The New England Patriots and head coach Bill Belichick are solely focused on the task at hand in Super Bowl LII, but once the clock hits 0:00 and the (likely) celebration commences, the legendary coach will turn his focus to next season, as he always does.
Belichick isn't one to get sentimental, but when he reviews New England's 16-game slate in 2018, he's going to see a number of familiar names on the docket.
Offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels and defensive coordinator Matt Patricia have floated around coaching rumors over the last few years, but they're finally going to leave Foxborough this offseason, with the two men accepting head coaching jobs with the Indianapolis Colts and Detroit Lions, respectively. In addition to McDaniels and Patricia, former Patriots linebacker Mike Vrabel, who served as the defensive coordinator under former Patriots assistant Bill O'Brien with the Houston Texans, was named as the new head coach of the Tennessee Titans.
Altogether, that means there are four Bill Belichick assistants/former players with head coaching jobs in the NFL. And, as fate would have it, the Patriots will face all four of them in 2018.
As Will Brinson of CBS Sports pointed out, New England is scheduled to play both the AFC South and the NFC North next season. So, Bill Belichick has four separate reunions on the 2018 schedule. Brinson noted that McDaniels' Colts and O'Brien's Texans will make the trip and visit New England, while the Patriots will travel to face Patricia's Lions in Detroit and Vrabel's Titans in Nashville.
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