It took him 72 years, but Ernie Adams has finally landed his first ever head coaching job. The longtime New England Patriots research director will serve as interim HC at his alma mater, Phillips Andover, the Boston Globe reported.
Adams was hired to replace previous head coach Trey Brown, under whom the Big Blue went just 2-7 in the fall. However, Adams made clear that he is not pursuing a job beyond the current high school season.
“This is definitely an interim appointment,” Adams told the Globe’s Ben Volin and Craig Larson. “The school is going to do a comprehensive search for a younger, full-time football coach after the season, so I am here for this year.”
Adams has kept close ties with Phillips Andover and its football program since his graduation in 1972, and particularly after retiring from the Patriots following the 2021 NFL Draft. He regularly visited over the past three seasons, and last fall worked with the school’s linebacker group.
Naturally, he is looking forward to the challenge.
“Listen, it’s great,” he said. “[Been] working there the last couple years, so I know all the players. But just standing in front of them [Monday] afternoon when I was introduced to them, these are a great bunch of kids and it was a lot of fun.”
For Adams, his time at Phillips Andover was a formative experience. It is where he met future collaborator Bill Belichick in 1970, after all. The two went on to become friends and eventually pillars of the Patriots dynasty: with Belichick as head coach and Adams as his right-hand man, the organization won six Super Bowls and established a two-decade dynasty.