Patriots News 1-12: A New Head Coach Soon?
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Good morning. While the New England Patriots 2024-2025 regular season is over, there is never any shortage of news coming out of One Patriots Place with the Patriots. We should become aware of the next Patriots’ head coach within a few days (if not before). And right now, it is seemingly a two-horse race between Mike Vrabel and Ben Johnson. Both, IMO are excellent choices. So, the theme today is coaching matters.
Either is an excellent choice for different reasons. Vrabel has already proven he’s a good head coach. He also knows how to build the culture this team is searching for. He was always known as a smart player, which continued into his coaching career.
His culture? “I’ve always thought (a team’s best players have to be its hardest workers),” Vrabel told Scott Pioli a few years ago. “I‘ve always thought that I have to hold them the most accountable because of the message that it sends. It’s easy to get our message across when our best players are our hardest workers and the ones who are engaged the most in meetings.“
He no doubt remembers a walking, talking example of that during his Patriots days: a tall, lanky guy named Thomas Edward Brady. But those Patriots teams were full of them, including Vrabel.
“He loved practicing on the scout team. He loved it. Loved it!” Rodney Harrison said to Kevin Clark for a fantastic piece in The Ringer.
“He didn’t care if he had to be Ed Reed, the free safety, Ray Lewis, middle linebacker, or one of the great defensive ends, he would play that role. I was a great practice player, and I’m like, ‘Look at this dude. He’s out running special teams, starting defense, nickel, and goal line, and he’s playing scout team defense. That is phenomenal.’”
“This simply didn’t happen in the NFL, Harrison said. “He’s running R3 [position] on kickoff running down and it’s 90 degrees, full speed, juking guys, tagging off on the runner inside the 20, and he’s celebrating like he had three sacks. It was just so important to him.”
That love of practice turned into a love of teaching as a coach in the NFL with Tennessee. But he still loved jumping into practice and taking part in drills—teaching and coaching matters.
But according to Arthur Smith, who was with him in Tennessee, Vrabel isn’t married to any one system; he’s very flexible. Smith said that was one of the things he loved about Vrabel.
His non-negotiables to winning are simple. Protect the football, affect the other team’s quarterback, and efficiently throw the football. Be great in situational football. About 60 percent of games are decided by eight points or less, and a similar number are won in the last two minutes of the fourth quarter or in overtime. Coaching matters.
There have been rumors of Josh McDaniels returning to Foxboro as part of Vrabel’s crew. I personally would love that. McDaniels is an outstanding offensive coordinator. And he works well with young quarterbacks. Look what he and Mac Jones accomplished in Jones’ rookie season. Coaching matters.
And the best part? McDaniels isn’t going anywhere. I doubt he’d ever get another shot at a head coaching job. The issue with young up-and-coming offensive coordinators is that they’re usually gone in a year or two. Such as Ben Johnson.
Johnson is an intriguing option because he has an outstanding track record as an offensive coordinator. His philosophies stem from the Erhardt-Perkins system, which may interest Patriots fans. His work with Jared Goff has paid massive dividends, as the Lions’ offense has been phenomenal this season.
New England would be an attractive destination for Johnson. Why? The biggest reason is Drake Maye. The 22-year-old quarterback has shown maturity beyond his years and has the earmarks for superstardom. Plus, the Patriots have a boatload of cash to spend, more than $20 million to the next closest team. They can fill some holes with a few top-tier veteran players and still add some good depth players before the draft.
The Patriots also have the #4 pick in the draft. With nine picks overall, they can find some excellent players. They can also package some picks and move around the draft board.
Those who know Johnson say he’s smart, detail-oriented, and demanding. His only knock has been that he’s never been a head coach before, and a major question is how he’d delegate authority to his assistants. And who are the assistant coaches that he’d bring with him?
I think either choice would be a good one for the Patriots, now we just have to wait and see who that coach is.
Brenden Schooler: The Patriots special teams’ ace has been selected to the Pro Bowl and now has been named as a 1st Team All-Pro, and it is well-deserved. Schooler tied for the lead in the AFC in Special Teams tackles and was the highest-graded gunner in the AFC by PFF.
The Patriots’ “X” account posted a nice moment between Schooler and Matthew Slater, the best gunner ever played. Schooler is taking up the mantle of where Slater left off.
Christian Gonzalez: The Patriots’ outstanding young cornerback, the 2023 first-round pick made it his personal goal to make the All-Pro team this season, and he accomplished that. He was named to the 2nd Team as an All-Pro. Although he was snubbed in Pro Bowl voting, Gonzalez’s main focus was being named an All-Pro anyway.
“All-Pro is definitely a better award than the Pro Bowl. The Pro Bowl is all bonus. If it comes, it comes. Cool. But, yeah, definitely striving more for All-Pro,” Gonzalez said last month.
Gonzalez was tasked weekly with covering the opposing team’s number-one receiver on a Patriots defense that plays a lot of man coverage. He faced the league’s best receivers, including Ja’Marr Chase, Tyreek Hill, Garrett Wilson, Marvin Harrison Jr., and Davante Adams. He performed outstandingly week in and week out.
Jerry Jones: This isn’t Patriots-related, however… Did anyone see the clip of Jones’ cameo in the new show Landman with Billy Bob Thornton? Jones played himself and visited Jon Hamm in the hospital. As he talked to Hamm, he delivered an excellent speech about life and family. For someone without acting chops, it was outstanding. Or maybe Jerry wasn’t acting at all. And he was just retelling his life’s ambitions. Either way some great stuff there.
Patriots 4th & 2 Podcast: Derek and I recorded this week’s podcast on Sunday night after the Patriots fired Jerod Mayo. It was faster than anyone thought. Robert Kraft released a statement only about an hour after the game. Please check us out and give us a listen on YouTube, Apple, or wherever you listen to your podcasts.
Russ Francis/Chuck Fairbanks: The former Patriot tight end and head coach should be in the Patriots team Hall of Fame, and the fact that Francis isn’t is an absolute travesty. Francis and the Raiders’ Dave Casper changed how teams used the tight end position. This will be discussed in our Sunday posts until it happens. Casper is in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Francis’ numbers stand up well against Casper’s, yet he isn’t even in the team’s HOF.
When he came out for his press conference early last week, Robert Kraft didn’t mince words. But he made it clear that the failed Jerod Mayo year wasn’t on Mayo but about himself. He took accountability for his actions and put Mayo into an untenable position.
“I’m going to be very brief here and say this whole situation is on me,” Kraft said.
This is a different take than a year ago when the Patriots released a 10-part miniseries about the Super Bowl years called “The Dynasty.” There, Kraft tried to show that everything good, had his fingerprints all over it, while all the bad was thrown at the feet of Bill Belichick. That was a bad look.
“I feel terrible for Jerod because I put him in an untenable situation. I know that he has all the tools as a head coach to be successful in this league.”
Kraft knows he jumped the gun a year ago and rushed to place Mayo as the head coach, fearing losing him to another team. And now he at least shows the signs of getting the right coach in place to turn the team’s fortunes around.
They have two excellent candidates to pick from, each has his own strengths and is different from the other. That decision will be a very important one. They have been losing for three consecutive years, and four out of the last five.
The shine has come off the Patriots’ franchise but it has been badly tarnished. It is time to get things back on track.
They’ll need to have a great spring this year. With $130 million+ to spend in free agency and the #4 pick in the draft, the opportunity is there for the team to turn things around to respectability quickly. Getting the coach and philosophy right and then picking the right players to fit that philosophy.
Which brings us to Eliot Wolf and Alonzo Highsmith. Will they be kept, or will the new coach want a clean sweep of the front office? That is a real possibility.
Wolf’s negative perception among the fan base is a topic for debate. Was he really bad or was it a combination of things? In free agency, Wolf had a ton of money to spend and tried to. They went hard after Calvin Ridley, who opted for Tennessee. They tried to work a trade with San Francisco for Brandon Aiyuk. Aiyuk used the Patriots’ interest to squeeze SF to retain him. That is understandable from his point of view. It is a business.
And in reality, in the spring, how was Wolf supposed to swing getting FAs to come to New England? First-year head coach, Mac Jones and Bailey Zappe at QB. Their best WR recovering from an ACL injury. The offensive line a mess.
Speaking of the offensive line, this is an area that must improve. In the past few years, they’ve let Joe Thuney and Ted Karras walk in FA. They traded Marcus Cannon and Shaq Mason. And their losses have really reared their ugly heads. Wolf, at least, is partly responsible for this.
Wolf then proceeded to re-sign the team’s free agents, which was a smart move. They still have a ton of cash to spend. But they got a couple of good free agents, Austin Hooper and Antonio Gibson, who was underutilized this past year.
The draft started well enough with Drake Maye, but the rest have many question marks. However, I’d rather not give final marks on it yet because several draft picks may indeed become productive players with more development. Caedan Wallace may be the right tackle of the future. He was rushed into the fray early in the season, got hurt, and came back at the end of the year.
I like Layden Robinson, but the jury is still out on him. Jaheim Bell was a different type of tight end, but with Hunter Henry and Austin Hooper playing like they did, there was little time to work him in since the tight ends were the only consistent threats on offense.
I’m biased toward Marcellus Dial, but he played STs mainly in his rookie season. He got some valuable experience in the finale. He’s got decent size and good speed. I still wonder if they switch him to free safety in the future. Joe Milton has made tremendous strides since the spring. And after one game, the Patriots are already getting trade feelers for him.
Ja’Lynn Polk looked like the real deal, but then the wheels came off in the regular season. His season was a disaster for the Patriots, as he was expected to be a regular contributor for the offense. And to rub salt in the wound, the player taken when the Patriots slid back for Polk, Ladd McConkey, roast the Patriots for eight catches for 94 yards and two TDs. Polk’s total on the season 12 catches, 87 yards, and two touchdowns. Ouch.
Javon Baker only had one catch (in the finale) and can possibly blossom in Year 2. But he and Polk had very disappointing rookie seasons.
This has been a crazy season, but there have been some incredible moments. Watching Saquon Barkley vault a would-be tackler backward was amazing, ( I felt like I was watching The Matrix), and then he ran for over 2,000 yards this season. What a season he’s had.
Coaching Matters Pt. 1: How about Sam Darnold? He’s been outstanding this season. If I told you that a few years ago, you would’ve never believed it…neither would I. Kevin O’Connell has done a great job rebuilding his confidence.
Coaching Matters Pt.2: My coach of the year? Jim Harbaugh. I know that several teams have won more games than the Chargers. But they lost Keenan Allen, Austin Ekeler, and Mike Williams this spring, and no one expected this team to be where they are now…except maybe Harbaugh. What a job he’s done in Year 1, and they aren’t done yet. We’ll see how things work out in Houston (written on Friday night).
I have to admit a little bit of glee…okay a lot when I read The Athletic story on how bad things are with the Jets. “the most dysfunctional place imaginable.”
Josh Allen and Lamar Jackson have had incredible seasons, and both are worthy of the MVP (so does Barkley) this season. But my vote goes to Allen. Remember his rookie season, NFL national writers and some in Boston said he couldn’t hit water out of a boat. Then the Bills brought in Brian Daboll… did someone mention that coaching matters?
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Saturday, January 11
Baltimore over Pittsburgh
LA Chargers over Houston
Sunday, January 12
Buffalo over Denver
Philadelphia over Green Bay
Tampa Bay over Washington
Monday, January 13
Minnesota over LA Rams (moved to Arizona due to wildfires)
Last week: 11—5
2024 Season 204—68 (best season yet)
2023 Season 178—94
2022 Season: 178—92—2
2021 Season: 183—88—1
2020 Season: 169—86—1
2019 Season: 162—93—1
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“I’m going to be very brief here and say this whole situation is on me. I feel terrible for Jerod [Mayo] because I put him in an untenable situation. I know that he has all the tools as a head coach to be successful in this league. He just needed more time before taking the job. In the end, I’m a fan of this team first. Now, I have to go out and find a coach who can get us back to the playoffs and hopefully championships.”
Patriots owner Robert Kraft on the firing of Jerod Mayo at a news conference this week.
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“Talent sets the floor; Character sets the ceiling.” Bill Belichick
Follow me on Twitter @SteveB7SFG or email me at [email protected]
Listen to our Patriots 4th and 2 podcasts on Apple and YouTube as Russ Goldman, Derek Havens, and myself from PatsFans.com discuss the latest Patriots news and game analysis.
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Great article. Spot on regarding many things like Caeden Wallace (to early to judge)e etc. . Regards to Josh McDaniels, the “elephant in the room” to me is the Pats just spent the last two seasons trying (likely not done) to convert over to a form of west-coast offense. And per what I read that matches Maye’s game well. McDaniels came up in the old “Brady offense” which was very different, and very complex. It was hard to get even veteran WR’s like Joey Galloway to be able to handle the option route tree etc. McDaniels ‘grew up’ in that… Read more »