Pats Pulpit
Head coach Mike Vrabel’s full staff was unveiled Wednesday evening.
Weeks removed from retaining special teams coordinator Jeremy Springer, bringing back offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels and adding defensive coordinator Terrell Williams, the New England Patriots are officially at capacity.
Mike Vrabel’s 2025 staff was announced by the organization on Wednesday. And while it includes a long line of previously reported hires, there’s also assistants who either flew under the radar or now have more clarified roles.
Here’s a glance through the Rolodex of the last known hires and holdovers.
Chuckie Keeton, offensive assistant — Hired as the quarterbacks coach at Montana State in 2024 before accepting a position as an offensive assistant with the Seattle Seahawks, Keaton’s previous stops included Marshall University, Texas Tech, Oregon State and his alma mater, Utah State. The 31-year-old former Aggies quarterback finished his collegiate career ranked first all-time in school history in completion percentage, second in passes and completions, plus third in total offense as well as passing yards.
Robert Kugler, assistant offensive line — Staying on with the Patriots, Kugler spent 2024 as the team’s assistant offensive line coach with Scott Peters in the lead. He worked with the Carolina Panthers’ offensive line for the prior two seasons after entering the NFL ranks with the Houston Texans in 2021. The 32-year-old former Purdue tight end spent time coaching at UTEP and Appalachian State.
Vinny DePalma, defensive assistant — DePalmer joined the Patriots last offseason as a defensive coaching assistant and will continue in that capacity. As a graduate student at Boston College in 2023, two-time captain at linebacker lead the Eagles with 93 tackles while starting all 13 games.
Deron Mayo, strength and conditioning — The younger brother of New England’s previous head coach will remain in the fold for 2025. Mayo, who played collegiately at Hofstra and Old Dominion before stints with the Denver Broncos and Calgary Stampeders, arrived in Foxborough as the assistant strength and conditioning coach in 2018. The 36-year-old was promoted to head strength and conditioning coach last campaign.
Brian McDonough, assistant strength and conditioning — Also staying aboard alongside Mayo is McDonough, who accepted a full-time role with the Patriots as assistant strength and conditioning coach in 2024. He did so after working as a consultant with the organization for over 20 years.
Jason Houghtaling, assistant offensive line — Reported in January, Houghtaling will officially join Kugler as an assistant offensive line coach under veteran hire Doug Marrone. He held the same position with the Chicago Bears in 2024. Prior to then, he spent three seasons with the Tennessee Titans after coaching in the college and high school ranks, including at Wagner, where the title of head coach was held from 2015 through 2019.
Clint McMillan, defensive line — Replacing Jerry Montgomery as defensive line coach, McMillan joins the Patriots after logging four years with the Titans. There, his final role came as assistant defensive line coach...
