2025 Patriots coaching staff - How competitive will they be?

[DrDawkinstein]

I can say that the Pats are the only Division Rival that has made a move I actually (slightly) worry about.

 

Hiring Vrabel is the best move made by an AFC East team since we drafted Josh.

 

The good news is, they still have a long ways to go. It will depend on how they use all that cap space and those high draft picks. And of course, what McDaniels can get out of Maye.

 

I could see us splitting with the Pats and going 5-1 in the Division next year.

 

Still our Division to lose, but will definitely be keeping an eye on NE.

[Yobogoya!]

5 hours ago, Doc Brown said:

Not as an offensive coordinator though.  Mack Jones only good year was with him as a rookie.  Same goes for Matt Cassel in that 11-5 season after Brady suffered that injury in the first game in 2008.  We'll see what he can do with Drake Maye but I wish they hired someone else.  I think he's going to fall in that bucket of bad head coach but decent coordinator.  I think long term this will be the best competition in our division.

 

And also Garappolo's first three starts in 2016 while Brady was suspended. Guy went 3-0 and that was effectively the launchpad for Jimmy G's entire career.

 

Question will be whether McDaniels respects Vrabel enough to get along and take commands. We can surmise from the Raiders and Broncos fiascos that McDaniels is a control freak who needs to be reeled in to be effective. Guy obviously wasn't going to question Belichick, but I think his only other time as someone else's OC was with the 2011 Rams under Spags who went 2-14.. should be interesting to see how this goes.

[Conlan58]

It's hard to soar like an Eagle when you are surrounded by Turkeys. 

 

They have just added more Eagles than Turkeys to the coaching staff, but still have a large amount of Turkeys on the roster. If they make good moves in FA and the Draft, I believe it will be a big turnaround, especially after seeing what Maye was capable of last year. 

[aristocrat]

He's a bit of a turnover machne but has the dog trait you like to see with qbs. Is he more Daniel Jones or young Josh Allen?  He's already gotte injured a couple times as well. They've got cap space and high picks. They gotta fix that line and get him some weapons. 

[Ridgewaycynic2013]

12 hours ago, Richard Noggin said:

No one going to point out a certain name on that list? 

 

No wonder they have two OL assistants...

'OL assistants' is actually code for HR Specialist.  The corporate role needed when the boss is an a**hole.

3 hours ago, DrDawkinstein said:

Still our Division to lose, but will definitely be keeping an eye on NE.

Horsehockey!  I am getting on the NY Jets bandwagon / pain train now. 😁🙄

Edited February 6 by Ridgewaycynic2013

[warrior9]

12 hours ago, Success said:

Not seeing it.  

 

They have very little talent.  Could Maye be a good QB?  Sure - but he could easily be pretty middlin'.

 

Drake Maye won't be a middling QB. What he did with that OL, that WR group, and that coaching staff is nothing short of very impressive.

 

They have a good amount of experience on that staff now and Vrabel is a great (albeit boring) coach. I don't think they are a threat to us next season but I do believe they are on the up and up. 

[warrior9]

3 hours ago, JGMcD2 said:

Terrible in Denver and Las Vegas running his own show and calling plays.

 

Terrible OC in St. Louis running the offense for a defensive head coach in Steve Spagnuolo. He was hired to help the reigning 2010 AP Offensive Rookie of the Year take a leap forward. Sam Bradford was on pace to put up BY FAR the worst season of his career before it was cut short due to injury after 10 games. 

 

Sam Bradford (2011)

53.5% Completion
216 Yards/Game

1.7% TD

1.7% INT

 

Sam Bradford (Career)

62.5% Completion

234.3 Yards/Game

3.5% TD

2.1% INT

 

He's been nothing but atrocious when he's not working under Belichick. 

So a second year QB with a New OC struggled 10 games in? I'm shocked. Did you just take a look at the roster ... by chance? Brandon Gibson and Brandon Lloyd were #1 and 2 WRs. That team was a dumpster fire and clearly nearing their end in STL. Not all things are linear.

 

I don't think McDaniels is a great HC but he did go to the play offs with Tim Tebow. Of course, he wore out his welcome shortly after but the guy can coach ball. He has a few SB rings to prove it. 

[Success]

19 minutes ago, warrior9 said:

Drake Maye won't be a middling QB. What he did with that OL, that WR group, and that coaching staff is nothing short of very impressive.

 

They have a good amount of experience on that staff now and Vrabel is a great (albeit boring) coach. I don't think they are a threat to us next season but I do believe they are on the up and up. 

 

What did he do? The guy won 1 game, and was somewhat of a turnover machine - especially on game-ending drives.

 

He's incredibly overhyped right now based on a few "wow" plays. He hasn't proven anything in this league yet.

[Magox]

I think in a couple years they will be the #2 team in the division, Maye is going to be the real deal and if I were a NE fan I'd be ecstatic with him leading that franchise.

 

Also their backup QB looks great as well, I bet they could get a 2nd rounder for him if they traded him.   Not sure I would do that yet, even though I am very bullish on Maye's prospects, it's not a given and it's possible that Milton could be a real stud in the league.

[Success]

2 minutes ago, Magox said:

I think in a couple years they will be the #2 team in the division, Maye is going to be the real deal and if I were a NE fan I'd be ecstatic with him leading that franchise.

 

Also their backup QB looks great as well, I bet they could get a 2nd rounder for him if they traded him.   Not sure I would do that yet, even though I am very bullish on Maye's prospects, it's not a given and it's possible that Milton could be a real stud in the league.

 

No team would give up a 2nd for Milton. He looked great - against backups.  

 

[Magox]

1 minute ago, Success said:

 

No team would give up a 2nd for Milton. He looked great - against backups.  

 

 

If he continues to look good in whatever opportunities he gets and Maye does indeed become their franchise QB, then I think you'd be wrong.   Teams are desperate to get a quality QB as their franchise guy and guys like Milton have all the tools, dual QB with size, speed and arm strength.  If teams look at the way he processes the field and they like what they see, doesn't matter if it's backups or not, some teams would take a chance.   

 

With that said, I think more has to be seen from him, but I have 0 doubt in my mind that some teams are already looking to contact NE to see what it would take to get him.  I agree that at this point a 2nd rounder probably wouldn't be on the table, but if he were to show good processing skills in the preseason and maybe he gets an opportunity or two to play during the regular season, then for sure, some team would be right to give up a 2nd rounder for a tremendously physically talented QB.

[C.Biscuit97]

They will be better but the biggest reasons why Mayo got scapegoated was their roster absolutely sucks.  Belichick murdered that team the last few years. But somehow the coach who the same amount of games as the “greatest” coach ever did the year before was the problem, 

 

I do think Vrabel is a good cos h who has become extremely overrated but they will be a tough, hard nosed team. Maye is also better than Jones, who is garbage. But I think he is a very mistake prone qb and he won as many games as Joe Milton. I just hope that bandwagon fanbase never gets happiness again and can just cry about the Sawx.

[msw2112]

The two most important people for an NFL team are head coach and QB.  I think the Pats have a very good person in both of those roles, so yes, I expect them to improve and become an obstacle for the Bills in the coming years.  I don't see them as being close to the Bills next season, however, but over time they will probably close the gap.  I still believe that the Bills have a better head coach (or at least same level) and a better QB.

[Homelander]

QB competition coming to New England this year.

[JohnNord]

13 hours ago, FitzShowUsYourTitz said:

Below is the 2025 Patriots coaching staff.

Personally I feel like they will be very competitive in 2026 and 2027

Loads of cap space for free agents, picking 4th in every round this year and an 

Excellent IMHO head coach - Whom I hate for his OBVIOUS music city ‘miracle’ kickoff lateral a few years back in TN. 
 

And now they have both Josh (I’ve learned how to cheat from the best) Daniels along with Everyone’s Fav Saint Doug. 
 

The rivalry is (soon to be) back.  Should be better than the Jests and likely better than the Phins before long.  Bring it Patsies!

 

The 2025 Patriots coaching staff:

Mike Vrabel: Head Coach
Josh McDaniels: Offensive Coordinator
Thomas Brown: Tight Ends/Passing Game Coordinator
Doug Marrone: Offensive Line
Jason Houghtaling: Assistant Offensive Line
Robert Kugler: Assistant Offensive Line
Todd Downing: Wide Receivers
Tony Dews: Running Backs
Ashton Grant: Quarterbacks
Riley Larkin: Offensive Assistant
Chuckie Keeton: Offensive Assistant

 

What you think?

This is an experienced staff, sure, but I feel you are overrating the assistant coaches staff based on the fact they held higher coaching positions in the past.  There’s a reason for that…
 

With that being said, I think Vrabel is a big upgrade from Mayo.  Given that and Maye’s development along with the money they have to spend, it’s reasonable to think that NE will be competitive next season and definitely better than last year.   I’d put them in the same range as NYJ next season.  Still think Miami will be better but we have yet to see any of these rosters so who knows?

[JohnNord]

20 minutes ago, C.Biscuit97 said:

They will be better but the biggest reasons why Mayo got scapegoated was their roster absolutely sucks.  Belichick murdered that team the last few years. But somehow the coach who the same amount of games as the “greatest” coach ever did the year before was the problem, 

 

I do think Vrabel is a good cos h who has become extremely overrated but they will be a tough, hard nosed team. Maye is also better than Jones, who is garbage. But I think he is a very mistake prone qb and he won as many games as Joe Milton. I just hope that bandwagon fanbase never gets happiness again and can just cry about the Sawx.

I don’t necessarily buy this.  Kraft foolishly wanted Mayo to be the next Belichick but he was completely unprepared for the job.   He didn’t really have many connections so he needed personnel to help him fill assistant positions (aka Alex Van Pelt).

 

He was very unimpressive both on and off the field, plus he said something to embarrass the organization every week at his press conference.  

 

Yes the roster sucked and I think Elliot Wolf is bad at his job too.  But it does make you wonder how much synergy/direction there was with coach/GM.  All in all, the team was a laughing stock.  

 

Ultimately, it was Bob Kraft who screwed up by promising him the role as Belichick’s successor despite being unqualified.  The Kraft’s realized they made a huge mistake and wisely cut their losses.  
 

Maybe Mayo becomes a good HC or DC in the league but he was just as bad at the Patriots roster and I don’t feel he was scapegoated in any way.  He sucked

[Captain Hindsight]

1 hour ago, warrior9 said:

So a second year QB with a New OC struggled 10 games in? I'm shocked. Did you just take a look at the roster ... by chance? Brandon Gibson and Brandon Lloyd were #1 and 2 WRs. That team was a dumpster fire and clearly nearing their end in STL. Not all things are linear.

 

I don't think McDaniels is a great HC but he did go to the play offs with Tim Tebow. Of course, he wore out his welcome shortly after but the guy can coach ball. He has a few SB rings to prove it. 

Tim Tebow started exactly zero games before McDaniels was fired. 

 

John Fox took Tebow to the playoffs

 

McDaniels has proven time and time again he is not good running his own show. Thats fine, not everyone is a HC. Can he do it without daddy Belichick? We will see. He has a great start with a good player in Maye

[Captain Hindsight]

1 hour ago, Success said:

 

What did he do? The guy won 1 game, and was somewhat of a turnover machine - especially on game-ending drives.

 

He's incredibly overhyped right now based on a few "wow" plays. He hasn't proven anything in this league yet.

I like Maye, but this is correct. He has a long way to go before hes a threat

[machine gun kelly]

It’s not the coaching staff, but will take 3 drafts and some very careful free agent acquisitions to rebuild this team.  Besides Maye seems talented, but he’s not in Allen’s league.

[msw2112]

3 hours ago, Homelander said:

QB competition coming to New England this year.

 

I've followed Joe Milton's career since he was a freshman at Michigan.  He's the best practice player, pre-season player, meaningless game player you'll ever see.  He's big, strong, fast, and has a cannon for an arm.  By all accounts, he's a good kid.  This is why he was drafted.  His teammates at Michigan, before his first start, said in the press that Milton was going to go #1 overall in the NFL draft.

 

He's also just not accurate and able to process information fast enough to be successful in pressure-packed, meaningful games.  He had and lost the starting job at Michigan.  He had and lost the starting job at Tennessee.  That's why he was drafted in the 6th round.  I could see him winning a QB competition against Maye, then being replaced 2 or 3 games into his tenure as a starter.  Other than the fact that he plays for the Patriots, a rival of the Bills, I have nothing against the kid.  I hope he goes to the NFC and becomes a star.  But I've seen this script play out before.

 

Milton played great against the Bills in the final game of the season, when the Bills were resting starters and the Patriots were supposed to lose the game to secure the #1 overall draft pick.  Not wanting the rival Patriots to have the #1 overall pick, the Bills made sure to lose that game.  I didn't follow closely, but besides playing a number of backups, I assume the Bills defense was pretty vanilla (pre-season style) in that game.  Others can correct me if I'm wrong.