The Patriots will lose both coordinators after a Super Bowl vs. the Eagles ... again

Nothing about the Patriots’ 10th trip to the Super Bowl is uncharted territory. They’ve hoisted the Lombardi Trophy five times and they’ve even played the Eagles before, back in Super Bowl XXXIX.

They’re also expected to lose both offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels and defensive coordinator Matt Patricia to head coaching gigs after the big game, and they’ve even been through that in the past. It happened right after that Super Bowl win over the Eagles.

McDaniels is expected to take over as the new head coach of the Indianapolis Colts, while Patricia is headed for the Lions after the Super Bowl is over. There’s no question Bill Belichick can navigate the transition smoothly. After all, he lost offensive coordinator Charlie Weis and defensive coordinator Romeo Crennel to head coaching jobs back in 2005.

Crennel and Weis both had extensive experience coaching alongside Belichick. The three coaches spent time on the same staffs with the Giants, Jets, and Patriots. After the Patriots beat the Eagles 24-21, Crennel took over as the head coach of the Browns. Weis went back to the college ranks and assumed the head coach role at Notre Dame.

Crennel’s defense in his last season as the Patriots’ defensive coordinator was stacked with talent. Richard Seymour, Mike Vrabel, Tedy Bruschi, and Marvin Harrison were just a few of the notable players.

The Patriots’ defense finished the season ranked second in the league for points allowed. The unit held Peyton Manning and the Colts’ top-ranked offense to a single field goal in divisional play. Then Bruschi and Harrison each picked off Donovan McNabb in the final quarter of Super Bowl XXXIX to help seal the win for the Patriots.

Crennel took over a Browns team that went 4-12 in 2004. They improved to 6-10 in his first season, but fell back down to four wins in 2006. The 2007 season was Crennel’s best, and is by far the most successful Browns season in recent memory. The team went 10-6. But in true Browns fashion, they still failed to make the postseason.

The Browns fired Crennel after the Browns went 4-12 yet again in 2008. He went to the Chiefs and took over as the defensive coordinator, then spent two seasons as Kansas City’s head coach in 2011 and 2012. Now he’s serving as the Texans’ defensive coordinator.

Weis’ offense in his last season as the Patriots offensive coordinator ranked fourth in the league for scoring. Corey Dillon rumbled for 1,635 rushing yards and 12 touchdowns that season. In the Patriots’ Super Bowl win over the Eagles, Weis took advantage of Dillon’s prowess and called a balanced game with 28 run plays and 35 passes. Tom Brady picked the Eagles’ defense apart, spreading the ball around to seven different receivers.

Notre Dame was looking to bounce back from a 6-6 finish in 2004. Weis returned to his alma mater and led the Fighting Irish to a 9-2 record, before a loss to Ohio State in the Fiesta Bowl. In 2006 they went 10-3, but got blown out by LSU in the Sugar Bowl. The Irish struggled in 2007, locking up just three wins. They went 7-6 in 2008, and a 6-6 season in 2009 led the team to move on from Weis.

In 2011, Weis reunited with Crennel in Kansas City briefly as the team’s offensive coordinator. But he’s been away from the game since he was fired by the Chiefs for a “lack of on-field progress” in 2014.

Super Bowl XXXIX against the Eagles was the final time the Patriots’ trio of Belichick, Crennel, and Weis would share the sideline.

“It was the last time we’ll be coaching together. Potentially the last time we’ll be coaching together,” Belichick said after that Super Bowl XXXIX win, via ESPN’s Michael Smith. “It felt kind of different and strange. But if you have to go out, to go out a winner in the Super Bowl, that’s a real special feeling.”

We’ll soon find out if Patricia and McDaniels will leave New England the same way Weis and Crennel did: With a Super Bowl win over the Eagles.