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The New England Patriots wasted no time making a coaching change this offseason as they fired former head coach Jerod Mayo as soon as the season ended. Within just a few days, Mike Vrabel was the new head coach and he immediately started building out his staff.
On Monday, Vrabel made a number of key hires to add some experience and pedigree to his coaching staff. Former Buffalo Bills and Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Doug Marrone is joining Vrabel’s staff, according to NFL insider Jordan Schultz. Marrone most recently served as the offensive line coach for the New Orleans Saints in 2023.
The Patriots didn’t stop there. They also went out and agreed to a deal with Thomas Brown from the Chicago Bears, according to Mark Daniels from MassLive. Brown had a busy season in 2024 where he was asked to fill various different roles. He started the year as the team’s passing game coordinator before he was promoted to offensive coordinator when Shane Waldron was fired. Then, Brown became the team’s interim head coach after the Bears fired Matt Eberflus, so he brings a lot of experience to New England.
The Patriots also hired Jason Houghtaling, per ESPN’s Mike Reiss, and former Florida A&M defensive coordinator Milton Patterson according to Chris Mason of MassLive. Houghtaling worked with Vrabel in Tennessee and worked closely with the offensive line, while Patterson has a lot of experience working with linebackers. While their roles are not specified at this time, they bring expertise in various different areas.
Marrone is highly regarded as an offensive line coach, and while it’s unclear whether he will be coaching the offensive line in New England, his previous experience in that department will be a boost for a unit that desperately needed a shakeup after a disaster of a season. Brown will also likely be working on the offensive staff to help Drake Maye improve as he heads into year two.
This Patriots coaching staff looks like it is going to have much more experience under Vrabel than it has in past years. New England already hired Josh McDaniels as its new offensive coordinator and Terrell Williams as its new defensive coordinator, so this staff is coming together nicely at this point in the offseason.
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