New England Patriots - NESN.com
Josh McDaniels won’t be the only former NFL head coach working under Mike Vrabel for the Patriots this season.
New England added Doug Marrone to its coaching staff, according to multiple reports. The new job didn’t require a major relocation for Marrone, who most recently was working as a senior analyst for football strategy at Boston College.
Marrone’s work in Chesnut Hill is merely a footnote on his coaching résumé, though. He has nearly two decades of experience working at the NFL level, including head-coaching stints with the Buffalo Bills (2013-14) and the Jacksonville Jaguars (2016-2020). Marrone led the Jags to their third AFC Championship Game appearance in franchise history in the 2017 season and nearly guided an upset over the Patriots at Gillette Stadium.
Initial reports did not specify Marrone’s role in Foxboro, Mass., but as ESPN’s Mike Reiss pointed out Monday morning, the 60-year-old has been lauded for his offensive line expertise. It would make sense for Marrone to have a hand in working with a New England position group that hasn’t been consistently solid for years.
Marrone marked the third big-name coaching addition made this offseason by the Patriots, who hired McDaniels to be their offensive coordinator and appointed Terrell Williams as defensive coordinator.
