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 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.
