We know a few things about mystery man Ernie Adams, the director of football research for the New England Patriots.
We know that, for a long while, he used a flip phone. (He may still.) We know that he played a major role in helping Malcolm Butler anticipate and intercept Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson’s pass on the goal-line in Super Bowl XLIX, and we know that anticipating an opponent’s tendency is a big part of Adams’ job. We know he know the meaning behind the words, “Pink Stripes,” even if Bill Belichick does not. Because of Julian Edelman’s recent interview with the “Pardon My Take” podcast last week, we also know that Adams “brings a big [expletive] tomato and he just eats that for his whole meal.”
What?
Edelman shed more light on New England’s mystery man.
“He doesn’t necessarily give you tips,” Edelman told “Pardon My Take.” “I ask him questions on defenses, because he legitimately has [photographic] memory, so I’ll be like, ‘Ernie, when they’re in the red area and they’re down four points, what do we expect this team to do?’ And he’ll rattle off: this, this, this. If you throw a player at him, he’s like, ‘Doesn’t us his arms.’ Or something like that. He’s just information. That’s what he is. I honestly think that’s what he does for coach.”
Edelman added: “The guy knows every rule, regulation. Rule guy, history guy, statistic guy. … He’s like a set of eyes for everything. He’s Bill [Belichick]’s right-hand man.”
Adams is out on the practice field on most days and probably tucked in his office in the bowels of Gillette Stadium on the other days, and yet he’s rarely heard from. New England almost never makes him available to the media, outside of a few of the NFL Films documentaries about the Patriots’ Super Bowl wins. But information has trickled out about the mysterious character who is one of Belichick’s closest confidants.
