQ handed him a ring on a silver platter due to ego and stupidity. 

BB is light-Years ahead of other coaches, but not statisticians. 

Case in point: teams STILL pay RBs over 30 big money. That is so dumb it’s unfathomable.

Edited January 24, 2019 by NeonDeion

[FalconsIn2012]

4 minutes ago, NeonDeion said:

This just isn’t true though. Football is very much quid pro quo - which absolutely stupid decisions all the time. DQ makes tons of them. He’s a brilliant defensive mind, but he totally ignores statistics and game theory. 

So many coaches do the same thing. If football would actually modernize and bring in moneyball guys (it worked Bc the As overachieved and then the Sox used it to win a ring and now every MLB team has an analytics department), this wouldn’t be happening. 

I actually don’t think BB is a genius. I think the rest of the league is incredibley stupid when it comes to using game theory and statistics to win football games. 

Shanny and DQ handed him a ring on a silver platter due to ego and stupidity. 

BB is light-Years ahead of other coaches, but not statisticians. 

[Jpg428gggg]

21 minutes ago, NeonDeion said:

This just isn’t true though. Football is very much quid pro quo - which absolutely stupid decisions all the time. DQ makes tons of them. He’s a brilliant defensive mind, but he totally ignores statistics and game theory. 

So many coaches do the same thing. If football would actually modernize and bring in moneyball guys (it worked Bc the As overachieved and then the Sox used it to win a ring and now every MLB team has an analytics department), this wouldn’t be happening. 

I actually don’t think BB is a genius. I think the rest of the league is incredibley stupid when it comes to using game theory and statistics to draft and win football games. 

Shanny and DQ handed him a ring on a silver platter due to ego and stupidity. 

BB is light-Years ahead of other coaches, but not statisticians. 

Case in point: teams STILL pay RBs over 30 big money. That is so dumb it’s unfathomable.

Not sure where you got your information from. You can’t conclude that teams aren’t using analytics because bad decisions are made. The A’s are one of the smartest teams in baseball but they still make mistakes. There is some stuff that data can’t understand. Suggest you read this article. It gives a good breakdown of which teams have adapted analytics and which teams are old school. As I noted, Pats and falcons are two of the top teams.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.si.com/mmqb/2017/06/28/nfl-analytics-front-office-old-school-approach-draft-game-planning-charting

[FalconsIn2012]

7 minutes ago, Jpg428gggg said:

Not sure where you got your information from. You can’t conclude that teams aren’t using analytics because bad decisions are made. The A’s are one of the smartest teams in baseball but they still make mistakes. There is some stuff that data can’t understand. Suggest you read this article. It gives a good breakdown of which teams have adapted analytics and which teams are old school. As I noted, Pats and falcons are two of the top teams.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.si.com/mmqb/2017/06/28/nfl-analytics-front-office-old-school-approach-draft-game-planning-charting

Sounds like TD learned from his old boss when it comes to scouting the other 31 teams for roster fits:

 

Bill Belichick Offers Hilarious Response When Asked About Scouting Players On Other Teams

"Absolutely. Yeah. What do you think we've been doing? Yeah, sure. We look at all 31 teams. Yeah, what do you think we're doing at camp? We're not having watermelon rolls and badminton contests and all that. Yeah. We're working on football. We look at our team. We look at the other 31 teams."

That smile at the end, though. He was so proud of the joke. Belichick is just having a great day.

Edited January 24, 2019 by Falconsin2012

[NeonDeion]

2 hours ago, Jpg428gggg said:

Not sure where you got your information from. You can’t conclude that teams aren’t using analytics because bad decisions are made. The A’s are one of the smartest teams in baseball but they still make mistakes. There is some stuff that data can’t understand. Suggest you read this article. It gives a good breakdown of which teams have adapted analytics and which teams are old school. As I noted, Pats and falcons are two of the top teams.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.si.com/mmqb/2017/06/28/nfl-analytics-front-office-old-school-approach-draft-game-planning-charting

Some teams are FINALLY using draft analytics. I don’t see anyone using in-game management analytics. 

Edited January 24, 2019 by NeonDeion

[takeitdown]

There are plenty of numbers guys around.  The key is having a coach who can understand, believe, and implement.

A large portion of the decisions made in football are staggeringly antiquated.

[Pacific_Falcon]

16 hours ago, Jesus said:

How do you reach the keyboard with arms that short?

Innovation. I use a selfie stick to poke the keys.

[Pacific_Falcon]

15 hours ago, Jpg428gggg said:

While I have no doubt that the Pats are one of the most innovative teams in the league, my guess is all teams have a lot of really smart people working for them. There is way too much money involved and people want to work in sports. When I was younger, I was interested in a position with the Oakland A’s. I remember reading the job requirements and thinking the salary was 6 figures easy. I found out that it paid next to nothing and they still had thousands of applicants.

Even the Panthers? Sorry couldn't help myself.

[Jpg428gggg]

2 hours ago, Pacific_Falcon said:

Even the Panthers? Sorry couldn't help myself.

Funny you say that. They are actually one of the more old school teams, but they have adopted some smarter strategies such as going for 4th down more often.