The New England Patriots could lose a key member of their front office and coaching staff, according to Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated (SI). In his weekly Game Plan column, Breer said the New York Giants could hire Patriots vice president of player personnel Nick Caserio to replace Jerry Reese as general manager. While there is a perception that Caserio won’t leave the Patriots, Breer said he could listen to other offers in the offseason, especially from the Giants. Breer said Caserio might also bring along Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels with him to run the Giants as head coach.

He would be replacing Ben McAdoo, who was fired together with Reese after a 2-10 start and due to his decision to bench long-time starting quarterback Eli Manning for Geno Smith.

If Caserio leaves the Patriots, New England head coach Bill Belichik might lure Atlanta Falcons assistant general manager Scott Piolo back to the team as vice president of player personnel. Temporarily, defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo will take over as interim head coach while Kevin Abrams fills the GM spot for the rest of the season. Former Giants general manager Ernie Accorsi will serve as a consultant during the search for a new coach and general manager. McAdoo finished his term as Giants head coach with a 13-15 record.

Brady apologizes to McDaniels

On Saturday (Dec. 9), Patriots quarterback Tom Brady apologized to McDaniels for his sideline outburst during their Week 13 game against the Buffalo Bills. Brady made the apology during a news conference. “I know our coaches work really hard. They're responsible for putting us in a great position to succeed, so I just want to get that off my chest,” said Brady.

After their first-quarter drive ended with a field goal, McDaniels said something to Brady as the latter was heading back to the bench. Brady did not take McDaniel’s words lightly, turning around, and started lashing out at his offensive coordinator. After the game, Brady downplayed the incident with McDaniels, saying “it's just football.”

Brady to play vs Dolphins

After being limited in Friday’s practice (Dec.

8), the Patriots (10-2) removed Brady from the injury report, meaning he will start when they take on the Miami Dolphins on Monday (Dec. 11). Brady did not join Wednesday and Thursday’s practices due to an Achilles issue. Aside from Brady, cornerback Malcolm Butler and linebacker Trevor Reilly are also expected to play against the Dolphins. Patriots right tackle Marcus Cannon and linebacker Kyle Van Noy are both out, while 11 players are questionable for Belichick heading into their clash with the 5-7 Dolphins.
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