Pats Pulpit
Two more assistant coaches will not be back with the Patriots in 2025
The New England Patriots’ coaching staff turnover continued on Wednesday. Not only did the team add Terrell Williams as defensive coordinator and Tony Dews as running backs coach, it also saw two members of the 2024 crew depart.
Offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt will not be back with the team, and neither will defensive line coach Jerry Montgomery. Where Van Pelt will end up is undetermined right now; Montgomery joined the Cincinnati Bengals in the same capacity.
As for the Patriots, here is what those moves mean.
Writing was on the wall: Even before the 2024 season had come to an end, there was speculation that Van Pelt would be a goner and effectively made a scapegoat for the Patriots’ offensive shortcomings. Despite seemingly doing a solid job developing quarterback Drake Maye, the bottom line — the Patriots ranking 30th in the NFL in scoring — was simply working against him.
The firing of previous head coach Jerod Mayo within hours of the season finale could have changed that outlook. However, it ultimately did not end up making any difference for the 54-year-old. His job will be held by Josh McDaniels moving forward, who was hired Tuesday.
New mentor for Drake Maye? The Patriots relied on a collaborative effort in order to develop first-round quarterback Drake Maye as a rookie. QB coach T.C. McCartney and senior offensive assistant Ben McAdoo both played a role, but it was Van Pelt who was overseeing the operation. With him gone and replaced by McDaniels, the young passer will now have a new mentor heading into his sophomore season.
That being said, the futures of McCartney and McAdoo remain unclear as of Thursday morning. There appears to be a chance one of both could be retained to continue working with Maye — offering at least some stability from Year 1 to Year 2.
House-cleaning continues: With Van Pelt gone, the Patriots have now moved on from seven of the twelve coaches listed on offense last season. Joining him on the train of Foxboro are running backs coach Taylor Embree, wide receivers coach Tyler Hughes and his assistant, Tiquan Underwood, tight ends coach Bob Bicknell, offensive line coach Scott Peters, and offensive assistant Michael McCartney.
One of them, Embree, has already been replaced. As noted above, the Patriots brought in Tony Dews as their new running backs coach.
Meanwhile, five coaches are left unaccounted for at this point in time. The aforementioned T.C. McCartney and Ben McAdoo are joined on that list by assistant QB coach and director of game management Evan Rothstein, assistant O-line coach Robert Kugler, and offensive assistant Omar Young.
Writing was on the wall, too: The NFL is a results-based business, and the Patriots defensive line was not delivering in that regard in 2024. Under Montgomery in his first year at the job, the team...
