With NFL assistant coaches considering forming a union -- a story reported by ESPN.com's Mike Sando last week -- who is taking a leading role in representing the interests of Patriots assistants?
Not surprisingly, it's the team's longest tenured assistant, Dante Scarnecchia.
Sando, in a follow-up entry on his NFC West blog on ESPN.com, lists the coaching representative from each team as part of the NFL Coaches Association.
Scarnecchia enters his 41st coaching season in 2010 and 27th with the Patriots. He is the team's assistant head coach/offensive line coach and he is regarded as one of the best in the NFL.
He is the only coach in Patriots history to be part of the franchise's six Super Bowl teams.