FOXBOROUGH- In his first meeting with the media, new Patriots offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt shed some light on his offensive philosophy and what he looks for in players, specifically the quarterback position. 

Van Pelt is a West Coast offense coach and a discipline of Paul Hackett, Mike McCarthy and Kevin Stefanski. When asked if the Patriots will run a similar offense to what the Browns ran under Stefanski, Van Pelt said it won’t be exactly the same.

“I wouldn’t say same. It will be similar.” Van Pelt added: “It’s the pieces of the puzzle. They’ll be similarities but I’ve taken pieces of different offenses over time and those will be melded together.”

One of the key takeaways was that Van Pelt believes that this is a fresh start for everybody and that there are some key pieces in place. 

Van Pelt also mentioned that he has already spoken to Mac Jones. Now don’t read too much into that. It is not like Van Pelt anointed him the starter. He did not give any indication as to what direction the team will go at quarterback but Jones will have an opportunity to compete He will get a fresh start like every other player. 

When asked what he is looking for in a quarterback, Van Pelt said that he wants someone who is smart, tough and a leader. He also said the requisite physical tools are important like accuracy and mobility. He also mentioned the importance of being a leader and relating to your teammates, something Jones struggles with. 

The quarterbacks will be asked to do a lot in this offense but realistically speaking, it won’t be anymore than they did under Belichick and the previous offensive coordinators here. They had plenty on their plates the past 24 years. 

Van Pelt answered the questions about as honest as he could. He was pretty straight forward. Hopefully he will be this candid when the season begins. He did not give away the playbook but he gave the media some good insight into the direction of the offense and what qualities he will value in players. You can see why Mayo hired him. 

The Patriots head coach shared some insight into what made Van Pelt the ideal candidate for the job. 

“All the people that I’ve talked to, they speak very highly of [Alex Van Pelt]. Obviously, he understands the Xs and Os of the game. But also developing talent and he is really a relationship guy, which I fundamentally believe is very important,” the Patriots head coach said. “Before you really get to Xs and Os with the guys on the field, they have to know that they care about them. One thing you’ll see with [Van Pelt] is that he’s a people person who also has extensive knowledge of football.”

Van Pelt certainly appears to be all of those things and that is a good start. Ultimately he will be judged by the success of the offense on the field. If the team is scoring points and winning, it will validate Van Pelt as a coach and Mayo’s belief in him. 

For now, we can only judge him on how the roster is constructed and what the team will look like come training camp.