Patriots Cheerleaders Have 'Invincible' Mindset Heading Into 2026
New England Patriots Cheerleaders manager Driss Dallahi had a quick and easy word come to mind when he was asked about the mindset of this year's team -- "invincible."
The makeup of this year's squad is unique, in that eight rookies are part of the group, an unusually high number. Overall, the team is made up of one year-six All-Star, one year-five All-Star, two year-four veterans, eight year-three veterans, 10 year-two veterans and the eight rookies. The team was named back in early May, and they're looking forward to taking the field for the first time as a group this year.
With the rise of cheerleading popularity across the country, thanks to Netflix series taking the world by storm, the spotlight is often shined onto these cheer squads a lot more now. The Patriots group is no different, but there are other factors that make this group special.
All of the members of the squad work regular "9-5" jobs in addition to their role with the Patriots. This comes with plenty of travel, late nights memorizing 60 to 80 pieces of choreography and appearing at several community events during the year. It's a lot of work, especially when you factor in the harsh weather the New England region can get.
"The Patriots cheerleaders, they brave the elements," Dallahi told Patriots On SI. "They are invincible and absolutely unstoppable. It doesn't matter if it is 3 o'clock in the morning and a blizzard or if it's in the blazing sun in the middle of August - they really can do anything."
It takes a lot of discipline to make it all work, and according to Dallahi, that's part of the process that goes into choosing each year's squad. The 2026 group is no exception.
"Discipline is definitely a required skill," Dallahi said. "It is not something you can do half-heartedly. It's something you really have to know in your bones that you want to commit yourself to, because the experience can be very difficult and very stressful if you're not able to commit yourself fully to it."
Dallahi was elevated into his role after years on the Patriots cheerleading team. He was one of the first male cheerleaders in franchise history, and he knows first hand what it's like to be committed to your craft on and off the field.
He explained that working full-time while also being a NFL cheerleader is not a new concept.
"When I was in my cheerleading days in my full-time career, a lot of days I'd be at the gym early in the morning, and then getting to work, and maybe taking a break in the bathroom before leaving for practice to just go over a couple of things one more time, or in between meetings," he said. "Whatever it is, you just find the time to re-evaluate, because when you get to practice, or when you get to get to the field, it's just so much more fun if you don't have to stress about, 'Do I know what I'm doing? Do I know where I'm supposed to stand? Do I know what count I'm supposed to come in on?'
"So the discipline can really make or break your experience, because it was the best thing I ever did, but if you're not prepared and you're not committed, then it's going to be really difficult to keep up and be able to actually enjoy it."
The 2026 Team In Their Own Words
Haley Schmich was named one of the team's five captains for 2026, and is one of their two year-four veterans. She grew up primarily training in ballet, pointe and modern dance before finding her way to the Gillette Stadium sidelines. She said what makes this year stand out to her from all the others is the level of mentorship the veterans have taken on.
"I would say this year's squad is a little different in the sense that this rookie class, I think, has the opportunity to learn from a lot of veterans," Schmich said. "The last two seasons, there have been just about as many rookies as vets on the team, and this year, there's only eight rookies on the team. So they kind of have this special experience where they get to really learn from the veterans that are around them."
Just like the Patriots on the field, these cheerleaders took to the sidelines for Super Bowl LX, which resulted in the Patriots falling short to the Seattle Seahawks, 29-13. Despite the loss, the squad is looking to keep energy up throughout the 2026 season en route to what they hope is back-to-back appearances.
"Our energy is as high as it was during the Super Bowl," said Schmich, who works as an Equinox instructor and graduated from Hofstra with an master's degree in public relations. "I would say it was absolutely an unreal experience, and we are so thankful the squad from last year that was able to attend. We're really just hoping to keep our energy high, the guys' energy will be high, and maybe we'll be back there in a few months."
One of the rookies on the team, Columbia alum and San Diego native Jade Bucci, is taking it all in for the first time. She grew up in the competitive and classical dance world, and achieved one of her lifelong dreams when she found out that she made the Patriots' cheer team this past spring.
Bucci said she relives the moment she found out she made the NFL cheer team. It helps her during what can be a busy travel schedule.
"I relive this moment in my dreams quite literally every single night. It is so surreal, because it's really just like you finally see what all the hard work was for," Bucci said. "While still pursuing this, I would go into the office and start working at 8:30 in the morning, be done at six, immedaitely hop on the subway to go to a dance class and train.
"And that was pretty much every single night building up to this point," she continued. "So when they called my number ... my heart like beats thinking about it."
Bucci graduated from Columbia with a bachelor's degree in computer science, and puts it to good use. She currently holds a full-time job building data infrastucture in New York. She recently wrapped up her first appearance as an NFL cheerleader, attending Drake Maye's inaugural MayeDay Family Foundation Celebrity Softball Classic in Worcester last weekend.
"The New England Patriots cheerleaders, for me specifically, as I mentioned before, a lot of them are working other jobs, are really balancing kind of everything, and that to me is so inspiring," Bucci said. "It's really exciting, because I feel like all of us are kind of coming from all over. Different backgrounds, different hometowns, different interests outside, so it kind of just makes us a little bit more like well-rounded in a sense, where we get to really lean on each other's experiences, help each other out."
Bucci added that she can't wait for all the things that come with being a Patriots cheerleader, and wouldn't change a thing about it -- especially those she gets to do it with.
"I wouldn't trade the feeling for the world to be sharing the rookie season with the people that I get to," Bucci said.
This article was originally published on www.si.com/nfl/patriots/onsi as Patriots Cheerleaders Have 'Invincible' Mindset Heading Into 2026.
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This story was originally published June 4, 2026 at 8:30 AM.