The Patriots have their special teams coordinator
Jun 2, 2022; Thousand Oaks, CA, USA; Los Angeles Rams special teams assistant coach Jeremy Springer during organized team activities at California Lutheran University. Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
Two coordinator searches down, one to go for the New England Patriots, after they filled their special teams coordinator job on Wednesday morning.
According to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, the Patriots are hiring Jeremy Springer as their new special teams coordinator. Springer spent the last two seasons as an assistant special teams coach for the Los Angeles Rams after eight seasons coaching at the college level.
READ MORE:
—A Patriots-centric Senior Bowl preview
—The Patriots have reportedly made a big decision regarding Mac Jones
—Who is the favorite for the Patriots’ offensive coordinator job?
The Patriots spoke with Springer at least twice leading up to his hire. They reportedly interviewed him in person over the weekend. This came after they reportedly offered the job to Falcons coach Marquice Williams, who declined the offer to stay in Atlanta.
With Springer on staff last year, the Rams’ special teams unit ranked last in DVOA. PFF had them ranked as the 31st unit in the league.
In hiring Springer, the Patriots signal they are moving on from last year’s special teams coordinator Cam Achord, as well as assistant head coach Joe Judge, who worked primarily with special teams last year. The team never formally parted ways with either, although it’s possible their contracts expired meaning there would be no need to. 2023 special teams assistant Joe Houston took a new job at Florida last week.
Springer now joins defensive coordinator DeMarcus Covington as two thirds of the coordinators on Jerod Mayo’s initial staff. That leaves the offensive coordinator spot unfilled. Check out our Patriots coaching staff tracker below for more on that search…
Patriots coaching staff tracker: Building out the staff
Offensive coaching staff
Browns offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt directs the offense during training camp, Aug. 5, 2022 in Berea. (Syndication: Akron Beacon Journal)
Offensive coordinator: Alex Van Pelt
Quarterbacks coach: T.C. McCartney
Running backs coach: Taylor Embree
Wide receivers coach: Unknown (no official parting of ways with Troy Brown)
Assistant wide receivers coach: Tiquan Underwood
Tight ends coach: Vacant
Offensive line coach: Scott Peters
Assistant offensive line coach: Robert Kugler
Offensive assistant: Ben McAdoo
Offensive assistant: Michael McCarthy
The Patriots completed their coordinator search by hiring Van Pelt, a former NFL quarterback. Now, they begin the process of filling out his staff. Here’s a look at who they’ve been linked to for positional coaching roles…
— Robert Kugler (former Carolina Panthers assistant offensive line coach)
— Ben McAdoo (former New York Giants head coach)
— T.C. McCartney (former Cleveland Browns coach)
x — Andy Dickerson (hired by Cleveland Browns)
Patriots’ offensive coordinator interviews…
— Scott Turner (Las Vegas Raiders pass game coordinator)
— Klint Kubiak (San Francisco 49ers pass game coordinator)
— Luke Getsy (former Chicago Bears offensive coordinator)
— Brian Fleury (San Francisco 49ers tight ends coach)
— Tanner Engstrand (Detroit Lions pass game coordinator)
— Jerrod Johnson**** (Houston Texans quarterbacks coach)
— Thomas Brown***** (Carolina Panthers offensive coordinator)
— Nick Caley (Los Angeles Rams tight ends coach)
— Zac Robinson*** (Los Angeles Rams pass game coordinator/quarterbacks coach)
— Dan Pitcher** (Cincinnati Bengals quarterbacks coach)
— Shane Waldron* (Seahawks offensive coordinator)
*Waldron was hired as the Chicago Bears OC after interviewing with the Patriots
**Pitcher was promoted to the Bengals’ OC job, replacing new Titans head coach Brian Callahan
***Robinson was hired as the Atlanta Falcons OC after interviewing with the Patriots
****Johnson is staying in Houston in his current role
*****Brown was hired as the Chicago Bears pass game coordinator after interviewing with the Patriots
Defensive coaching staff
Dec 12, 2022; Glendale, Arizona, USA; New England Patriots defensive line coach DeMarcus Covington against the Arizona Cardinals at State Farm Stadium. Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
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
The Patriots named Covington their defensive coordinator, promoting him from within (he was previously the defensive line coach). Mayo and Covington now will go through the process of building out the rest of the staff. Above are coaches they’ve interviewed for positional roles since officially promoting Covington, and below is a look at the other coaches the Patriots interviewed for the DC role, who could be candidates for positional coaching jobs.
— Jerry Montgomery (former Green Bay Packers defensive line coach & run game coordinator)
— Gerald Alexander (Pittsburgh Steelers assistant defensive backs coach)
— Michael Hodges (New Orleans Saints linebackers coach)
— Christian Parker (Denver Broncos defensive backs coach)
— Tem Lukabu (Carolina Panthers outside linebackers coach)
Special teams staff
Jun 2, 2022; Thousand Oaks, CA, USA; Los Angeles Rams special teams assistant coach Jeremy Springer during organized team activities at California Lutheran University. Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
Special teams coordinator: Jeremy Springer
NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport has reported the Patriots are hiring Springer as their new special teams coordinator. The team has had multiple special teams coaches in the past, so look for him to add one or two assistants to his staff. The only other coach the Patriots interviewed for special teams who hasn’t taken another job yet is Thomas McGaughey.
