PATRIOTS: New coaches coming on board

Former Jets offensive assistant and assistant quarterbacks coach Mick Lombardi and Youngstown State offensive line coach Carmen Bricillo reportedly will be added to the staff.

After losing several assistant coaches following Super Bowl LIII, the Patriots are wasting no time in refilling their coaching staff.

According to ESPN, the Patriots will add former New York Jets offensive assistant and assistant quarterbacks coach Mick Lombardi to their staff. According to The Youngstown Vindicator, the Pats also will bring in Youngstown State offensive line coach Carmen Bricillo.

Lombardi is the son of former Cleveland Browns general manager Michael Lombardi, who was an assistant to the Patriots coaching staff from 2014 to 2016. Mick Lombardi got his NFL start with the Patriots. In 2011, he was a scouting assistant and in 2012 he was a scouting and coaching assistant.

Lombardi left the Patriots in 2013 and became the assistant to the head coach with the San Francisco 49ers. From 2013 to 2016, he was also an offensive assistant, defensive assistant and offensive quality control coach in San Francisco. He spent the past two years with the Jets. Lombardi could replace Jerry Schuplinski, the Patriots assistant quarterbacks coach who left for Miami.

According to The Vindicator, Bricillo will be the new assistant offensive line coach for the Patriots. He spent the past nine seasons with Youngstown State working under head coach Bo Pelini, who has a relationship with Patriots head coach Bill Belichick.

Bricillo became Youngstown’s offensive line coach in 2010 after working as an assistant offensive coach at Illinois, where he also worked with the offensive linemen. With Patriots longtime offensive line coach Dante Scarnecchia turning 71 this week, the team could be grooming Bricillo as the heir apparent.

This also could be good news for coaching assistant Cole Popovich. Signed toward the end of the 2015 season, Popovich has worked closely with Scarnecchia and the Patriots offensive line over the last three full seasons. With Bricillo coming aboard to help the offensive line, all signs point to Popovich being promoted. There are plenty of openings.

After defensive signal caller and linebacker coach Brian Flores left to become the head coach of the Miami Dolphins, the Patriots lost four more assistants. Along with Schuplinski, cornerbacks coach Josh Boyer and wide receivers coach Chad O’Shea followed Flores to Miami. Defensive line coach Brendan Daly also left for a job with the Kansas City Chiefs.

The Patriots also lost offensive coaching assistant Atif Austin, who left after one season to become the running backs coach at Northern Illinois.

Along with Bricillo and Lombardi, the Patriots reportedly are hiring Greg Schiano to be the team’s defensive coordinator.

Lineman signs: The Patriots signed offensive lineman Brian Schwenke to a one-year contract extension on Wednesday.

Schwenke, 27, signed with the Patriots last summer on a one-year deal. He spent a brief amount of time on the Pats' 53-man roster in 2018. The 6-foot-3-inch, 318-pound offensive lineman appeared in three games for the Patriots as a reserve interior lineman. His new contract gives him a base salary of $805,000 through the 2019 season. According to ESPN, the total amount of his extension is $895,000.

Schwenke’s 2018 season ended early. On Nov. 6, he was placed on injured reserve with a foot injury.

The six-year veteran will add depth to the Patriots guard and center positions. Last season, he battled offensive lineman Ted Karras for the role of top backup interior offensive lineman. Prior to arriving in Foxboro, Schwenke made 30 starts in 57 games for the Tennessee Titans from 2013 through 2017.