Update! More coaching seats have been filled at Foxborough

The Patriots coaching carousel, whilst still moving, is definitely getting filled up! And whilst the most recent episode of our YouTube show Pats Procrastination (link below) covered some of the recent hirings, we were still speculating at that stage who the NEP’s offensive coordinator might be. So, to that end, I thought I would bring you lovely lot a round up of so far, so… good?

Officially we all know that the big chief is Jerod Mayo at head coach, but what about the other guys named so far?

To go in order, DeMarcus Covington was a generally expected promotion from defensive line coach to full blown defensive coordinator. Covington is said to be widely respected and felt like a natural progression under the new, first time head coach. 

Covington joined the Patriots in 2017, named outside line backers coach in 2019 and has spent the last four years as the defensive line coach. 

And just for fun because you lot all know how I like my measurables, the 34 year old comes in at a neat 6 feet. 

The next hire, a less expected one and perhaps to the dismay of some, was Jeremy Springer, assistant special team coordinator for the Los Angeles Rams, now named New England’s special teams coordinator. 

Springer coached special teams for eight years at college before entering the NFL with the Rams and has spent two seasons as the special teams assistant coordinator. 

Now, I mention dismay as when you look up the details for Springer, the stats are not good. The Rams special teams performance has been rather poor lately. However, it has been said that Springer was a very “behind the scenes” guy, which could of course mean a lot of things, but a big one could be that his voice was never really heard. And whilst I am not telling you how to feel, or how to fan, maybe Springer just needs a chance in a new location to shine and create his own success. 

You’ll never know unless you try, and the one thing that Mayo seems to be looking at is building a future for the NEP, and I’m guessing he saw something in this 6 foot 3, 34 year old that he felt could do that. Time will tell. 

Finally, last night, as I write this on the morning of Friday 2nd February 2024, it was reported that the Patriots have hired 53 year old, 6 foot 1, Alex Van Pelt as their offensive coordinator. 

Van Pelt has a resumé full of experience, and as the young, new head coach brought in youthful exuberance at the defensive and special teams positions, he delved into the more seasoned market for a coach to work with the weakest link of the Patriots. 

Van Pelt, or AVP as he is already being coined by some media, started his NFL career as an 8th round pick quarterback to the Pittsburgh Steelers in 1993. Fast forward a little bit, okay a lot, and AVP rose through the coaching ranks, spending time at Tampa Bay, Green Bay, Cincinnati and Buffalo. Whilst in Green Bay he worked with the current Patriots director of scouting, Eliot Wolf.

AVP’s most recent position was with the Cleveland Browns, where he spent four years as offensive coordinator. Now, it is becoming well known, and discussed that AVP has not been a play caller, that was a role Kevin Stefanski kept to himself. But, AVP did step into the position for a game in 2020 with a playoff win against the Steelers when Stefanski was on the injury report. 

Van Pelt has had 29 seasons in the NFL, 20 as an assistant coach, has coached quarterbacks and running backs and has been OC on two occasions, Buffalo in 2009 and the stint in Cleveland that lasted 4 years. 

Within that, Van Pelt has spent 14 years as a quarterbacks coach, working with the likes of Aaron Rodgers, Baker Mayfield, Joe Flacco and perhaps most interestingly to some Patriots fans, Jacoby Brissett. 

So as we move towards free agency, the combine, and of course the draft, we can at least feel a little relieved that the big coordinator roles are filled. Now, don’t get me wrong, I fully appreciate people are still saying “Van who?”, are concerned over the Rams special teams past performance and have a tonne of other reasons not to be happy for these signings. However, I wrote this piece just to give you a little bit of fun insight into the new staff at Foxborough and perhaps, hopefully, add a small air of optimism too. 

Go Pats!