Kyle Van Noy: Personnel losses irrelevant so long as culture remains

Patriots linebacker Kyle Van Noy appeared Tuesday on The NFL Network and downplayed the negative effects of New England’s personnel exodus.

Over the course of less than four months, the New England Patriots suffered the mass departure of a number of important players, coaches, scouts, and staffers. Amongst those fleeing Foxborough: Trey Flowers, Trent Brown, Cordarrelle Patterson, Chris Hogan, Dwayne Allen, Brian Flores, Jack Easterby, Chad O’Shea, Brendan Daly, Rob Gronkowski (retired), and the list goes on and on and on…

While it’s typical for most Super Bowl-winning squads to see a heightened degree of turnover after they claim a championship, this offseason stands out as being particularly dramatic for the Patriots. All the controversy and drama surrounding what would have been Nick Caserio leaving to take the Texans’ vacant GM job just further underscores what has been an usual post-Super Bowl period for the Pats.

One person who’s not worried about all the turnover and change?

That would be Kyle Van Noy, the outspoken middle linebacker who has now spent two-and-a-half seasons with the Patriots (and won two titles with them along the way). A former second-round draft pick of the Detroit Lions, Van Noy has never shied away from making media appearances: he notably took on Max Kellerman on ESPN’s “First Take” not so very long ago.

This time around, Van Noy appeared on The NFL Network’s “NFL Total Access.” Asked by New England legend Willie McGinest how the 2019 Patriots could continue to find success in the face of such increased adversity, Van Noy didn’t seem too worried at all.

“(Head coach) Bill (Belichick) does a really good job of the culture being set with the players that have been there for their tenures,” Van Noy explained. “Like Patrick Chung, Dont’a Hightower, Devin McCourty, Tom (Brady), Matthew Slater. Those guys have already been passed on from your generation of the standard… and we’re just trying to keep that legacy going. And when that culture’s set, it doesn’t matter, we all have the same goal in mind and that’s just to win.”

Here’s hoping Van Noy is right, and that the Patriots’ culture of winning and dominance on the field is enough to help them overcome this offseason’s losses and pursue a record seventh championship this fall and winter.