During the 2022 season, the Patriots’ coaching staff – from Bill Belichick on down – was in the spotlight as much as it’s ever been. That was in large part due to unusual coaching assignments as well as personnel and gameplan decisions.
Given the way last year went, there’s been a lot of intrigue about what the staff will look like in 2023. A number of moves were already made, including the additions of Bill O’Brien and Adrian Klemm and the departures of Matt Patricia and Nick Caley.
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The next step was to wait on the titles for the 2023 staff. Those would indicate the roles for returning coaches who were expected to have new assignments such as Joe Judge, Cam Achord, and Jerod Mayo, who turned down head coaching jobs this offseason to stay in New England, which led some to believe a new title could be part of what convinced him to return.
That step came on Thursday, when the Patriots updated the coaching section of their website to reflect the new titles. Most of the assignments line up with what was expected when the hirings were announced, but there are some tweaks that came as surprises.
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What can we learn from the new coaching assignments? What stayed the same, and what changed? Let’s take a look…
Offense
Jun 12, 2023; Foxborough, MA, USA; New England Patriots offensive coordinator / quarterbacks coach Bill O’Brien works with the team at the Patriots minicamp at Gillette Stadium. Credit: Eric Canha-USA TODAY Sports
Bill O’Brien: Offensive coordinator and quarterbacks
Evan Rothstein: Assistant quarterbacks
Vinnie Sunseri: Running backs
Troy Brown: Wide receivers/kickoff returners
Ross Douglas: Wide receivers
Will Lawing: Tight ends
Adrian Klemm: Offensive line
Billy Yates: Assistant offensive lineAs expected, O’Brien will both run the offense and replace Judge as the quarterbacks coach. Rothstein, who served in a research and analysis role both in his previous stop in Detroit and in his first season in New England in 2021, returns as the assistant quarterbacks coach for the second year in a row.
Last season, Douglas was listed as an assistant wide receivers coach behind Brown, but that label appears to be gone. He and Brown may now technically be co-wide receiver coaches.
Lawing, as expected, moves into the tight end coach role vacated by Caley’s departure. Lawing has worked with O’Brien on a number of occasions in the past, including as his tight ends coach with the Texans.
On the offensive line, there was some speculation Klemm could have some additional titles on top of being the offensive line coach, given what he was reportedly paid and the fact that he had ‘associate head coach’ and ‘run game coordinator’ titles in his last stop at Oregon. In the end though, he didn’t get any extra labels officially.
Defense
Dec 12, 2022; Glendale, Arizona, USA; New England Patriots linebackers coach Jerod Mayo against the Arizona Cardinals at State Farm Stadium. Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
Jerod Mayo: Linebackers
Steve Belichick: Linebackers
DeMarcus Covington: Defensive line
Mike Pellegrino: Cornerbacks
Brian Belichick: Safeties
Joe Judge: Assistant head coach
V’Angelo Bentley: NFL Coaching Fellowship/Defense
Keith Jones: NFL Coaching Fellowship/DefenseFor the sixth year in a row, the Patriots will not have an official defensive coordinator. Mayo and Steve Belichick will likely split those duties again, with input from Bill Belichick as well.
While Mayo didn’t get an elevated title, in the past he had been the inside linebackers coach while Steve Belichick was the outside linebackers coach. To this point, the team didn’t differentiate between the two, but that could be a formality or something that happens when camp begins.
As for Judge’s inclusion here – while he is listed with the defense his title is just ‘assistant head coach,’ with no defensive designation. It’s very possible his placement in the defensive category on the website is purely aesthetic. He worked exclusively with the special teams unit in the spring, and was identified as a ‘special teams coach’ in league documents when the Patriots were docked OTA practices back in the spring. Still, he is just the second ‘assistant head coach’ of the Patriots in the Belichick era, after Dante Scarnecchia (2000-2013).
Special teams
Patriots special teams coordinator Cam Achord and head coach Bill Belichick. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
Cam Achord: Special teams coordinator
Joe Houston: Special teams assistantAchord returns as the team’s special teams coordinator, his fourth year with the title after being Judge’s assistant for two years to begin his Patriots career. However, it’s unclear how much his role will change with Judge transitioning back to a special teams role (perhaps his placement with the defense is to avoid the perception of Achord having less responsibility with the same title). Houston returns for his fourth season in the same role as well.
Strength & conditioning
FOXBORO, MA – DECEMBER 24: A New England Patriots helmet during the first half of the game between the New England Patriots and the Buffalo Bills at Gillette Stadium on December 24, 2017 in Foxboro, Massachusetts. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)
Moses Cabrera: Head strength & conditioning coach
Deron Mayo: Strength & conditioning assistantCabrera returns for his eighth season running the Patriots’ strength and conditioning program, and his 13th year with the Patriots overall. Mayo – the brother of Jerod Mayo – is beginning his sixth season in New England.
