Pats Pulpit
Notes and thoughts on the offseason approach, new coaching staff and more.
The offseason has arrived for the New England Patriots but plenty of work remains. Mike Vrabel will continue building out his coaching staff with the attention soon shifting to upgrading the talent on the actual roster.
For anything not covered on Pats Pulpit throughout the week, let’s take a look in this week’s Sunday edition of Patriots Notes.
It was just a year ago the Washington Commanders were in the same place as the New England Patriots. Four wins. Hiring a new head coach. Getting ready to select their next quarterback atop the draft.
But what transpired over the following months in the offseason set the course for each team’s respective 2024 seasons. The results were quite different.
For New England, it was more of the same. Despite positive flashes from rookie quarterback Drake Maye the Patriots finished with four wins yet again. They went on to fire head coach Jerod Mayo after just one season.
In Washington, life has rarely been better. Quarterback Jayden Daniels is the heavy favorite for Offensive Rookie of the Year while an upset over the NFC’s No. 1 seed now has the Commanders in the NFC Championship Game Sunday afternoon. A far cry from four wins and picking in the top five of the NFL Draft.
After spending last offseason hoping for a Texans-like rebuild, the Patriots path back to success could instead follow the Commanders blueprint this go around. In addition to already having the young quarterback, the next step of their model has already been completed.
Rewinding back to this time last year, Washington seemed like the favorite to name Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson as their next head coach. Plans changed with Johnson ultimately returning to Detroit, forcing the Commanders to pivot where they landed on the experienced, defensive minded Dan Quinn.
New England’s search this past month also included an interview with Johnson, but the favorite was elsewhere all along. That was Mike Vrabel, who like Quinn comes with prior experience as a head coach and a focus that lies on the defensive side of the football.
Both coaches than quickly began working to fill out their staffs — primarily with the all-important offensive coordinator hire. It took Quinn just three days to hire Kliff Kingsbury for the role. Vrabel needed just over a week to add Josh McDaniels to his staff. Both experienced offensive minds who fizzled out as head coaches.
While the similarities on the coaching staff standout, Washington’s true advantage came over the following months. Despite being strapped with cash in free agency they did not make a big splash signing. Instead, Washington signed 16 external free agents with the main focus of adding veteran leadership and familiarity (as 15 of those additions had some sort of direct tie to a coach or front office member).
As the Patriots now get set to enter free agency with over $120 million in projected...
