Hiring Mike Vrabel as their next head coach is the biggest domino to fall for the New England Patriots this offseason, but far from the only one. Now, it’s about building a coaching staff that can help the team return to form after back-to-back 4-13 seasons.
Vrabel, who has 14 years of coaching experience on his résumé, does have the connections to make this process a smoother one for the Patriots than last year’s. Still, there is plenty of uncertainty about how the 49-year-old will fill the spots on his staff between retaining current coaches and adding new ones to the mix.
Time will tell what Vrabel will end up doing. In the meantime, here are some names to keep an eye on.
Outside coaches to watch
Josh McDaniels: One of the most prominent hires Vrabel could make. McDaniels previously served as Patriots offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach on two separate occasions, and was part of all six of the organization’s Super Bowl teams. He is considered a frontrunner to return to Gillette Stadium to again serve as OC and be trusted with sophomore quarterback Drake Maye’s development.
Tommy Rees: After starting his coaching career at the college level, Rees made the jump to the NFL last year as a passing game specialist and tight ends coach with the Cleveland Browns. In that capacity, the potential OC candidate spent 2024 working alongside then-Browns consultant Mike Vrabel.
Tim Kelly: Kelly and Vrabel go back all the way to 2014, when both were hired to Bill O’Brien’s staff with the Houston Texans. They later reunited in Tennessee, where he worked as the Titans’ passing game coordinator and offensive coordinator in his two seasons. He currently is employed as the New York Giants’ tight ends coach.
Nick Caley: The Patriots wanted to hire Caley as their offensive coordinator last year, but he remained in Los Angeles as the Rams’ tight ends coach and pass game coordinator. With Vrabel now running the show over Jerod Mayo, and with Drake Maye as starting quarterback, he might reconsider if another offer for the OC role came his way.
Josh McCown: McCown is an up-and-comer in coaching circles due to his experience as a quarterback and his work with Sam Darnold in Minnesota. While he has yet to call plays or serve in any role other than QB coach, he has the credentials to take the next step and become an offensive coordinator.
Tony Dews: Dews has coached almost every position on the field over his 26-year career, including running backs and tight ends under Vrabel in Tennessee. Likely to fall victim to the New York Jets’ current restructuring, he might be a coaching free agent soon — one whose experience with Vrabel might lead him to come to Foxboro.
Wes Welker: The Miami Dolphins surprisingly fired Welker over the weekend, opening the door for a potential return to New England. Welker and Vrabel were teammates with the Patriots for two years, and he would have the necessary expertise both as a player and a coach to take over as the team’s new wide receivers coach.
Chad O’Shea: Another ex-Patriot to consider as wide receivers coach, O’Shea already held that position in New England between 2009 and 2018. Like Tommy Rees, he also spent 2024 working alongside Vrabel with the Browns and might be willing to make the jump over to his former club under the right circumstances.
Luke Steckel: Steckel, who is currently still employed by the Las Vegas Raiders, spent five years with Vrabel in Tennessee, including the final two as tight ends coach. He also has experience working with wide receivers and the offensive line, but would likely return to his old job under a Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel.
Jason Houghtaling: Houghtaling also is a veteran of the Vrabel-led Titans, having worked with the team’s offensive line from 2021 to 2023. He currently is the assistant offensive line coach with the Chicago Bears and would be a candidate to fill a similar role in New England.
Pat O’Hara: Another coach who goes back to Vrabel’s days with the Texans, O’Hara made the move over to Tennessee with him in 2018. After first serving as quarterbacks coach — helping Ryan Tannehill play the best football of his career — his role later changed to pass game analyst.
Nick Charlton: Charlton worked as a run game specialist for the Browns last season, which meant that he too crossed paths with Vrabel in 2024. His experience goes far beyond his time in Cleveland, though: a Boston College alumnus, Charlton was head coach at Maine and offensive coordinator at UConn before moving to the NFL.
Lou Anarumo: While they did not yet cross paths over the course of their respective careers, Vrabel and Anarumo teaming up in New England would make sense for both. The 58-year-old, after all, is an experienced defensive coordinator who led some solid defenses during his time in Cleveland.
Terrell Williams: Currently run game coordinator and defensive line coach with the Detroit Lions, Williams’ outlook might be tied to Aaron Glenn’s future in or out of Detroit. If the Patriots are patient, though, they might see him as a potential add to their defensive staff: the 50-year-old was Vrabel’s D-line coach throughout his time in Tennessee. In 2023, he even served as assistant head coach.
Chris Harris: Vrabel brought Harris to Tennessee in 2023 to serve as defensive pass game coordinator and cornerbacks coach. He remained on the Titans’ staff through the transition to new head coach Brian Callahan, but is a name to keep in mind when it comes to the Patriots’ potentially open defensive coordinator role as well.
Zak Kuhr: Currently a defensive assistant with the Giants, Kuhr previously spent four seasons in Tennessee on Mike Vrabel’s staff. He began as a quality control coach before moving up to inside linebackers assistant.
Justin Hamilton: A former safety and quality control coach under Vrabel in Tennessee, Hamilton currently is a member of the Colts’ staff. However, with Indianapolis parting ways with its defensive coordinator and defensive backs coach, his future as assistant defensive backs coach is in question as well. The Patriots might be a possible landing spot should he move.
Brian Bell: With Jerod Mayo gone, the Patriots also moving on from his brother, head strength and conditioning coach Deron Mayo, would not come as a surprise. If so, Vrabel’s former assistant strength and conditioning coach with the Titans might be a replacement candidate. Bell currently works as Tennessee’s assistant director of sports performance.
Current Patriots coaches to watch
Alex Van Pelt: Van Pelt’s first year as Patriots offensive coordinator was a struggle, and his unit eventually finished as one of the least effective in the NFL. That said, he appeared to do a good job overseeing Drake Maye’s development from rookie backup to promising starting quarterback. Is that enough to save him, in whichever role? That is for Vrabel to decide, but Van Pelt would have a convincing argument in his favor.
T.C. McCartney: What is true for Van Pelt also applies to McCartney, the Patriots’ first-year quarterbacks coach in 2024. Where the line of responsibility for developing Maye lies between the two coaches is impossible to tell from the outside looking in, but he is another currently-signed coach Vrabel may have to think twice about letting go.
Bob Bicknell: Of all the positions on the Patriots’ offense, the tight end group might have come closest to meeting expectations in 2024. The unit did so while being led by one of Mike Vrabel’s former coaches: Bicknell was tight ends coach with the Kansas City Chiefs in 2009, when the linebacker/tight end hybrid was acquired via trade from New England. Vrabel caught one of his 12 career touchdowns that season.
Scott Peters: Looking simply at the results, Vrabel letting Peters go would not come as a surprise; New England’s offensive line was a mess in 2024. However, the question between results and process relative to talent available might be something the incoming head coach may be interested in. If so, and he deems that there is promise in said process, Peters might not be a goner after all.
Mike Pellegrino: Ever since he took over in 2019, the Patriots’ cornerback group has been among the best and most consistent on the roster. Not all of that might be directly due to its coach — having a player such as Christian Gonzalez helps — but Pellegrino has had his troops ready and prepared week in and week out. Keeping the 31-year-old around might be in the Patriots’ best interest regardless of who will coordinate their defense in 2025.
Jeremy Springer: It wasn’t all sunshine and rainbows for New England’s special teams in 2024, but Springer’s group did show some positive strides. Unless Vrabel has a concrete option in mind he feels more comfortable with, Springer also seems like a possible coach to be retained for next season.
Tom Quinn: Quinn falls in the same category as Springer, with one add-on: he served as the Titans’ assistant special teams coach under Vrabel in 2023. That alone will not allow him to keep his job, but the existing connection cannot be ignored either.
The list of coaches Mike Vrabel will consider for his staff might look drastically different from this one, and include some other names not listed above. Todd Downing and Shane Bowen, who at one point served as Vrabel’s offensive and defensive coordinators in Tennessee, come to mind, as do Mick Lombardi, Jerry Schuplinski, Bo Hardegree, Keith Carter or Shawn Jefferson.
Obviously, not all of the names on this list are equally likely to end up joining Mike Vrabel’s staff in New England. The Patriots hiring both Josh McDaniels and Josh McCown, for example, seems like a long shot given that both, rightfully so, would have offensive coordinator aspirations. Still, both are coaches that would make for Vrabel to look at.
here might not be any news about the Patriots’ staff until after Vrabel gets introduced as Patriots head coach on Monday at noon, the expectation is that he will get to work quickly. New England actually being the first team in the NFL to fill its head coaching vacancy could be an advantage in that regard as well.
