Patriots director of player research Ernie Adams, left, and head coach Bill Belichick watch the team do drills before a game in 2009.
Photo: AP
It appears that Mr. Adams is somewhat like a lawyer. He scrutinizes the rules to see what the team can get away with, as lawyers advise their clients. If there are no rules prohibiting an action, they will do it. It is how the White House and the Attorney General of the US interpret the Constitution. Even if there is a law about what they do, their guide is, "What are you gonna do about it?" A lawyer for the city of Cambridge, MA once admitted in public that he advised the city manager how to act based upon the likelihood of being sued. If it is unlikely an illegal action will bring a lawsuit, do it anyway. Perhaps that is what Adams does for the Patriots.
[From article]
In the media guide, Adams’ job description is: “researching special assignments for both the coaching staff and the personnel department.”
People who have worked with Adams describe him as a master of the NFL rulebook and a football historian.[. . .]
“He is the black ops of pro football analysis,” DeGuglielmo said. “He is undercover and out of sight.”
One of the few interviews Adams has done was in 2008 with the alumni magazine of Northwestern University, where he went.
“The truth is, I’ve always preferred to fly under the radar,” he said in the article. “I just don’t need a lot of notice. I love what I do, and that’s enough. And there’s a lot of stuff about being in the spotlight that I just don’t want. Let someone else worry about the media and the second-guessing and all the pressure.”
Adams grew up in Massachusetts and became obsessed with football, reading Vince Lombardi’s “Run to Daylight” multiple times and “Football Scouting Methods,” by a Navy assistant coach named Steve Belichick. During his senior year at Phillips Andover Academy, he met Bill Belichick, who had just entered the school. He found out Belichick was Steve’s son and a friendship was born.
[. . .]
When Belichick shows a new strategy like playing with eligible and ineligible receivers to confuse the defense during the playoffs, many believe Adams is behind it. He also gets the finger pointed at him when the Patriots stray from the rules. All those taped signals from the “Spygate” controversy? Belichick admitted they were going to Adams for analysis.
http://nypost.com/2015/01/30/the-belichick-crony-who-secretly-runs-black-ops-for-patriots/
Meet the ‘black ops’ man behind the Patriots’ success
By Brian Costello
January 30, 2015 | 5:38p
New York Post
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