Clarity added to Troy Brown’s new coaching role with Patriots
Amid all of the coaching changes the New England Patriots made this offseason, Troy Brown got caught somewhere in the middle. Brown was replaced as the wide receivers coach – a job he’d held since 2021 – by new wide receivers coach Tyler Hughes and assistant Tiquan Underwood. However, head coach Jerod Mayo told reporters last month Brown would still remain on the staff in a then-to-be-determined role.
It sounds like at least some of Brown’s new role has been determined. Speaking to reporters at the NFL annual meeting on Monday morning, Mayo got into what Brown will be doing for the Patriots in 2024.
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“Troy’s still on the staff. He has a skills development role with our staff going forward,” Mayo explained. “He’ll work with the players, he’ll work with the skill players and also work with the scheme in the offensive side of the ball. So he’s still with.”
Mayo didn’t go beyond that explanation when getting into Brown’s new role. That included not giving an updated title, although that job description sounds like a general offensive assistant.
There was also no mention from Mayo of Brown being involved with the kick and punt return units. Brown, who joined the staff as a running backs coach in 2020 before moving to receiver in 2021, has always had ‘kick returners coach’ on his title along with his positional responsibilities. Brown is the franchise’s all-time leading punt returner, with 252 returns for 2,625 yards and three touchdowns during his career from 1993 to 2007.
Brown’s title remains one of the few mysteries left on the Patriots’ new-look coaching staff. The full staff is generally announced ahead of training camp in July, but the Patriots did give updated titles for their newest hires earlier this offseason. Here’s a full look at the new Patriots coaching staff so far…
Patriots 2024 coaching staff new hires officially announced
After weeks of reports of various hirings, the New England Patriots formally announced the new members of their 2024 coaching staff on Monday.
With Monday’s announcement, the picture of the coaching staff is filled out. Pending any late, lower-level additions, here’s what the group looks like under head coach Jerod Mayo.
Offensive staff:
Offensive coordinator: Alex Van Pelt
Quarterbacks: T.C. McCartney
Running backs coach: Taylor Embree
Wide receivers coach: Tyler Hughes
Assistant wide receivers coach: Tiquan Underwood
Tight ends coach: Bob Bicknell
Offensive line coach: Scott Peters
Assistant offensive line coach: Robert Kugler
Senior offensive assistant: Ben McAdoo
Offensive assistant: Michael McCarthy
Defensive staff:
Defensive coordinator: DeMarcus Covington*
Defensive line coach: Jerry Montgomery
Inside linebackers coach: Dont’a Hightower
Outside linebackers coach: Drew Wilkins
Cornerbacks coach: Mike Pellegrino*
Safeties coach: Brian Belichick*
Defensive assistant: Vinny DePalma
Defensive assistant: Jamael Lett
Special teams staff:
Special teams coordinator: Jeremy Springer
Assistant special teams coach: Tom Quinn
Assistant special teams coach: Coby Tippett
Strength & conditioning staff:
Strength & conditioning coach: Deron Mayo*
Assistant strength & conditioning coach: Brian McDonough
*Returning from 2023 staff
Jan 17, 2024; Foxborough, MA, USA; New England Patriots head coach Jerod Mayo addresses media with owner Robert Kraft (not pictured) at a press conference at Gillette Stadium. Credit: Eric Canha-USA TODAY Sports
Coaches previously reported to be returning weren’t included in the release. That group is made up of cornerbacks coach Mike Pellegrino, safeties coach Brian Belichick, and strength and conditioning coach Deron Mayo.
Now that the full coaching roster has finally been made official, here are some big picture takeaways on the Patriots’ 2024 coaching staff…
Number of coaches
Dec 12, 2022; Glendale, Arizona, USA; New England Patriots defensive line coach DeMarcus Covington against the Arizona Cardinals at State Farm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
The first thing that stands out about this staff is simply the number of coaches on it. Last year the Patriots had 17 coaches titled at assistant positional coach or higher. This year, that number is 21 (with potentially more on the way).
As ESPN’s Mike Reiss pointed out over the weekend, under Bill Belichick the Patriots tended to have among the NFL’s smallest coaching staffs “partly because [Belichick] wanted to ensure there were no mixed messages.” However, the number is bigger as Mayo takes over because, according to Reiss, “the desire to integrate ideas and perspectives from those who have coached elsewhere — and is also perhaps a nod to how rare Belichick was in terms of having the knack to handle so many responsibilities himself.”
Age
Cleveland Browns offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt during OTA workouts on Wednesday, June 1, 2022 in Berea. (Phil Masturzo/USA Today Network)
Based on their early interviews, it seemed like the Patriots’ coaching staff was going to trend on the younger side this year. In the end the group is only slightly younger than the 2023 staff, and more staggered in age.
The average age of the Patriots’ 2023 coaching staff was 37.3 years old. However, 71-year-old Belichick skewed that number a bit, and the average age of all the assistants was actually 37.3. As things stand now, this year’s average age of the Patriots’ coaches is 36.6 years old (37-year-0ld head coach Jerod Mayo only moves the number by a small fraction).
Last year, the Patriots had two coaches in their 50s, three in their 40s, and just one in his 20s. For their 2024 staff the Patriots will have three coaches in their 50s, four in their 40s, and two in their 20s. Everybody else is in their 30s.
Remaining questions
Aug 2, 2023; Foxborough, MA, USA; New England Patriots wide receivers/kickoff returners coach Troy Brown works with the receiving core at training camp at Gillette Stadium. Credit: Eric Canha-USA TODAY Sports
This announcement leaves the status of two of last year’s coaches up in the air – Troy Brown and Joe Judge. Both of their previous jobs were filled, suggesting the team is moving on from both without any sort of official announcement. If either does return (it was
Still waiting for more clarity on that, but my understanding is that Troy has an opportunity to stay if he desires (specific role TBD). Not sure on Billy Yates, who some o-linemen speak very highly of as a man/coach.
— Mike Reiss (@MikeReiss) February 11, 2024" target="_blank" rel="noopener">recently reported that the team extended Brown, the now-former wide receivers coach, an opportunity to do so), it would most likely be in a new role.
