A New Era in Foxborough: How Vrabel's Staff Rebuild Signals a Bold Future for the 2025 Patriots
In order to succeed in the NFL a team needs a talented roster. In order not to be awful they need talented experienced coaches that know what the hell they are doing. Consider that box checked for the 2025 New England Patriots.
Chad Graff – Athletic
This group looks a lot different. Vrabel, McDaniels, defensive coordinator Terrell Williams and special teams coordinator Jeremy Springer, who was retained from last year, combine for 19 years of experience in their posts.
For those who were not on board with the McDaniels signing or had concerns, this should help ease some tension. They are not just putting the band back together. It seems like a completely new approach from Vrabel. I would suspect it’s something McDaniels has wanted to be apart of for awhile. Remember this is the guy that drafted Tim Tebow and wanted to draft Lamar Jackson. He is not limited to the “Tom Brady” offense. I think McDaniels and this new staff are going to surprise a lot of people this year.
In a telling move, most of the coaches so far on the offensive side have ties to Vrabel, not McDaniels.
Tony Dews, 51, who worked under Vrabel with the Tennessee Titans, is set to be the running backs coach. Grant, 28, whom Vrabel met during his time with the Cleveland Browns last season, is set o be the quarterbacks coach, and Jason Houghtaling, 44, Vrabel’s O-line coach in 2023, is joining too.
Even though McDaniels is back to run the offense, it seems like Vrabel is the one calling the shots on the offensive staff.
Vrabel is doing a bit of that with his staff. Following a league-wide trend, Vrabel hired Brown to be the team’s passing game coordinator. It’s believed that this is the first time the Patriots have had someone with that title (Brown will also coach tight ends). Brown has been seen as a coach on the rise ever since serving as Sean McVay’s assistant head coach in 2022.
Riley Larkin, who graduated from high school in 2018 and played quarterback at John Carroll University (also McDaniels’ alma mater), was an intriguing hire. He spent last season as Ohio State’s assistant QB coach under Ryan Day and Chip Kelly, two innovative offensive coaches.
Nicole Yang – Boston Globe
Brown will join McDaniels, quarterbacks coach Ashton Grant, and offensive assistant Riley Larkin as those expected to work closely with quarterback Drake Maye. Grant and Larkin are in the early stages of their careers, so Brown’s extensive experience alongside McDaniels will complement the room well.
“He’s always been a guy that’s had an incredible command,” McVay said in December, when the Bears made Brown interim head coach. “He’s been a great competitor. He kind of demands respect from people he’s around just by the way that he carries himself.”
Thomas Brown is a very interesting name on the list of hires. Clearly this guy has potential and skills. He has been hired as an OC twice and given the interim HC position. He came up under McVay once he hit the NFL, so for those clamoring for that influence, there ya go. No doubt his last stops as an OC have not worked out. He has something to prove and will be looking for his next opportunity. He’s like the OC version Josh McDaniels on Josh McDaniels staff. Keep getting knocked back down only to find your way back up.
Marrone, too, will be involved with the offense, though the specifics of his role haven’t been revealed. His background is with the offensive line, having played tackle and coached the position group for nearly two decades, so he will likely assist with revamping what has become a significant area of weakness for the Patriots in recent years.
Jason Houghtaling is also expected to work with the offensive line, according to a league source. Houghtaling served as the assistant offensive line coach for Vrabel for two seasons in Tennessee, before getting promoted to offensive line coach in 2023. He has familiarity with Brown, too, as the pair overlapped this past season in Chicago.
Marrone brings great balance to the staff and an expertise at arguably the most important position on the team, Offensive line. Jason Houghtaling is not a name I’m familiar with. Good. A blended staff of experience and youth is what we want.
Doug Kyed – Boston Herald
Mike Vrabel and defensive coordinator Terrell Williams are expected to run the same defense that they deployed while together on the Titans from 2018 to 2023, according to a source.
It will look like a 3-4 but will actually be a 4-3 under. The defensive front will take more of a one-gap, attacking approach.
That’s a shift from last year’s scheme, which was still using Bill Belichick’s style, emphasizing two-gapping inside on the defensive front and versatility on the edges.
Personnel-wise, the Patriots will change what they’re looking for on defense. The Titans typically deployed a smaller, more athletic linebacker corps.
Defensive tackle Davon Godchaux actually played under Williams as a rookie with the Dolphins in 2017 and fits into the nose tackle role. Keion White, who’s listed at 6-foot-5, 290 pounds, could play the strong-side defensive end role in Vrabel and Williams’ defense in the Denico Autry role, and Christian Barmore, if healthy, is an ideal fit as a three-technique defensive tackle. The Patriots need to make it a priority to find a pass-rushing weak-side defensive end in the mold of Harold Landry.
If available at the No. 4 overall pick, Penn State’s Abdul Carter would be a tremendous fit at weak-side defensive end or in the strong-side linebacker role. Josh Sweat and Khalil Mack are among the top pass-rushers available in free agency, where the Patriots have $130 million in spend in cap space.
Fanfuckingtastic. Honestly I don’t care who’s defense it is as long as someone knows what they are doing, there is a plan of execution, and they understand what kind of personnel they need to do it. Last year the Patriots re-signed everyone “to see what they actually had” as if the entire front office and half the staff were not in the building with these guys the past several years and the only reason the players didn’t meet their potential is because big bad Bill Belichick didn’t let them. Fah! Good. Fast, versatile defense with playmakers at the LB Level?!? Finefuckaly!
Mike Giardi – BSJ
Marrone comes to NE with the highest recommendations from O'Brien and Saban. Having covered those Jaguars teams (the 2017-18 version almost upset the Pats in the AFC Title game in Foxborough) during my time at NFL Network, he was well-respected for his work by coaches across the league. Like many head coaches, he was eventually doomed by poor quarterback play (hello, Blake Bortles), poor roster construction (GM Dave Caldwell), and the unsettling presence of Jalen Ramsey (Trust me. He was a disaster).
make no bones about it: Marrone will undoubtedly be asked to lend a hand, if not oversee/coach that OL group.
Back to Marrone because of how important it is and how quickly offensive line gets lost in the shuffle of free agency and the draft. They can not fuck this up with Drake Maye behind center. It is a breath of fresh air to see how diligent this franchise and their new leader is being about putting the correct people in positions of need. As long as they can repeat this philosophy with the roster and their pocketbook, the 2025 Patriots stand a chance at not picking in the top 5 again.