The New England Patriots make for a challenging employer.

If a coach wants to work for them, they better prepare themselves for long hours. The role as coaching assistant is one where many of the Patriots coordinators — and current NFL head coaches — began their careers. Offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels and front-office executive Matt Patricia both began their careers as coaching assistants, a thankless job that requires hours of busywork.

Just when it feels like a coach is learning how to do the gig as a coaching assistant, the Patriots dump more work onto their plate. Apparently, that’s a sign that the coaches are doing their job well.

Here’s how those coaches (and others) explain what the job is like.

As usual, it’s an interesting look inside the Patriots’ organization. If you want more information, then you should check out reporter Kevin Duffy’s feature on the topic.