After months of a label-less association with one NFL franchise, Bret Bielema now has an official title.
In the run-up to the 2018 NFL draft, Bielema was a part of the New England Patriots’ contingent in attendance at Alabama’s Pro Day in early March. In mid-May, it was reported that Bielema had continued working with the organization after the draft, and was involved in helping Bill Belichick and the rest of his Patriots coaching staff during minicamps.
Tuesday, it was confirmed that Bielema will carry the title of “Consultant to the Head Coach,” a label that Dwight Schrute, “assistant to the regional manager” at Dunder Mifflin, would certainly be proud of. Or envious of.
#Patriots coaching masthead for 2018 from the media guide. Bielema gets a title. And no *official* DC. pic.twitter.com/Gsezqhop4X
— Christopher Price (@cpriceglobe) July 24, 2018
Bielema has spent every year of a coaching career that began as a graduate assistant at alma mater Iowa at the collegiate level. The 48-year-old Bielema was the head coach at Wisconsin from 2006-2012 before moving on to the same job at Arkansas from 2013 until his dismissal immediately following the end of the 2017 regular season.
Bielema is being paid nearly $12 million, or in the neighborhood of $320,000 a month, to not coach the Razorbacks through 2020. It’s widely expected that Bielema will be a hot commodity when the 2018-19 college coaching carousel begins spinning in earnest this fall.
New England, meanwhile, opens training camp Wednesday as the Patriots look to earn a Super Bowl berth for the fourth time in the last five years.