To replace Seely, who became assistant head coach/special teams coordinator of the Cleveland Browns, Belichick went back to the future, tapping Scott O'Brien, who was Belichick's special teams coach with the Cleveland Browns from 1991-95.
O'Brien has experience in the NFL - 16 years as a special teams coach - and experience taking over for Seely; he succeeded Seely in Carolina in 1999, after Seely left for New England.
"You start at the evaluation process, starting with specialists and players that become core players for you," said O'Brien, who spent the last two seasons coaching special teams in Denver. "You put in a new system and see who adjusts and who can't.
"Every year you're going through the same thing - maybe it's not as drastic as losing your kickoff returner, long snapper, and core special teams captain, but every year you have to deal with something.
"Bill being a head coach the way he is, he is involved in all facets and involved in the kicking game. He has the foresight to have players trained and ready to take over for him. It's new and, obviously, we have some major needs, and we need young players to step up and we'll see how they can handle it."
Some of the key replacements the 51-year-old O'Brien needs are in place. Wide receiver Sam Aiken came to the Patriots last season with a reputation as a special teams standout, and his ability to also contribute on offense allowed the Patriots to release Washington.
Second-year safety/wide receiver Matthew Slater was drafted with hopes of becoming a game-breaking return man but fizzled and fumbled as a rookie. Still, Slater has the type of blazing speed that O'Brien was able to parlay into Pro Bowl play with returners Jermaine Lewis in Baltimore and Michael Bates and Steve Smith in Carolina.
"I'm not going to give any predictions," said O'Brien. "It's so early to evaluate players.
