The New York Giants are in the process of hiring multiple assistants on both sides of the football. Reports indicated they are preparing to bring on Brian Cox and Rob Ryan as defensive coaches, but the latest acquisition comes from the Minnesota Vikings, having spent 10 seasons as a defensive assistant.
Andre Patterson is the latest addition, providing an enormous amount of experience on the defensive line, also serving as Minnesota’s assistant head coach and co-defensive coordinator.
Patterson is a perfect example of what a coach should sound like, acting predominantly as a teacher and leader rather than an enforcer and authoritarian.
Patterson started his career with Weber State back in 1988 before joining the NFL with the New England Patriots in 1997. At 61 years old, he has spent the last 10 years with Minnesota, including an eight-year run with Mike Zimmer, who was recently fired from the job.
Patterson is best known for his developmental qualities, helping Danielle Hunter and Everson Griffen find their potential. While the Giants will stick to their 3–4 base scheme, the Vikings utilized a 4–3. The change in strategy will be a challenge for Patterson, but he is up to the task given his dominance and experience as a coach in the NFL.
Considering newly assigned defensive coordinator Wink Martindale deploys an extremely aggressive scheme, Patterson fits right in. Andre is known best for his unique looks on the defensive front, moving defenders around and extracting their strengths while hiding their weaknesses.
One thing Patterson harps on is technique and fundamentals, focusing on perfecting the small details before adding to a player’s repertoire.
Up to this point, the Giants have pieced together a phenomenal coaching staff with respected names littered across the board. However, the coaches need to experience success on the field. We’ve seen plenty of talk and not enough action in recent years. However, under new leadership, things seem to be heading in the right direction on the coaching side.
Vikings fans were upset about the departure of Patterson, indicating that he is a quality coach that was obviously valued by Martindale.
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