On Tuesday, November 7th, Patriots offensive line coach Adrian Klemm was unavailable for his scheduled press conference with the media, which sparked speculation across the New England fanbase.
Turns out, Klemm missed his Tuesday press conference due to medical reasons and is expected to be “out a little while,” as announced by head coach Bill Belichick on Wednesday morning.
Klemm, a former 46th overall draft selection by the Patriots in the 2000 NFL Draft, was hired from the University of Oregon in the 2023 off-season, where he was initially interviewed for New England’s vacant offensive coordinator position that Bill O’Brien later filled.
Before Belichick’s confirmation of Klemm’s absence, he stated that he did not want to get into detail about what was happening with the offensive line coach due to “HIPPA laws.”
“I mean, are you trying to get me to violate HIPPA laws and that kind of thing? I’m not going to comment on someone’s personal medical status,” Belichick said. I appreciate the question, but I’m just not going to do that. I don’t think that’s the right thing to do. I don’t even know if I’m allowed to do it. So, I’ll just skip over that one.”
Patriots assistant offensive line coach Billy Yates is expected to accept Klemm’s role along with others on the coaching staff during his absence.
“We’ll work through it on the offensive staff,” Belichick stated. “Billy Yates of course will be a part of it.”
There is no doubt the Patriots’ offensive line unit has stabilized throughout the team’s last couple of games after a concerning start to the year that was caused in large part by injuries to Cole Strange, Mike Onwenu, and other rotational players. RB Rhamondre Stevenson is finally beginning to look like his 2022 self again, and Mac Jones, evidently, has had increased time in the pocket to get a throw off and make a play. Hopefully, the absence of Adrian Klemm, who has done a solid job in his new position, will not hurt the current play of the offensive line too much.
