After writing one of our absolute favorite blog posts (here), on Tom Brady, Bill Belichick, Robert Kraft, and the New England Patriots dynasty, it occurred to us that we had left out perhaps the most seminal and influential name of all – Ernie Adams.
Ernie who??
Exactly.
Former Cleveland Browns owner Art Modell reportedly said, “I’ll pay anyone here $10,000 if they can tell me what Ernie Adams does” when Bill Belichick was head coach there from 1991-1995 and Ernie Adams worked for him as the nebulously titled “Director of Research”.
When asked about Ernie Adams, Belichick’s boyhood friend, who came with him to the Patriots, former tackle Matt Light said, “Ernie is a bit of a mystery to all of us, I’m not sure what Ernie does…”
And neither did anyone else – except for Belichick who hired him – because Adams, perhaps even more secretive and tight-lipped than Belichick, which is saying (or rather in this case not saying) something, famously never revealed any information about what he did at the Patriots, even to good friends.
When asked to explain the meaning behind the mysterious words “Pink Stripes“, which, as every diehard Patriots’ fan knows, was written on a whiteboard behind him during the filming of a 2015 documentary, Adams replied: “That’s…proprietary information”.
An extremely successful former bond trader and multi-multi-millionaire, which made him the richest person on the Patriots behind billionaire owner Robert Kraft, Adams was the proverbial man behind the curtain and jack of all trades that spoke directly – and exclusively – to Bill Belichick about computer analysis, player development, statistical evaluations, and film coordination. More than one article has referred to Adams as “a football genius”, “a statistical savant” and “the Rain Man of the NFL”.
About Spygate, in which the Patriots were punished in 2015 for having videotaped opposing teams’ signals, Ernie Adams said in the 10-part docuseries, Dynasty, on Apple TV+ “It’s going to the grave with me…”
Coincidence or not, and more and more we think perhaps not, the Patriots’ precipitous and ignominious decline began in 2021 when Adams, possibly the real #GOAT, instead of Belichick, an opinion for which we might catch some flak, retired.
The reason to write about Ernie Adams here is that his cryptic position, his cloak-and-dagger-secretiveness, his financial background, and the sheer number of conspiracy theories that even now in retirement continue to swirl around him remind us of Meaghan Stirn who works as the I-could-tell-you-but-then-I-might-have-to-kill-you Vice President (VP) of Special Projects at EpicentRx as well as VP of Finance.
Just as Adams was the voice-in-the-ear/trusted confidante of Bill Belichick, so Meaghan is the right hand of CEO, Dr. Tony Reid, and an International Woman of Mystery, who knows where all the bodies are buried, so to speak, meaning that we must tread very, very carefully.
What we know about Meaghan’s job description is next to nothing because no one will tell us, it being apparently even more top secret than the phrase, “Pink Stripes”, at least not without the promise of Witness Protection. 😂
But all kidding aside, Meaghan is talented, smart, dedicated, loyal, and friendly to a fault, so feel free to talk to her about anything, anything at all, except her job title.
The fact that Meaghan dutifully worked her way up the professional ladder, having proven herself and her value to EpicentRx time and time again, means she has earned her stripes, pink or otherwise.