The Patriots officially announced their full coaching staff under head coach Mike Vrabel via a team press release on Wednesday.

Last month, New England announced Vrabel's three coordinator hires: Josh McDaniels (offensive coordinator), Terrell Williams (defensive coordinator), and Jeremy Springer will return as special teams coordinator. Now, Vrabel has finalized the assistant coaches to round out the staff. There are 22 coaches on Vrabel's staff, with 10 on offense, 10 on defense, and two on special teams. For comparison, former coach Jerod Mayo had 29 coaches on his staff last season.

"The goal in filling out the 2025 Patriots coaching staff was to identify loyal, trustworthy coaches who are diverse in background, ideas, experiences and systems," said Vrabel. "We will be aligned in our vision to teach and develop our players with creativity, consistency and an attention to detail with the major goal of developing relationships that stretch beyond the field and meeting rooms.

"We are going to build a program that players, coaches and staff want to be a part of, protect and be proud of. There are so many great people in this building who help our players and the coaching staff on a daily basis. I am excited to work side by side with them to build this program.

"I want to thank Nancy Meier, Bobby Brown, Bri Avedisian, the video team, equipment team, the HR team and so many others for making the transition seamless for the travel and onboarding of this group."

Vrabel has reunited with 10 assistant coaches from his time in Tennessee. In particular, Vrabel appears to be "getting the band back together" on the defensive side of the ball. Mainly, Williams was Vrabel's defensive line and assistant head coach, while safeties coach Scott Booker was also with the Titans under Vrabel. From this perspective, Booker (secondary) and Williams (defensive front) will be Vrabel's top aids in turning a Patriots defense around that ranked 30th in DVOA last season.

In an interview with Patriots.com at the Senior Bowl, Vrabel confirmed that "the foundation will remain the same" with McDaniels bringing back the dynasty-era system in his third stint as offensive coordinator. However, the coaches under McDaniels come from different backgrounds, meaning they're not familiar names from McDaniels's past stops.

For example, the Pats named former Bears interim head coach Thomas Brown as pass-game coordinator and tight ends coach. Brown, who is known for climbing the ranks under Rams head coach Sean McVay, is the first coach in team history to be given the pass-game coordinator title. Along with Brown, QB coach Ashton Grant comes from Kevin Stafanski's staff with the Browns, offensive line coach Doug Marrone is typically put in the Sean Payton coaching staff, and former Jets and Titans play-caller Todd Downing (WRs coach) was on Vrabel's staff in Tennessee.

The benefit to this setup offensively is that McDaniels will be surrounded by fresh ideas. But the onus is now on McDaniels and Vrabel to get the staff on the same page terminology-wise before the players report for the offseason program this spring. The Pats will return to the Earhardt-Perkins system under McDaniels, which speaks a different language than the West Coast offense. Therefore, the focus for the staff now turns to making sure the messaging to the players is clear. At the end of the day, football is football, and it's McDaniels's offense. Still, everyone needs to get up to speed to teach the scheme to the players.

Ultimately, Vrabel has assembled an impressive staff filled with experienced coaches on both sides of the ball. New England now has three former head coaches on staff, four if you include interim head coaches, and five offensive coaches with play-calling experience. One of the appeals of hiring Vrabel was that he had a network of well-respected coaches to fill out his staff—Vrabel's first staff with the Patriots delivered in that respect.

Here are seven things that stand out about the Patriots coaching staff for the 2025 season.

1. PGC/TE Coach Thomas Brown's Influence on the Patriots Offense

To properly estimate the schematic innovations that Brown could bring to the Patriots, let's do a little history lesson on the West Coast offense. The pioneer of the West Coast offense was Hall of Fame coach Bill Walsh, who coached the 49ers to three Super Bowl championships in the 1980s. Walsh then had six assistants who formed the first branches of his coaching tree: Jim Fassell, Paul Hackett, Sam Wyche, Dennis Green, and most importantly, in this instance, Mike Holmgren and George Seifert.

Holmgren's tree is significant because current Chiefs coach Andy Reid came from it, and Reid has now formed his own coaching tree that includes Doug Pederson, who developed Frank Reich and influenced Brown. The other relevant branch is Seifert because he helped shape the future for Mike Shanahan. Like Reid, the elder Shanahan now has his own coaching tree that includes son Kyle, Sean McVay, Matt LaFleur, Mike McDaniel, and Bobby Slowik, among others. Brown's first job in the NFL was with McVay, where he coached running backs and tight ends for the Rams, which had a major impact on shaping Brown as an offensive mind.

So, how does this all relate to the Patriots? Well, the question for Brown is this: is he bringing a McVay/Shanahan flavor or a Reid perspective to the Patriots offense? The former is typically an under-center heavy offense that utilizes outside zone/duo run schemes, motion to create space and window dressing, and condensed formations. As for the Reid tree, the Chiefs and adjacent offenses (Philly, Indy) are running a "West Coast college" system inspired by the Air Raid and RPO offenses at the college level. These offenses use motion and early-down option plays to spice up their shotgun formations.

Not all West Coast offenses major in the quarterback being under center like we see in Los Angeles and San Francisco. Reid has spearheaded an RPO and motion movement with superstar QB Patrick Mahomes that plays into the dual-threat ability and unique arm talent of modern quarterbacks. In the 2024 regular season, Kansas City and Philadelphia, two teams running this offense, ranked sixth and eighth in early-down shotgun usage. In comparison, the Rams (31st) and 49ers (23rd) majored in the quarterback playing from under center on first and second down.

From this perspective, the Reid system that majors in shotgun schemes might be a better fit for second-year QB Drake Maye. Maye was new to playing under-center as a rookie, and while it's difficult to separate his production from his supporting cast, the Pats QB1 was 25th out of 31 passers in expected points added per drop-back from under center. Based on the stats and eye test, Maye is at his best in the shotgun, where he can survey defenses, extend plays, and scramble for first downs.

Either way, Brown is considered a bright mind that has worked with some of the top offensive coaches in the league over the last five seasons. Brown should help bring more motion, early-down RPO elements, and moving pockets to McDaniels's scheme, which seems to be the vision for the Patriots offense to maximize Maye's excellent physical tools.

2. Veteran assistant Doug Marrone Tabbed as Offensive Line Coach

Marrone is another major hire. After spending time around Bill O'Brien's program at Boston College last season, Marrone returns to the NFL with a "friend of BOB" on Vrabel's staff. Marrone has coached 17 seasons at the NFL level, including two stints as a head coach, three years as an offensive coordinator, and eight seasons as an offensive line coach. Marrone has an excellent reputation and decades of experience. He will also supposedly have some help from Patriots Hall of Famer Dante Scarnecchia in an informal advisor role, per O'Brien.

With the McDaniels offense, the offensive line coach is key. Typically, McDaniels will bring the run and pass plays he wants to install in that week's game plan to the line coach, then lean on the offensive line coach to get it blocked up. In other words, the relationship between McDaniels and his offensive line coach is crucial to the scheme.

Marrone's other primary responsibility will be developing players. Last season, the Patriots were last in pass-blocking and run-blocking win rate, per ESPN's analytics. Along with Marrone, Houghtaling could be a key assistant when it comes to player development. Known as a player-friendly coach, Houghtaling was the Titans offensive line coach in Vrabel's final season as the head coach in Tennessee, giving the Patriots two coaches on staff who have been head O-Line coaches. That'll be huge for a team that figures to have significant personnel turnover along the offensive line and needs to make substantial strides in that area.

Vrabel has hinted that they'll prioritize offensive line acquisitions this offseason, and the Patriots could select an offensive tackle with the fourth overall pick in April's draft. A lot is riding on improving the offensive line play in New England, with Marrone now leading the room.

3. Safeties Coach Scott Booker Reunites with Vrabel and Williams on Defensive Staff

After a year in Buffalo, Booker is back with Vrabel and Williams to coach the Pats safeties. Although he doesn't have a senior title like he did in Buffalo, Booker could have a major influence on marrying the backend with the defensive front. Williams is a career defensive line coach, and D-Line coaches typically don't have as much knowledge about coverages. Given his extensive experience coaching the secondary in Vrabel's defense, it stands to reason that Booker could aid Williams in marrying the pass rush with the coverage next season.

It's also worth monitoring who will call plays, as Williams would be a first-time defensive play-caller, to my knowledge. There's a chance that Williams could get some help in that regard, perhaps from Vrabel himself, until he's more comfortable in that role. The defensive staff is filled with Vrabel confidants from his Titans days: Williams, Booker, ILBs coach Zak Kuhr, CBs coach Justin Hamilton, and defensive line coach Clint McMillan. There shouldn't be any issues with running the Pats HC's preferred defensive scheme, which we broke down here.

4. Former Titans OC Todd Downing Named Wide Receivers Coach

Downing is another Patriots assistant coach who has called offensive plays before, serving as Vrabel's offensive coordinator for two seasons (2021-2022) and the Jets interim play-caller last season. Downing's experience coordinating an offense should help him teach a complex passing system to the Patriots wide receivers. McDaniels's passing game is very heavy on concepts, meaning it's important for receivers to know how their route fits into the bigger picture so that they can adjust their routes properly based on their teammate's movements.

Downing's knowledge of the entire offense will help him relay those details to the room, but it's fair to question if he has the necessary experience with the wide receiver position. Downing has held various roles at his prior stops but has mainly coached quarterbacks and tight ends. It's mildly surprising that the Patriots didn't hire an assistant wide receivers coach with a background in either coaching or playing the position. Given the Pats struggles with drafting and developing wide receivers, it'll be interesting to see how Downing does in that regard.

5. Up-and-comer Ashton Grant to Coach Quarterbacks for the Patriots

It's worth noting that Grant was a wide receiver at Assumption College, but he'll be working with the quarterbacks in New England. The former Browns assistant is a coach on the rise with the potential to be an offensive coordinator or even a head coach down the road. Speaking to Vrabel in Mobile, the head coach emphasized that he wanted a mix of veteran experience and youthful energy on the staff, with Grant fitting the latter mold.

Along with being an up-and-coming offensive mind, Grant will be tasked with aiding McDaniels in Maye's development. Grant could help Maye with keeping up with the left-foot forward footwork routine that corrected any concerns with the Pats QB's footwork coming out of college. Grant's experience in Cleveland suggests that he's well-versed in former OC Alex Van Pelt's footwork drills, so McDaniels could keep the fundamentals the same as Van Pelt, with Grant melding the two offenses together from that standpoint. That said, make no mistake about it, McDaniels is the lead voice in Maye's ear from this point forward.

6. Longtime offensive coach Ben McAdoo Retained as Defensive Assistant

Another mild surprise on the Patriots new-look coaching staff is that McAdoo will work with the defense after spending his entire coaching career on offense. The theory here is that McAdoo, like Vrabel did last year in Cleveland, could help reverse engineer opposing offenses for the Pats defense next season. For example, McAdoo might tell the defensive coaches what he would do if he was game-planning vs. the Patriots defense. That could trickle into having a role in scripting plays for the scout team or coaching up players on techniques they might see from opposing offenses. It's an interesting role for McAdoo.

7. Patriots Announce Strength and Conditioning Staff, John Streicher's Title

Lastly, the Patriots also gave an official title to Vrabel's right-hand man, John "Stretch" Streicher, and announced their strength and conditioning staff. Streicher's title is VP of Football Operations and Strategy, a role that is a combination of Berj Najarian and Ernie Adams's roles on former coach Bill Belichick's staff. Streicher will help Vrabel manage the team's day-to-day while having a hand in clock management during games. In Tennessee, many credited "Stretch" for the loopholes Vrabel exploited, such as taking delay of game penalties vs. the Patriots in the 2019 playoffs.

Lastly, Frank Piraino reunites with Vrabel as the director of sports performance. It's also noteworthy that Jerod Mayo's brother, Deron, will remain on the strength and conditioning staff under Piraino, along with Mayo holdover Brian McDonough.

DISCLAIMER: The views and thoughts expressed in this article are those of the writer and don't necessarily reflect those of the organization. Read Full Disclaimer