Danny amendola, unlike many other las vegas visitors, seems to know when to walk away. On “the dan and ninko show,” the former new england patriots receiver announced his alleged retirement from coaching, taking a break from his assistant role with the las vegas raiders, where he worked with returners. “i think i’m good on the coaching thing for a little bit,” amendola said. “i wanted to get in and just see what it was all about,” he said. I’m so glad i did it. I think i’ve retired my whistle for now,” the raiders’ return game, headlined by deandre carter, ranked 10th on average punts (9.96) and 11th on kickoffs (23.82).
That was, however, far from adequate to match the adrenaline and excitement of a 13-year career in new england, two of which culminated with a vince lombardi trophy hoist. “i wanted to go in and see if i felt any of that competitive juice on game day,” amendola explained. “it was there, but it’s so difficult to replace actually playing in the game.” A lot of it felt like work, but it’s impossible to escape the competitive nature of playing. “ex new england collaborator josh mcdaniels, who was fired after eight games, served the first half of amendola’s brief tenure.
Antonio pierce, the interim head coach, has since been given full-time employment. During his time in foxborough, amendola gained 2,383 yards and 12 touchdowns (plus six more in 13 playoff appearances). During the 2015 season, he averaged 12 yards on 23 punt runbacks, the highest among qualified returners that season, and he also surpassed the league-best 1,618 total kick return yards when repping the st. louis rams in 2009.
Amendola is one of several well-known patriots to appear in the upcoming apple tv+ docuseries “the dynasty,” which centers on the franchise’s unprecedented run of success in the early stages of the new century.
