A former New England Patriots’ staffer will be taking over his alma mater’s team on an interim basis for the 2026 Massachusetts high school football season.
Rivals confirmed by phone with a Phillips Academy (Andover, Mass.) official on Tuesday afternoon that former New England Patriots’ Football Research Director Ernie Adams will be the program’s interim head coach for 2026. The Phillips Academy website also shows Adams as the program’s interim head football coach.
Adams was best known for his time on Bill Belichick’s staff during the Patriots’ Super Bowl runs from 2000-2021. During that time, Adams was on the Patriots’ staff when the franchise won six Super Bowls under Belichick.
The longtime Belichick assistant held a position with the Patriots once before from 1975-78 as a administrative assistant before moving on to the New York Giants from 1982-85 as the Director of pro personnel.
Now the Phillips Academy alum will take over a Big Blue football program that hasn’t seen a winning season since 2017 when the team went 6-3. Outside of an undefeated 2013 (9-0 record), Phillips Academy has seen only two winning seasons from 2010-2025.
Last season was another difficult campaign for the Big Blue as the team started off with a promising 2-3 start before losing their final four games of the season. Phillips Academy finished with a 2-7 record and notched victories over the Kent School and Suffield Academy.
The Big Blue finished as the No. 71st ranked team in the state, according to the final Massachusetts 2025 High School Football Massey Rankings.
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