Patriots add veteran coach from Ivy League to offensive staff
Nov 24, 2022; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; A New England Patriots helmet sits idle before the game between the Minnesota Vikings and the Patriots at U.S. Bank Stadium. Credit: Jeffrey Becker-USA TODAY Sports
The New England Patriots continue adding to their coaching staff. Their latest hire comes from the college level.
As first reported by John Brice of Football Scoop on Wednesday night, the Patriots are hiring Michael McCarthy (not to be confused with current Dallas Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy) to their offensive staff. McCarthy will hold a general offensive assistant role, according to MassLive’s Mark Daniels.
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McCarthy won’t have to move far (or at all) as he joins the Patriots, as he was previously working in Rhode Island as the offensive line coach at Brown. He held that job for five years.
Prior to working for Brown, McCarthy spent time in the NFL and at the college level. In the pros he worked for the New York Jets, Cleveland Browns and Detroit Lions, who he spent time with most recently as an assistant offensive line coach from 2016 to 2017. At the college level he worked at Rutgers, Tulane, Western Michigan and North Carolina Central.
Meanwhile, the Patriots still have at least one positional coaching role to fill on offense after the departure of tight ends coach Will Lawing. The status of the wide receiver coach position remains unknown, as no update has been given on Troy Brown’s status. Here’s a look at the staff as it stands right now…
Patriots coaching staff tracker: Building out the staff
With Jerod Mayo’s introduction in the books, the New England Patriots’ next step is to build out his coaching staff for 2024. That begins with the coordinators, with the Patriots interviewing candidates for all three positions – offense, defense, and special teams. They’ll also have to hire positional coaches once those coordinators are decided.
In 2024, the Patriots will be on their fourth offensive coordinator in four years. When Josh McDaniels left after the 2021 season the team went without an officially-titled coordinator in 2022, with former defensive coach Matt Patricia handling the bulk of the play-calling responsibilities that year. Last year the Patriots brought in Bill O’Brien to replace Patricia, but O’Brien ended up being one-and-done in New England – he took a job at Ohio State earlier this month.
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The Patriots haven’t had an officially titled defensive coordinator since Patricia held the job from 2012-2017. Those responsibilities went to Brian Flores in 2018, then were split between Mayo and Steve Belichick from 2019 to 2023.
On special teams, the Patriots haven’t officially parted ways with either coordinator Cam Achord and assistant head coach Joe Judge, who worked almost exclusively with the unit last year. However, the fact they’re taking interviews at the position means those two likely won’t be kept on Mayo’s staff.
So, who will be coming in to take these jobs on the new Patriots coaching staff? Here’s a look at the confirmed interviews for each position, which will be updated as more news comes in…
Alex Barth is a digital content producer and on-air host for 98.5 The Sports Hub. Barth grew up in the Boston area and began covering both the New England Patriots, Boston Celtics, and Boston Red Sox in 2017 before joining the Hub in 2020. He now covers all things Boston Sports for 985TheSportsHub.com as well as appearing on air. Alex writes about all New England sports, as well as college football. You can follow him across all social media platforms at @RealAlexBarth.