INDIANAPOLIS – The entire NFL world converges on downtown Indianapolis this week, and that includes the crew from Patriots.com and Patriots Football Weekly.
The Combine officially gets going on Wednesday morning, one day earlier than its traditional Thursday start. The first day of action includes a flurry of NFL coaches and GMs holding press conferences with the gathered media at Lucas Oil Stadium. The Patriots are one of just three teams – the Saints and Eagles the others – without a coach or personnel official scheduled to hold a press conference this week.
In addition to the NFL press conferences, the first groups of the 320-plus prospects invited to the Combine this week will work through the media workroom at Lucas Oil. Tuesday that will include offensive linemen, tight ends and specialists.
A couple notes regarding the Patriots from the first night in Indy. First, retired New England coaching legend Dante Scarnecchia made the flight to Indianapolis. The former Patriots offensive line coach and assistant head coach reportedly helped the team scouting offensive linemen prior to last year's draft, his first year of retirement. It looks like he might be filling a similar consulting role again this spring, a time in which the Patriots are likely to target the interior offensive line on draft weekend.
Second, despite reports that many of the Patriots coaches might not attend the Combine coming off the quick turnaround from Super Bowl XLIX, Bill Belichick was indeed in Indiana on Tuesday. The New England head coach and Michael Lombardi spoke with Tom Crean's Indiana basketball team.
There will be plenty more news and notes coming out of the Combine all day and all week long. Check back to Patriots.com often for continuous blog updates as well as nightly positional reviews and daily notebooks.
Here is Wednesday's schedule of Combine press conferences:
10:00 AM - Kevin Colbert, Pittsburgh Steelers General Manager
10:15 AM - Lovie Smith, Tampa Bay Buccaneers Head Coach
10:30 AM - Gary Kubiak, Denver Broncos Head Coach
10:45 AM - Trent Baalke, San Francisco 49ers General Manager
11:00 AM - John Fox, Chicago Bears Head Coach
11:15 AM - Jason Licht, Tampa Bay Buccaneers General Manager
11:30 AM - Steve Keim, Arizona Cardinals General Manager
11:45 AM - Ken Whisenhunt, Tennessee Titans Head Coach
Noon - Ruston Webster, Tennessee Titans Executive Vice President and GM
12:15 PM - Rex Ryan, Buffalo Bills Head Coach
12:30 PM - Ryan Pace, Chicago Bears General Manager
12:45 PM - Tom Telesco, San Diego Chargers General Manager
1:00 PM - Jay Gruden, Washington Redskins Head Coach
1:15 PM - Jack Del Rio, Oakland Raiders Head Coach
1:30 PM - Martin Mayhew, Detroit Lions EVP of Football Operations and General Manager
1:45 PM - Rick Spielman, Minnesota Vikings Executive Vice President and GM
2:00 PM - Les Snead, St. Louis Rams General Manager
2:15 PM - John Harbaugh, Baltimore Ravens Head Coach
2:30 PM - Todd Bowles, New York Jets Head Coach
2:45 PM - Mike Maccagnan, New York Jets General Manager
3:00 PM - Mike Pettine, Cleveland Browns Head Coach
3:15 PM - Andy Reid, Kansas City Chiefs Head Coach
4:00 PM - Dennis Hickey, Miami Dolphins General Manager
4:15 PM - Jason Garrett, Dallas Cowboys Head Coach
