Dante Scarnecchia explained why he thinks ‘The Dynasty’ was a case of ‘selective journalism’
"I was aghast that they were not interviewed for this thing."
Reactions to the recent AppleTV+ documentary series, “The Dynasty,” continue to emerge as more and more former Patriots players and coaches weigh in.
The latest example was from longtime Patriots offensive line coach Dante Scarnecchia, who offered some pointed criticism during a recent interview with SiriusXM NFL Radio.
“When I had heard after the first couple of episodes that they had talked to one coach, I started texting guys and asked Charlie [Weis] if he had been [interviewed] and he said ‘No,'” Scarnecchia began, as transcribed by ESPN’s Mike Reiss. “Then Romeo [Crennel]. Then Brad Seely.”
Scarnecchia noted that Weis (offensive coordinator), Crennel (defensive coordinator), and Seely (specials teams coordinator) had coached the team during the early years of what would eventually become a dynasty, playing significant roles that were entirely skipped over by the documentary.
“Those three guys came there and, in the first year, implemented systems on offense, defense and special teams that essentially transcended the next 20 years,” he explained. “And not one of them was interviewed and I said, ‘How can this possibly be?'”
Criticism of the documentary series has revolved around the perception that it negatively portrayed Bill Belichick’s role, and that it focused on controversy over the team’s many successes.
Other former Patriots players, including Devin McCourty and Rodney Harrison, have discussed how they gave extensive interviews for the project only to appear in short segments with lines that weren’t presented in full context.
“I get it. Bill [Belichick] is unbelievable,” said Scarnecchia. “The greatest head coach that there has ever been. And we’ve had a lot of great players. But I also think the guys that really started the whole thing, I was aghast that they were not interviewed for this thing.
“There is some selective journalism here and I don’t like it,” Scarnecchia concluded.
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