The Patriots announced Jerod Mayo’s first coaching staff on Monday. 17 coaches were listed in the press release but that was the new coaches that were hired. It did not include Brian Belichick, Mike Pellegrino, Troy Brown, Evan Rothstein and Joe Kim who are all hold overs from Bill Belichick’s staff.
Here are some thoughts on every coach on the new staff.
HC: Jerod Mayo: Mayo assembled a staff that has a good blend of youth and experience. The experience was necessary on offense after the team’s struggles to score points the past two seasons. Defensively, Mayo went young opting for more energy than experience. I am surprised he did not hire a veteran defensive coach to over see the whole operation like he did on offense with Ben McAdoo.
OC: Alex Van Pelt: The 53 year old brings experience to the table but needs to prove his version of the West Coast Offense can score points. Van Pelt has a limited body of work as a play caller.
DC: DeMarcus Covington: Terrific hire. Covington is a good fundamental coach, a good communicator and a great teacher of the game. Covington will blend the Belichick scheme with some new wrinkles. He is a future head coach in the NFL.
ST: Jeremy Springer: Needs to prove early that the Rams special teams of a year ago are not a true indicator of his coaching style or ability. The Patriots special teams were abysmal the last two years. They need to be better moving forward.
O-Line: Scott Peters: Peters has a lot of work to do to develop the young offensive lineman and coach up the new lineman that will be coming in. He will use some out of the box techniques to coach this unit.
QB’s: TC McCartney: All eyes will be on McCartney as he is expected to develop the franchise’s next quarterback. He will play an integral role in the success of the quarterbacks as a whole. McCartney will work hand in hand with Van Pelt and McAdoo to do that.
WR’s: Tyler Hughes: Good coach, passionate. The resume does leave something to be desired however. Hughes was with the Patriots from 2020-2022. The receivers need a lot of work. Hughes needs to balance coaching the veterans on the roster with the young guys who were brought in last season.
RB’s: Taylor Embree: Embree needs to get Rhamondre Stevenson back on track. That is his first priority. Developing a back up running back will also be on his coaching to-do list as well as a young running back.
TE’s: Bob Bicknell: The Holliston native has 30 years of coaching experience and gives the Patriots staff a veteran voice. He does not know who he will be coaching yet in terms of a starter but regardless of who it is, Bicknell has the experience to develop them.
Senior Asst: Ben McAdoo: Great hire from an experience standpoint and his knowledge of the West Coast offense. McAdoo’s offenses weren’t great in his previous stops but he is a terrific evaluator of quarterback talent and he can help develop the position.
Asst. WR: Tiquan Underwood: Underwood brings a good resume at the collegiate level and he played for the Patriots so he knows the lay of the land. He will help develop the team’s young receivers specifically Pop Douglas and any rookie drafted.
Asst. O-Line: Robert Kugler: Kugler will play a key role in coaching the offensive line. He will work with the back ups and the offensive tackles and tight ends as well. Having two former NFL players coaching the offensive line should really help the development of a unit that has struggled the past three seasons.
Off Asst: Michael McCarthy: The former Brown University offensive line coach has previous NFL experience and can coach the offensive line and the tight ends.
CB’s: Mike Pellegrino: A hold over from the Belichick staff, keeping Pellegrino is important from a continuity standpoint. He did a terrific job the past two seasons developing Marcus Jones and Christian Gonzalez. He also relates well to the veteran players.
Safeties: Brian Belichick: The son of Bill Belichick opted to stay and that is good for the defense and the staff as a whole. Belichick has done a good job coaching the safeties in recent years. It has been one of the Patriots best position groups. There will be some changes to the group but expect Belichick to get a lot out of them nonetheless.
ILB’s: Dont’a Hightower: Big fan of this hire. Hightower played the game at a high level, he is relatable with the players and he will find a way to get the most out of them. His versatility and understanding of multiple fronts and coverages will come in handy when coaching sub packages.
OLB’s: Drew Wilkins: Wilkins has previous experience with Matthew Judon from their time in Baltimore. He has a good resume and is a good teacher of outside linebacker and edge play. He will be coaching a talented unit that could look different from a year ago.
D-Line: Jerry Montgomery: Veteran defensive line coach will be tasked with taking Christian Barmore’s game to the next level and developing Keion White and the rest of the young defensive lineman on the roster.
Def Asst: Vinny DePalma: Great to see the former B.C Eagle start his coaching career with the Patriots. Vinny has always been a coach on the field and now he can help coach the linebackers as well as break down film and help with assembling the game plan.
Def Asst: Jamael Lett: Lett joins the Patriots as a defensive assistant following a season as a special teams analyst at the University of North Carolina. Prior to that, he spent two seasons as special teams coordinator and defensive assistant at the University of South Alabama (2021-22).
ST Asst: Tom Quinn: Quinn joins New England as a special teams assistant after serving as a special teams assistant in 2023 with the Tennessee Titans. A veteran coach who has local ties. He was the defensive coordinator at both Holy Cross and Boston University years ago.
ST Asst: Coby Tippett: The son of Andre Tippett had a great career at Xaverian. He went on to play at Cheshire Academy and Towson before finishing his career at URI. Tippett is expected to work with the returners.
I would like to see the Patriots hire a senior assistant with experience on defense. Overall, this is a good staff. The shift in offensive and defensive philosophy will be noticeable. The hope is that it results in more wins and a return to glory.