Ernie Adams
Encyclopedia
Ernie Adams is the Football Research Director for the New England Patriots
of the National Football League
. He is a longtime friend of head coach Bill Belichick
. With Adams, the Patriots have won three Super Bowl
s. Adams is known for his eccentric personality and low profile, as well as his extremely thorough analysis of the game.
in Brookline, Massachusetts
, of which John F. Kennedy
is also an alumnus. Given his knowledge of football for his age, Adams was asked to coach the school's intramural football team as an eighth grader.
He later attended Phillips Academy
in Andover, Massachusetts
for high school. While there, he had read Football Scouting Methods written by Steve Belichick
, who was then a football scout for the United States Naval Academy
. In 1970, Steve Belichick's son Bill enrolled at Phillips Academy for a post-graduate year after graduating from Annapolis High School
. Adams, a senior, recognized Belichick's name and the two quickly became friends. At one point, they snuck into a Boston College
football practice together to practice scouting.
Beginning in 1971, Adams attended Northwestern University
in Evanston, Illinois
. As a freshman, Adams sought a student assistant position for the Wildcats' football team and secured it after impressing an assistant coach with a report on a football formation. He would serve as a scout for Northwestern until his graduation in 1975 with a degree in education
.
numerous times, Adams received a playbook from assistant coach Hank Bullough
to learn; Adams learned it in two days, and was presented with another playbook, which he again learned in two days. Adams was hired as an offensive and administrative assistant, and eventually prepared scouting reports for the team, which Fairbanks said were the most thorough he had received in his career.
. He promptly hired Adams as an offensive assistant, working with the quarterback
s and receivers. Adams then convinced Perkins to hire Bill Belichick as a special teams coach; Belichick had spent the previous eight years as a student at Wesleyan University
and then as an assistant coach for three NFL teams. Adams spent three seasons as the Giants' offensive assistant before moving to their scouting department as their pro personnel director. By 1985, he had become frustrated with that job, and took a lucrative job offer as a municipal bond
s trader on Wall Street
.
in 1991, who had just given Belichick his first NFL head coaching position. Adams was again an offensive assistant, working with tight end
s and running back
s. However, Belichick was fired by the Browns in 1996, and Adams returned to Wall Street, starting his own investment business.
in the spring, and builds the team's player value chart for the draft. Finally, Adams works on special assignments for the coaching and scouting staffs, which typically involve breaking down game tape. In 2007, as part of Spygate
, it was revealed that Adams received tapes from a "third camera" that recorded opponents' defensive signals against league rules, and studied them to learn the signals. Belichick confirmed this was the case, but said that they were only a small part of the "mosaic" that were the Patriots' offensive game plans at the time.
Adams (and Belichick) have also been known to have an interest in mathematical analyses of football; Adams once contacted Rutgers University
statistics professor Harold Sackrowitz, asking him to evaluate the Patriots' two-point conversion chart following a study by Sackrowitz on the decision. Adams also presented Belichick with a study concluding teams punt too often on fourth down.
With the Patriots and throughout his career, Adams is known for keeping a low profile. Former Browns owner Art Modell
notably quipped "I'll pay anyone here $10,000 if they can tell me what Ernie Adams does."
New England Patriots
The New England Patriots, commonly called the "Pats", are a professional football team based in the Greater Boston area, playing their home games in the town of Foxborough, Massachusetts at Gillette Stadium. The team is part of the East Division of the American Football Conference in the National...
of the National Football League
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
. He is a longtime friend of head coach Bill Belichick
Bill Belichick
William Stephen "Bill" Belichick is an American football head coach for the New England Patriots of the National Football League. After spending his first 15 seasons in the league as an assistant coach, Belichick got his first head coaching job with the Cleveland Browns in 1991...
. With Adams, the Patriots have won three Super Bowl
Super Bowl
The Super Bowl is the championship game of the National Football League , the highest level of professional American football in the United States, culminating a season that begins in the late summer of the previous calendar year. The Super Bowl uses Roman numerals to identify each game, rather...
s. Adams is known for his eccentric personality and low profile, as well as his extremely thorough analysis of the game.
Early years
Adams attended the Dexter SchoolDexter School
Founded in 1926, the Dexter School is an independent school for boys located in Brookline, Massachusetts, USA. Its campus is also home to its sister school, Southfield, an independent school for girls founded in 1992....
in Brookline, Massachusetts
Brookline, Massachusetts
Brookline is a town in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States, which borders on the cities of Boston and Newton. As of the 2010 census, the population of the town was 58,732.-Etymology:...
, of which John F. Kennedy
John F. Kennedy
John Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy , often referred to by his initials JFK, was the 35th President of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963....
is also an alumnus. Given his knowledge of football for his age, Adams was asked to coach the school's intramural football team as an eighth grader.
He later attended Phillips Academy
Phillips Academy
Phillips Academy is a selective, co-educational independent boarding high school for boarding and day students in grades 9–12, along with a post-graduate year...
in Andover, Massachusetts
Andover, Massachusetts
Andover is a town in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. It was incorporated in 1646 and as of the 2010 census, the population was 33,201...
for high school. While there, he had read Football Scouting Methods written by Steve Belichick
Steve Belichick
-External links:...
, who was then a football scout for the United States Naval Academy
United States Naval Academy
The United States Naval Academy is a four-year coeducational federal service academy located in Annapolis, Maryland, United States...
. In 1970, Steve Belichick's son Bill enrolled at Phillips Academy for a post-graduate year after graduating from Annapolis High School
Annapolis High School
Annapolis High School is an American high school located in the city of Annapolis, Maryland in Anne Arundel County. It is part of the Anne Arundel County Public Schools system and is accredited by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools....
. Adams, a senior, recognized Belichick's name and the two quickly became friends. At one point, they snuck into a Boston College
Boston College
Boston College is a private Jesuit research university located in the village of Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, USA. The main campus is bisected by the border between the cities of Boston and Newton. It has 9,200 full-time undergraduates and 4,000 graduate students. Its name reflects its early...
football practice together to practice scouting.
Beginning in 1971, Adams attended Northwestern University
Northwestern University
Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston and Chicago, Illinois, USA. Northwestern has eleven undergraduate, graduate, and professional schools offering 124 undergraduate degrees and 145 graduate and professional degrees....
in Evanston, Illinois
Evanston, Illinois
Evanston is a suburban municipality in Cook County, Illinois 12 miles north of downtown Chicago, bordering Chicago to the south, Skokie to the west, and Wilmette to the north, with an estimated population of 74,360 as of 2003. It is one of the North Shore communities that adjoin Lake Michigan...
. As a freshman, Adams sought a student assistant position for the Wildcats' football team and secured it after impressing an assistant coach with a report on a football formation. He would serve as a scout for Northwestern until his graduation in 1975 with a degree in education
Education
Education in its broadest, general sense is the means through which the aims and habits of a group of people lives on from one generation to the next. Generally, it occurs through any experience that has a formative effect on the way one thinks, feels, or acts...
.
First stint with Patriots
After his graduation from college, Adams pursued an unpaid position with the New England Patriots in 1975. After contacting then-head coach Chuck FairbanksChuck Fairbanks
Chuck Fairbanks is a former American football coach, a head coach at the high school, collegiate and professional levels. The offensive and defensive systems he introduced and helped develop have proven influential in the NFL....
numerous times, Adams received a playbook from assistant coach Hank Bullough
Hank Bullough
Henry Charles "Hank" Bullough is a former American Football player and coach. He played college football at Michigan State and graduated in 1954. Bullough was a starting guard for the Spartans team that won the 1952 Rose Bowl...
to learn; Adams learned it in two days, and was presented with another playbook, which he again learned in two days. Adams was hired as an offensive and administrative assistant, and eventually prepared scouting reports for the team, which Fairbanks said were the most thorough he had received in his career.
New York Giants
In 1979, Patriots assistant Ray Perkins was hired to be the head coach of the New York GiantsNew York Giants
The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in East Rutherford, New Jersey, representing the New York City metropolitan area. The Giants are currently members of the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
. He promptly hired Adams as an offensive assistant, working with the quarterback
Quarterback
Quarterback is a position in American and Canadian football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive team and line up directly behind the offensive line...
s and receivers. Adams then convinced Perkins to hire Bill Belichick as a special teams coach; Belichick had spent the previous eight years as a student at Wesleyan University
Wesleyan University
Wesleyan University is a private liberal arts college founded in 1831 and located in Middletown, Connecticut. According to the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, Wesleyan is the only Baccalaureate College in the nation that emphasizes undergraduate instruction in the arts and...
and then as an assistant coach for three NFL teams. Adams spent three seasons as the Giants' offensive assistant before moving to their scouting department as their pro personnel director. By 1985, he had become frustrated with that job, and took a lucrative job offer as a municipal bond
Municipal bond
A municipal bond is a bond issued by a city or other local government, or their agencies. Potential issuers of municipal bonds includes cities, counties, redevelopment agencies, special-purpose districts, school districts, public utility districts, publicly owned airports and seaports, and any...
s trader on Wall Street
Wall Street
Wall Street refers to the financial district of New York City, named after and centered on the eight-block-long street running from Broadway to South Street on the East River in Lower Manhattan. Over time, the term has become a metonym for the financial markets of the United States as a whole, or...
.
Cleveland Browns
Adams left Wall Street to join the Cleveland BrownsCleveland Browns
The Cleveland Browns are a professional football team based in Cleveland, Ohio. They are currently members of the North Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
in 1991, who had just given Belichick his first NFL head coaching position. Adams was again an offensive assistant, working with tight end
Tight end
The tight end is a position in American football on the offense. The tight end is often seen as a hybrid position with the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a wide receiver. Like offensive linemen, they are usually lined up on the offensive line and are large enough to be...
s and running back
Running back
A running back is a gridiron football position, who is typically lined up in the offensive backfield. The primary roles of a running back are to receive handoffs from the quarterback for a rushing play, to catch passes from out of the backfield, and to block.There are usually one or two running...
s. However, Belichick was fired by the Browns in 1996, and Adams returned to Wall Street, starting his own investment business.
Second stint with Patriots
Belichick got his next head coaching opportunity with the Patriots in 2000. This time, Adams joined the team not as a coach, but as "Football Research Director." Adams fills a variety of roles for the team. On gamedays, he assists the coaching staff from the press box, advising Belichick on which plays to issue a replay challenge. He also assists the scouting department in preparing for the NFL DraftNFL Draft
The National Football League Draft is an annual event in which the National Football League teams select eligible college football players and it is their most common source of player recruitment. The basic design of the draft is each team is given a position in the drafting order in reverse order...
in the spring, and builds the team's player value chart for the draft. Finally, Adams works on special assignments for the coaching and scouting staffs, which typically involve breaking down game tape. In 2007, as part of Spygate
Spygate
"UGAWN" The 2007 New England Patriots videotaping controversy, widely dubbed "Spygate," refers to an incident in the 2007 National Football League season when the New England Patriots were disciplined by the National Football League for videotaping New York Jets' defensive coaches' signals during...
, it was revealed that Adams received tapes from a "third camera" that recorded opponents' defensive signals against league rules, and studied them to learn the signals. Belichick confirmed this was the case, but said that they were only a small part of the "mosaic" that were the Patriots' offensive game plans at the time.
Adams (and Belichick) have also been known to have an interest in mathematical analyses of football; Adams once contacted Rutgers University
Rutgers University
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey , is the largest institution for higher education in New Jersey, United States. It was originally chartered as Queen's College in 1766. It is the eighth-oldest college in the United States and one of the nine Colonial colleges founded before the American...
statistics professor Harold Sackrowitz, asking him to evaluate the Patriots' two-point conversion chart following a study by Sackrowitz on the decision. Adams also presented Belichick with a study concluding teams punt too often on fourth down.
With the Patriots and throughout his career, Adams is known for keeping a low profile. Former Browns owner Art Modell
Art Modell
Arthur B. Modell is an American businessman, entrepreneur and former National Football League team owner. He owned the Cleveland Browns franchise from 1961–1995 and the Baltimore Ravens franchise from 1996–2004. Modell is the grandson of the late Morris Modell who founded the northeast...
notably quipped "I'll pay anyone here $10,000 if they can tell me what Ernie Adams does."