Patriots Hiring Former NFL QB as New Offensive Coordinator
By Ryan Bunton
Jerod Mayo has made his biggest splash of the offseason so far. After an exhaustive search in which New England reportedly interviewed 11 candidates for their offensive coordinator position, they elected to hire one that was reportedly not among that list.
There were 11 reported interviews for the Patriots' OC job.
— Alex Barth (@RealAlexBarth) February 1, 2024
Alex Van Pelt wasn't one of them. https://t.co/Tb8y9nmTPY
Van Pelt has a reputation as a quarterback whisperer, having served as the quarterbacks coach for the Buffalo Bills from 2008-09, for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers from 2010-11, the Green Bay Packers from 2014-17, and the Cincinnati Bengals from 2018-19. In that role, he worked with QBs such as Andy Dalton and Aaron Rodgers.
Van Pelt was most recently the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach for the Cleveland Browns under Kevin Stefanski from 2020-23. He was fired by the Browns after their AFC Wild Card loss to the Houston Texans, despite the offense receiving league-wide acclaim for their production in the face of numerous key injuries, especially at the quarterback and running back position.
As Pelissero also pointed out, the Patriots could choose to draft a franchise QB with the third overall pick in April's draft. Mayo himself has even hinted strongly at that proposition. Van Pelt was a quarterback for 11 years in the NFL before embarking on his coaching career.
The #Patriots own the No. 3 overall pick in April’s draft and could target their quarterback of the future. Van Pelt has spent most of his two decades in coaching working with QBs, and now could play a big role in developing another. https://t.co/MmeGjkmG5a
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) February 1, 2024
Van Pelt will have his hands full in New England, where the offensive unit ranked towards the bottom of league in several major statistical categories, including last in points per game, 29th in yards per play, and 30th in yards per game. Cleveland ranked 12th, 28th, and 16th in those respective categories in 2023.
Of note, Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski called offensive plays for the Browns in 2023, so Van Pelt's new role could come with a bit of a learning curve. His reputation centered around quarterback development could be yet another sign of New England looking for their next franchise guy on April 25 in New York City.
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