Ernie Adams

Ernie Adams (born March 31, 1953) is a former American football coach and researcher best known for his years with the New England Patriots of the National Football League (NFL). He is a longtime friend and associate of head coach Bill Belichick, first meeting Belichick when they played high school football together. With Adams, the Patriots won six Super Bowls. Adams is renowned for his extremely thorough analysis of the game, as well as his casual style of dress and his low profile. Early years Adams attended the Dexter School near Boston in Brookline, Massachusetts. Given his knowledge of football for his age, Adams was asked to coach the school's intramural football team as an eighth grader. He later attended Phillips Academy in Andover, Massachusetts for high school. While there, he read Football Scouting Methods written by Steve Belichick, who was then a football scout for the United States Naval Academy. In 1970, Steve Belichick's son Bill enrolled at Phillips Academy for a post-graduate year after graduating from Annapolis High School. Adams, a senior, recognized Belichick's name and the two quickly became friends. At one point, they sneaked into a Boston College football practice together to practice scouting. Beginning in 1971, Adams attended Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois. As a freshman, Adams sought a student assistant position for the Wildcats' football team and secured it after impressing an assistant coach with a report on a football formation. He would serve as a scout for Northwestern until his graduation in 1975 with a degree in education.