The New England Patriots have had some high-profile departures this offseason. While their latest departure isn't exactly on the same level as Tom Brady, it's still a significant one.
Monti Ossenfort left the organization after 15 years to become the director of player personnel for the Tennessee Titans. Ossenfort was a valuable member of the Patriots front office, serving as director of college scouting for the last six years.
While Patriots fans can take solace in coach Bill Belichick and director of player personnel Nick Caserio still being around to build a competitive team, Ossenfort leaving shouldn't go unnoticed. Patriots insiders Tom E. Curran and Phil Perry explained why in the latest episode of the Patriots Talk Podcast.
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Perry believes one area of concern for the Patriots without Ossenfort in the fold is consistency. However, still having Belichick and Caserio around helps to mitigate those concerns.
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[Ossenfort is] the guy calling in the picks. And as the college scouting director, he's the guy that all year is tracking these guys and trying to figure out who fits and who doesn't. And I think the concern when you lose somebody like that -- especially somebody who's been around as long as he has -- you just worry about 'what are we losing in terms of consistency? Are we going to be able to approach the scouting world similarly without this guy?'
And I think they've done a really remarkable job whether it's just luck or it's enticing guys like [Nick] Caserio to stay as long as they've stayed ... To have Caserio really as long as they have, and to have had Monti Ossenfort as long as they did, I think it was a win for the Patriots and I think for as long as you have Caserio and [Bill] Belichick] at the top, you're probably feeling pretty good about being able to keep that consistency as much as you have.
Curran backs up Perry's point and explains that by "consistency," it's about what types of players the Patriots are looking for each year whether it be via the draft or elsewhere.
The consistency isn't necessarily 'hey, these guys know how to pick a good player every single freakin' time and they can project how he's going to be.' Nobody can do that. The Patriots do that as well as or better than anybody, especially over a 20-year period, but it's the consistency of understanding what kind of attributes they'd looking for in a player.
Also discussed on the new episode are the results of a poll asking Patriots fans about their loyalty to Tom Brady, Perry's research on second-round pick Kyle Dugger, and much more.
You can check out the latest episode of the Patriots Talk Podcast on the NBC Sports Boston Podcast Network or on YouTube.