The New England Patriots made the first addition for the 2026 offseason. Earlier in the week, ESPN's Pete Thamel reported that the Patriots are hiring one of their former coaching interns, B.J. Edmonds, to a soon-to-be-determined position on the coaching staff.
All of Edmonds coaching history comes from college, but last summer, he was a coaching intern on the Patriots while head coach Mike Vrabel navigated his first offseason in New England. A coaching intern usually entails film breakdown and supporting whatever the coaching staff needs on and off the field.
It’s a fair assumption that Edmonds made a strong impression on Vrabel in the few months that he worked for the team last summer. In fact, it's an example of recent Patriots history repeating itself.
Patriots Return to the Well with BJ Edmonds Hire
While constructing his coaching staff last offseason, Vrabel interviewed Thomas Brown for the offensive coordinator position. The Job ultimately went to Josh McDaniels, but Vrabel liked what Brown had to offer so much that he hired him anyway and eventually found a role for him.
Edmonds’ expertise is defensive, as he was a standout player in his heyday at Arkansas State as a defensive back, totaling 265 tackles and eight interceptions in four years. He was hired by Duke University in 2024 as a defensive analyst, where he’s worked for the last two years.
Although the Blue Devils have had a strong defense overall, their pass coverage has been spotty over the last year, leading to Edmonds being credited with helping improve the defensive backs overall.
In his time at Duke, Edmonds’ defensive focus was on the cornerbacks, where he helped the program hold second in the ACC in passing yards allowed per game (213.5) and third in yards per play (5.01). He’s also responsible for being paired with cornerback Chandler Rivers, who went on to earn First and Second-Team All-ACC in 2024 and 2025, respectively.
The Patriots have made a series of coaching moves in the short offseason since losing in the Super Bowl. In that time, the Patriots elevated former defensive coordinator Terrell Williams to a high-level consultant role, promoted inside linebackers coach Zak Kuhr to defensive coordinator after a valiant effort calling plays last season, and promoted Vinny DePalma from defensive assistant to inside linebackers coach, filling Kuhr's void.
I believe that Edmonds is going to become the new defensive assistant for the Patriots, filling the role that DePalma had last year. Edmonds will join Kevin Richardson and Milton Patterson as defensive assistants.
A Pattern Is Building in New England
It’s worth mentioning that this is how Vrabel builds a coaching staff. He promotes from within and builds with people whom he trusts, identifying those who can help contribute to his goal and vision for the team. Justin Hamilton started his NFL career in 2023 as a defensive quality coach for Vrabel on the Tennessee Titans, and he is now the cornerbacks coach in New England.
The same can be said for Scott Booker, who started as a defensive assistant for Vrabel in Tennessee and went on to spend six seasons in total, where he was promoted to safeties coach. Booker is now entering his second season as the safeties coach for the Patriots.
It goes without saying that Vrabel works off a developmental system, both for the players and the coaches. Vrabel wants his coaches to teach and develop the players a certain way, and for that to happen, his coaching staff needs to be on the same page with his system and goals.
The best way of doing that is by developing and teaching young coaches his methods, and in turn, they’ll eventually become position coaches one day.