Patriots owner Robert Kraft and son Jonathan wasted little time on Sunday night, firing first-year head coach Jerod Mayo barely a couple of hours removed from Sunday’s 23-16 regular-season victory against the Buffalo Bills at Gillette Stadium.
However, it looks like offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt is the second domino to fall, with Ben Volin of the Boston Globe reporting that he’s also out after one season.
Van Pelt’s departure is certainly significant, moreso due to his relationship with rookie quarterback Drake Maye. By all accounts, there’s been a significant amount of respect and appreciation developed between the two, which is certainly going to complicate things for whoever the next person is to replace the veteran coach.
Maye talked about their relationship earlier this week, noting that Van Pelt’s steady approach, and his focus on the details have been significant during his first season. He’s also been someone who has helped him develop confidence as a pro, with Van Pelt helping him stay even keeled even during times when the rookie struggled.
“I think some of what AVP does every day is he brings it every day,” said Maye. “I think that’s part of something that the quarterback, you’ve got to bring it every day. It doesn’t matter. As the quarterback of the team, these guys look to you, and it’s within the title of bringing it every day and bringing juice.”
“Even when you’re 3-13, you’re bringing it every day and still approaching it the same way. I think AVP has done a great job of telling me throughout the games as well, ‘Hey, you just threw an interception. Hey, you’re still the same guy. Still go out there and rip it.’ He’s done a great job of kind of putting confidence in me, kind of instilling that and realizing that you’ve got to play with confidence in this league to play quarterback.”
The biggest thing now is that Van Pelt has set the standard the next coach is going to have to match. We’ve already seen with Mac Jones how quickly things can go off the rails when the quarterback and coordinator aren’t on the same page. If the Krafts want to avoid repeating past mistakes, they’re going to need to make sure they fully vet the next candidate. They also need to make sure that person is extremely intelligent. Maye’s a smart guy, which means the next candidate has to be willing to answer the “why” which often gets asked by today’s players.
According to reports, that seemed to be an issue between Matt Patricia and Mac Jones after Josh McDaniels departed to Las Vegas, which began in the summer with many players as Patricia tried to install a new offense. It sparked issues that former Patriots quarterback Brian Hoyer said was a problem due to the lack of trust in the person teaching the new system.
Not on the Same Page?
With Van Pelt, he was embraced by the players and by all accounts, they all respected him. But internally, it feels like there may have been some tension in the coaching ranks that complicated things.
While there has certainly been a fair amount of criticism when it’s come to Van Pelt’s playcalling, there’s sort of a caveat. It absolutely felt like there was a plan in place in terms of how they had planned on bringing Maye along, but whether or not there was full agreement might have been another story.
Given where they were at the start of the season in terms of personnel and their problems along the offensive line, that was an unbelievable challenge. As a result, it seemed like there might have been an understanding when Maye took over at quarterback, of it being a marathon, not a sprint, at least in terms of how fast they wanted to bring him and the offense along.
But as the team struggled and the noise grew, it felt like Mayo and Van Pelt weren’t on the same page, which might explain some things. When you look at the conservative playcalling and what felt like a slow burn in terms of how the playbook slowly opened up, it was clear that one guy wanted to stick to the script and take their time, critics and results be-damned, while the other may have felt differently.
To add to the complications, as the year went on, the limitations from a personnel standpoint became more significant. We know about the problems along the offensive line. Building continuity didn’t really happy until midseason, and the struggles at the tackle spots persisted all the way until the end of Sunday’s contest.
Meanwhile, we never saw much consistency with players Maye was throwing to, at least at the receiver position. Rookie second-round receiver Ja’Lynn Polk really seemed to struggle as a pro from a mental standpoint, leaving Polk as another young receiver who ended up being a non-factor.
Whether or not Polk can develop remains to be seen. With Mayo and Van Pelt out, one would have to believe the changes are far from over. Making sure they can better support and bring along those players with whoever comes in next is going to need to be a priority, and hopefully, they finally get that part right.
Bourne a Weak Link
But probably the biggest surprise was the fact that the criticism made when it came to Kendrick Bourne under Matt Patricia seemed to hold some weight, given that Bourne was often in the wrong place and struggled again this season.
That’s significant when you take into account that he’s someone young guys were likely looking to, and it makes it difficult to develop young players when the people they rely on aren’t able to be counted on.
The lone bright spot at the receiver spot ended up coming from Kayshon Boutte, who went over 100 yards receiving on Sunday after hauling in 7 catches on 7 targets for 117 yards.
He finished 2024 with 43 receptions for 589 yards, making him the second-leading wide receiver behind Demario Douglas (66 receptions, 621 yards).
Boutte’s development is likely a reminder that the club needs to start focusing on receivers from the SEC, rather than taking chances on guys from smaller programs, at least in the early rounds for the time being. Ladd McConkey is the name many have been talking about, given what he did last weekend during the Chargers 40-7 blowout win. The former Georgia Bulldog ended up having a big game after catching 8 passes for 94 yards and two touchdowns. He also had a terrific year, eclipsing the 1,000-yard receiving mark in his first season.
But as it currently stands, they definitely need help. Polk isn’t yet a lost cause and there are certainly reasons to believe that unlike Tyquan Thornton, it might be a little too early to close the book on him. Javon Baker showed his first flash after catching a 12-yard pass late in Sunday’s contest.
Meanwhile, Bourne signed a contract extension this offseason, but he was never really able to settle back in coming off of offseason knee surgery. But it was the mental part of his game, not any physical issues, that ultimately hampered him.
Still, given his struggles, it’s going to be interesting to see just how much longer Bourne is around. He’s developed a reputation of being in the wrong place and not knowing the offense, which is obviously a problem. Many fans came to his defense when he was in Patricia’s “doghouse” years ago, but the revelations that have come out this season only further reinforce that it’s something that he still hasn’t been able to get ahead of.
Bourne finished 2024 with just 28 receptions for 305 yards, with Sunday seeing him finish with two catches for 12 yards.
A Lot on the Line This Offseason
But this group will hopefully look significantly different next fall. The club will likely be focused on signing a top free agent this offseason which, should Mike Vrabel get hired, Vrabel and Maye’s presence should radically change the overall feel of things as they try and lure free agents to come here.
The Patriots seem to have their QB of the future, and it’s critical that they get it right with both the people above him and alongside him. They clearly need help along the offensive line, and they need to surround him with more explosive players on offense.
In the meantime, Van Pelt’s departure is a reminder that being able to match what Maye had grown to appreciate from him is going to need to be a focus. There was mutual respect, which as we’ve seen, absolutely matters. Looking on social media, Van Pelt’s loss is one that many are celebrating, but it’s likely that Maye is home right now with real concerns when it comes to his future coach.
We’ve already seen what happens when the quarterback and coordinator aren’t on the same page, and that needs to be something that is definitely taken into consideration when they begin exploring Van Pelt’s replacement.
The coming weeks will set the stage for the future and the goal for the Krafts has to be making sure history doesn’t repeat itself. It’s also another big reason why the pressure is absolutely going to be on to ensure they get things right, for the sake of it not going all wrong again in 2025.
UPDATE: As of Tuesday, January 7th, 2025 Van Pelt and the rest of the coaches have yet to be officially let go, despite Ben Volin’s previous report that Van Pelt had been fired along with Jerod Mayo Sunday night.
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Ian Logue is a Seacoast native and owner and senior writer for PatsFans.com, an independent media site covering the New England Patriots and has been running this site in one form or another since 1997.
AVP, as of right now hasn’t been fired. The only person to “report” that he’s been fired is Ben Volin.
I’m fairly old so have read many Patriot columns and articles over the years. Volin by far is the most angry, negative, biased and unprofessional “reporter” of any I have read. Please do not take his word for anything Patriot. He should have been fired years ago and I do not understand why he has not been. Firing him and closing down social media posting, including mine, o all these sites would make following sports much more enjoyable. The ignorance and especially the negativity from would be media and social media savants is sickening. That does not apply to the… Read more »