Zolak & Bertrand: Has the Patriots staff downgraded from last year?
Zolak & Bertrand, alongside Michael Holley, react to the news that Ben McAdoo has been hired by the Patriots as an offensive coach. Zo, Beetle and Holley share their initial reaction live from Radio Row in Las Vegas:
“They have downgraded…”
Beetle: The coaching staff of the New England Patriots going into 2024 will be worse than what it was in 2023. They have downgraded on the offensive side of the ball. They have downgraded, although I think it’s a worthy endeavor, they have downgraded at head coach. I think Jerod Mayo is a good. Do you think that he is as good at running a program and being as Belichick? So they downgraded at head coach, although I understand why that’s an understandable and worthy thing to do. They’ve downgraded on offense from Bill O’Brien to Alex Van Pelt and Ben freaking McAdoo. And on defense they have lost Steve Belichick who is called plays and has been a good coach for them. And they have gone with a guy who again probably is a good candidate in DeMarcus Covington. But hasn’t called plays.
Holley: Players raved about him though.
Beetle: That’s fine. I’m just telling you that on day one, having Covington run things is probably not as smooth as it was a season ago, with Jerod Mayo and Steve Belichick, right? So in time, it might be great. In time, the head coach might be great. Keep going. The offense went down. They got worse on offense and that’s where they needed the most help. They needed the most help on offense and they got worse.
Holley: Think about what happened to the staff. I think I think first of all, to go back to 2023. I think this was the worst coaching staff of Bill Belichick’s career in New England. It’s the worst staff he’s ever had. If you break it down and you know who agrees with me, the league because Belichick didn’t get a job. He should have, but he didn’t get one. Your offensive coordinator- send his ass to college! He’s in college. Your defensive coordinator sent his ass to college. He’s at Washington. Vinny Sunseri, college. Joe Judge out of the game. So you have coaches who are either unemployed or sent back to college. Who is scrambling for a former Patriot assistant in football? Nobody. So to say they downgraded. I think it’s going too far.
LISTEN: Has the Patriots staff downgraded from last year?
Initial reactions to the Patriots' surprise hire of Alex Van Pelt
CLEVELAND, OHIO – AUGUST 21: Offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt of the Cleveland Browns during the second quarter of a preseason game against the Philadelphia Eagles at FirstEnergy Stadium on August 21, 2022 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo by Jason Miller/Getty Images)
On Thursday evening the New England Patriots made their much-awaited offensive coordinator hire bringing in Alex Van Pelt. Van Pelt will be the Patriots’ fourth offensive coordinator in the last four years after Josh McDaniels, Matt Patricia (unofficially), and Bill O’Brien.
In some ways, the Van Pelt hire comes out of nowhere. 11 different coaches were reported to have interviewed with the Patriots for the offensive coordinator job, and Van Pelt was not among them.
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Instead, it appears the Patriots’ pursuit of Van Pelt happened quickly. According to Andrew Callahan of The Boston Herald the Patriots didn’t have their first interview with Van Pelt until Wednesday night, then spoke with him again on Thursday before making the hire official.
Given he wasn’t a part of the Patriots’ initial hiring process, there wasn’t much – if any – coverage about him as a candidate or fit in New England. On top of that, his profile skews away from that of most of the coaches they interviewed. He’s older (he’ll turn 54 in May), more experienced with multiple stints as an offensive coordinator, has worked extensively with quarterbacks, and isn’t from a Sean McVay or Kyle Shanahan tree.
That all being said, what boxes does he check, and what further questions are raised? Let’s take a look…
Why was he available?
Cleveland Browns offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt during training camp on Saturday, July 30, 2022 in Berea. (Phil Masturzo/USA Today Network)
The Patriots didn’t hire Van Pelt away from another team like they would have had to do with some of the other coaches they were pursuing. He was a coaching free agent after being fired by the Cleveland Browns in mid-January.
Van Pelt’s firing came as a bit of a surprise. He certainly got the most out of Cleveland’s offense this year. Despite having to use five quarterbacks – with none starting more than six games – the Browns’ offense finished the league 10th in scoring averaging 23.3 points per game. Cleveland made the playoffs after signing 38-year-old Joe Flacco off the couch and having him start down the stretch.
However the offensive faltered in the playoffs, scoring just 14 points against the Houston Texans in the Wild Card round. Van Pelt was then let go along with other positional offensive positional coaches in the fallout (players were reportedly upset with the decision).
Has he called plays?
Cleveland Browns offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt during OTA workouts on Wednesday, June 1, 2022 in Berea. (Phil Masturzo/USA Today Network)
Part of the reason it’s believed the Browns let Van Pelt go is the team wanted an experienced play caller to take over for head coach Kevin Stefanski, who has handled the job since 2020. They ended up hiring former Buffalo Bills OC Ken Dorsey.
Therein lies one of the big questions when it comes to Van Pelt in New England. He’s certainly experienced as a coach overall – he’s been a quarterbacks coach or OC for 15 of the last 17 seasons (save two as a running backs coach in Green Bay in 2012 and 2013) – but he has just one year of NFL play calling experience, which came in 2009 with the Buffalo Bills.
There were other instances where he called plays, but not consistently or at the NFL level. He filled in as play caller twice, including once in the playoffs in 2021, when Stefanski had to miss games due to COVID-19. His only other full season calling plays came in 2005 with the Frankfurt Galaxy in NFL Europe.
In New England, Van Pelt will likely be the full-time play caller (it would be a massive surprise if he’s not). How he handles that role will be the biggest test he faces in 2024.
Experience
CLEVELAND, OH – AUGUST 27: Head coach Kevin Stefanski of the Cleveland Browns talks with Jacoby Brissett #7 during the first half of a preseason game against the Chicago Bears at FirstEnergy Stadium on August 27, 2022 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo by Nick Cammett/Getty Images)
Just because Van Pelt is inexperienced when it comes to calling plays doesn’t mean he’s inexperienced as an offensive coordinator overall. Far from it. 2024 will be his sixth year as an offensive coordinator in the NFL – four with the Browns and one with the Bills.
More goes into being an offensive coordinator than calling plays. OCs lead the design the base offensive, work on incorporating the skill sets of certain players, and oversee the installation of that offensive system. That’s true for the full year, but also when it comes to tailoring the offense to face certain opponents on a week-to-week basis.
In that sense Van Pelt is experienced, and deserves at least some of the credit for Cleveland’s offensive performance last year even if he wasn’t the one calling the plays. But again, that only goes so far as his feel and ultimate level of success as an in-game play-caller, and how this experience translates to him calling plays into the QB’s headset on gamedays remains to be seen. Still, his extensive experience running the day-to-day of an NFL offense should mean first-year head coach Jerod Mayo shouldn’t be needed to consult on the micro on that side of the ball as he works on making his transition from the defensive side to running the team overall. .
He’s a QB guy
Dec 21, 2014; Tampa, FL, USA; Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers (12), quarterbacks coach Alex Van Pelt and quarterback Matt Flynn (10) talk during the second half against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Raymond James Stadium. Green Bay Packers defeated the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 20-3. Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
While the biggest question regarding Van Pelt is his play calling history (or lack thereof), his biggest plus is unquestionably his history with quarterbacks. He played the position himself in the NFL for 11 seasons from 1993-2003, mostly as a backup quarterback for the Bills. Since then, he’s been a quarterbacks coach on four different teams, including holding the title along with offensive coordinator in both Buffalo and Cleveland.
The most notable quarterback he’s worked with is Aaron Rodgers, who he spent four years with in Green Bay. In his first year as Green Bay’s quarterbacks coach, Rodgers won MVP. In fact, Rodgers voiced his displeasure with the Packers organization when they didn’t retain Van Pelt after the 2017 season.
For a Patriots team that has a number of questions at the quarterback position, Van Pelt should be able to help answer them. Whether that means rebuilding things around Mac Jones and trying to tap into the success he had in 2021, or working to develop a rookie, or both, that will likely be Van Pelt’s primary big-picture focus beyond installing the offense.
The next most important hire
EAST RUTHERFORD, NEW JERSEY – SEPTEMBER 24: Mac Jones #10 of the New England Patriots stands in the huddle in the first half against the New York Jets at MetLife Stadium on September 24, 2023 in East Rutherford, New Jersey. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)
When Mayo was named head coach, offensive coordinator appeared to be the most important hire he was going to have to make. That box is checked, so what’s next?
Van Pelt will need to fill out his full offensive staff, but no hire may be more important in that regard than offensive line coach. Of course quarterback is a crucial position for the Patriots right now, but Van Pelt is experienced in that regard and could end up being the quarterbacks coach himself. Meanwhile, the Patriots need to clean up what was one of the worst offensive lines in the league last year and should have a high draft pick (top 100) coming in at the tackle position.
The Patriots are already off and running in that regard, and are reportedly targeting Seattle Seahawks offensive line coach Andy Dickerson for the same job in New England. Another name to know is Scott Peters, who was the assistant offensive line coach under Van Pelt in Cleveland his entire four-year tenure.
What kind of system will he run?
Browns offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt directs the offense during training camp, Aug. 5, 2022 in Berea. (Syndication: Akron Beacon Journal)
The big question many fans have – how different will the Patriots’ offense look with Van Pelt.
Odds are, probably a bit different. He’s spent most of his coaching career working in West Coast schemes, so expect a general West Coast kind of shift. That being said, the West Coast offense is a wide umbrella, and Van Pelt has worked in multiple versions of the West Coast. It’s probably going to be a little different than anything he’s run before.
Using the Cleveland offense as a guide, one thing that may be coming is an increased emphasis on the tight end position. A tight end was one of the Browns’ top three receivers all four years Van Pelt was in Cleveland, and finished top two in three of the four. Last year David Njoku led the team with 81 catches, and had 882 yards and six touchdowns. The Patriots don’t have any tight ends under contract for 2024 right now, so he could help shape that position how he sees fit.
