Former Patriots assistant Jerry Schuplinski may no longer be coaching quarterbacks in New England, but he can detail as well as anyone how the team selects its signal callers.

Now an assistant quarterbacks coach in Miami, Schuplinski worked on the Patriots staff over the past six seasons. He handled rookie newcomers Jimmy Garoppolo, Jacoby Brissett and Danny Etling, and was privy to the decision-making that led to each of their selections. All three quarterbacks have credited Schuplinski as the driver behind their initial development.

The Monday before Super Bowl LIII, Schuplinski spoke with MassLive about New England’s priorities and process when evaluating quarterbacks, a task the front office is currently undertaking with the 2019 NFL Draft mere months away.

A year after it was widely believed they would pick Tom Brady’s successor in the first round of a loaded 2018 draft class, the Pats’ search continues. Thankfully for New England, Brady’s age (he’ll turn 42 in August) has yet to manifest on the field. Perhaps the Pats will wait another year to draft his replacement. Maybe they won’t.

Whenever they make their move, there are two traits they will have identified in that quarterback.

"Outside of the physical fundamentals of the game, it’s the intelligence factor and the commitment factor it takes to be successful,” Schuplinski told MassLive. “It’s not just about knowing our offense and knowing our playbook. It’s more so knowing the defense; what they’re doing, how are they aligning, what kind of information we can gather from the defense — coverage indicators and things of that nature — and how we can use that information and use their strengths and weaknesses to execute better.”

In order to determine whether a prospect possesses the necessary makeup to succeed, New England first shrinks its board to the incoming rookies who meet the team’s physical criteria and sits down with them individually. Coaches and/or scouts run these prospects through a rigorous whiteboard test covering both the big picture and minutia of offensive and defensive schemes. Questions are fired rapidly to create a pressurized environment that simultaneously gauges their toughness.

“What’s important to us is we need to put them through a pretty decent grind when we meet with them. We need to put them through some stuff — it doesn’t necessarily have to be their (plays) per se — but we want to teach them something and see how they learn it," Schuplinski said. "Teach them something, then test them on it and see how their retention is. And that’s usually a relatively good indicator.

"It’s doesn’t tell us automatically whether this guy’s got it, but we’ll know if he doesn’t have it. And if he does, we’ll know he has a chance.”

Essentially, the Pats must know whether the quarterback can be a coach on the field. For 17 years, Brady has simultaneously been under center and on top of route adjustments, protection changes and full-play audibles. He’s also served as the offense’s unquestioned captain, another non-negotiable part of the job.

“You want to get a feel for how the guy is as a leader, but it’s hard to tell in an individual setting all the time," Schuplinski said. “So you’ve got to try to talk to different coaches or teammates you might work out as well to get that feel.”

The last quarterback to pass every test was Etling. Schuplinski scouted the LSU product in person a year ago, and then last April New England took the young Tiger in the seventh round. A long shot to make the 53-man roster, Etling eventually stuck on the practice squad.

The reason Etling remains in Foxborough can be traced to the fundamental traits the Patriots seek every offseason.

“I felt like he was pretty smart and had a great work ethic, and then when we met with him, he verified a lot of the stuff mentally,” Schuplinski said. “And then when you’re able to see him throw a little bit, I thought that was good, too.”

Whenever Schuplinski or another Patriots assistant believes in a prospect, he brings his name to the attention of Bill Belichick, who has likely already familiarized himself with the player. Last spring, Schuplinski conveyed to his boss there was enough of a “base” in Etling for the franchise to build upon and develop into a legitimate NFL player. So far, so good, according to Schuplinski.

“(Etling)'s work ethic’s been great. He hasn’t let us down. This doesn’t always happen, but he’s a guy we’re feeling like we might have had (during the draft process) in terms of his work ethic and is who he is.”

When New England drafts the next face of the franchise, it’s likely the front office will be looking at less of a project than Etling. Of course, that call won’t be up to Schuplinski’s replacement or a scout.

It’s all on Belichick, who was once persuaded to draft Brady by the another Patriots quarterbacks coach, the late Dick Rehbein, and will soon pull the trigger on Brady’s successor after opening the floor on a move that will undoubtedly change the franchise forever.

“At the end of the day, we’re all responsible for reporting back what we see. And that’s one thing that I really respect about coach. He wants a good dialogue," Schuplinski said. “He wants to know maybe not just strengths and weaknesses but why you saw what you saw and how he compares to other guys. That kind of stuff. It’s a good back and forth, and then ultimately it’s your responsibility to give your opinion."