COMMUNITY ANNOUNCEMENT

Tickets are $25 and include access to The Hall at Patriot Place presented by Raytheon before and after the event, question and answer forum with recently retired New England Patriots assistant coach Dante Scarnecchia and one autograph per ticket holder.

Longtime New England Patriots assistant coach Dante Scarnecchia will be the featured guest for The Hall at Patriot Place presented by Raytheon’s popular Speaker Series on Thursday, Feb. 27, at 6:30 p.m. in The Hall’s Raytheon Theater. Doors open at 6 p.m.

Scarnecchia recently retired after 32 seasons in the NFL, including 30 seasons with the Patriots (1982-88, 1991-2013).

“Coach Scarnecchia has so much experience and has worked with so many coaches – almost all here in New England – and we are incredibly fortunate to have him for our Speaker Series,” said Hall Executive Director Bryan Morry. “This should be a real treat for our fans.”

The first hour of the Speaker Series will feature a question-and-answer session between the fans and Coach Scarnecchia before he signs one autograph for every ticket holder in attendance.

Scarnecchia was the longest tenured NFL coach this past season. The last NFL coach to garner at least 30 seasons with one team was Dick Hoak, who spent an NFL-record 35 seasons as an assistant with the Pittsburgh Steelers. Since entering the NFL in 1982, Scarnecchia has spent all but two seasons (1989-90) with the Patriots. He was an offensive line coach for the Indianapolis Colts during those two seasons.

Scarnecchia announced his retirement on Jan. 22.

“Dante Scarnecchia is a Patriot and NFL legend who defied the phrase ‘not for long,’” said Patriots head coach Bill Belichick. “In an industry of constant change, Dante remained a fixture here for the simple reason that he helped every player reach his highest potential, regardless of who he was, how he was acquired or how much raw talent he had. In whatever category a coach can be assessed – evaluator, teacher, motivator, problem solver, disciplinarian, team player, winner – Dante is as good as it gets. As many games as he helped us win and as much as we would like to work with Dante forever, we are blessed with the opportunity to have been with him as long as we were.”

Scarnecchia was on the Patriots coaching staff for 18 of the franchise’s 21 playoff seasons and coached in 39 of the 43 playoff games in team history, including each of the team’s seven Super Bowl appearances.

He coached the offensive line for the last 15 seasons for the Patriots, a position he coached for 28 of his 44 seasons in the coaching profession. He originally joined the Patriots and made his NFL coaching debut in 1982. He coached the Patriots tight ends and specials teams for seven seasons (1982-88) before moving to Indianapolis in 1989. After two seasons (1989-90) as the Colts offensive line coach, he re-joined the Patriots in 1991.

After two seasons as a tight ends and special teams coach on Dick MacPherson’s staff, Scarnecchia was appointed special assistant on Bill Parcells’ staff from 1993-94, which was re-defined as defensive assistant from 1995-96. He resumed special teams responsibilities on Pete Carroll’s staff in 1997 before being named the offensive line coach in 1999. When Belichick was named the Patriots head coach in 2000, he made Scarnecchia his assistant head coach/offensive line coach, positions he held for each of the last 14 seasons, including each of the Patriots’ three Super Bowl Championship teams.

He began his coaching career in 1970 as the offensive line coach at California Western University. His coaching career led him to Iowa State (1973-74), Southern Methodist (1975-76), Pacific (1977-78), Northern Arizona (1979) and back to Southern Methodist (1980-81) before entering the NFL ranks as a member of Ron Meyer’s staff in 1982.

Speaker Series tickets, which can be purchased on The Hall’s website at www.Thehallatpatriotplace.com, are $25 each and include access to The Hall before and after the event.

ABOUT THE HALL AT PATRIOT PLACE PRESENTED BY RAYTHEON
The Hall at Patriot Place presented by Raytheon is the crown jewel of Patriot Place and the only sports and education experience of its kind. Through a dazzling array of interactive multimedia exhibits and artifacts never before viewable by the public, The Hall showcases the tradition of the New England Patriots, explores the history of football in New England, and promotes math and science education for thousands of schoolchildren each year. The Hall received a Gold MUSE Award from the American Association of Museums and The Hall’s signature film, “Patriots Way,” won a CINE Golden Eagle Award. The Hall was named to Boston Globe Magazine’s Best of the New, and was a Yankee magazine Editor’s Choice recommendation. Tickets to The Hall are $10 for adults, $7 for seniors and $5 for children 5-12. Children 4 and under are admitted for free. The current hours of operation are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. from Monday to Friday, 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Saturday and 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Sunday. For more information or to purchase tickets, please visit TheHallatPatriotPlace.com, visit “The Hall at Patriot Place presented by Raytheon” on Facebook or follow @TheHall on Twitter.