If there's one coach in the NFL who's almost always thinking outside the box, it's Bill Belichick, so it probably won't come as a surprise to anyone that the Patriots coach has decided to make the unorthodox move to hire a Taekwondo black belt to join the team's coaching staff. 

According to the Boston Globe, the Patriots have hired martial arts expert Joe Kim as a pass-rushing consultant who will work with the team for the entire 2018 season. The hiring of Kim means the Taekwondo grandmaster will now be reunited with Belichick, who originally hired Kim to serve as a pass-rushing specialist and assistant strength coach in 1992. Belichick has been ahead of the game for 26 years. 

At the time of the first hiring, Belichick was the coach of the Browns and Kim ended up sticking with the staff until 1995, when Belichick was fired. Since then, Kim has worked with nine other NFL teams in the pass-rushing department, including the Chiefs, Bears and Redskins. 

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Although the Patriots didn't have a horrible pass-rush last season -- they ranked tied for seventh in the NFL with 42 sacks -- Belichick probably still has a bad taste in his mouth from the Super Bowl. During the Patriots' 41-33 loss to Philadelphia, New England's pass-rush was almost non-existent as Nick Foles shredded the Pats defense for 373 yards and three touchdowns. 

Kim will focus on helping each pass-rusher with their hand placement and their "hand-to-hand combat skills." You can get a small taste of what he'll likely do in the video below, which Kim filmed with Justin Houston in February. 

The Patriots defensive front should be better this year and that's because New England will be getting a serious influx of talent. Not only will they be getting two players back from injury (Dont'a Hightower and Derek Rivers), but they also added Adrian Clayborn in free agency and traded for Danny Shelton. 

Shelton actually worked with Kim during his time in Cleveland and he seemed to be a big fan of the former U.S. National Taekwondo team member. 

"Got the opportunity to work with [Kim] this past year and felt like I really improved from my first year with his help. Appreciate your work Master Kim and I know the best is in store for you," Shelton wrote on Instagram in January 2017. 

The unorthodox training styles of guys like Kim are starting to take over the NFL. Earlier this year, Aaron Donald was using knives in a workout that was designed to help his hand speed.