Patriots News 1-26: With the Coordinators, It’s Back to the Future
Follow us
Follow Us
🕑 Read Time: 9 minutes
Posted Under: Patriots Commentary
HOME > Patriots Blog > Patriots Commentary
Good morning. Here are your Patriots News, 1-26, and NFL notes. The Patriots have hired coordinators, offense, defense, and special teams and filled a few assistant roles. This already has the makings of a good staff.
Mike Vrable’s staff has guys with experience and who are well thought of around the league. And this is a staff with experience that can support each other and the head coach.
Josh McDaniels is an excellent offensive coordinator. Depending on the opponent, he could morph the Patriots’ identity from week to week. Many have questioned McDaniels ability to evolve to keep up with the modern game. Look back to the 2007 team with Moss, Stallworth, and Welker. Then he transformed it into a two-tight end offense built around Gronkowski, and you know who. In the Patriots’ last Super Bowl season, they changed in-season to a running team with a fullback.
He’s a great teacher; he worked with Jimmy Garoppolo, Jacoby Brissett, and Mac Jones in his rookie season. The Jones story may have ended differently if he hadn’t left for the Raiders’ job.
McDaniels will not force Drake Maye to adapt to the Erhardt-Perkins system. He will adapt to whatever Maye does best and build the offense around that. He’s done that before. And now, with Maye’s athleticism, he can incorporate that added feature into the offense.
Terrell Williams is getting his first crack at being a defensive coordinator. He spent six years with the Titans and worked with Mike Vrabel, earning his trust. In Vrabel’s final season with Tennessee, he gave Williams the title of Defensive Line/Assistant Head Coach. This past season, he was the Lions’ defensive line and running game coordinator.
His now-famous quote in New England will be the hallmark of his defensive philosophy. “You have to play violent, and you have to play with effort,” Williams said.”
He’ll have Vrabel to lean on if any issues arise. With McDaniels experience, Vrabel can let him run the offense, and he can spend more time with Williams if need be. Here is his introductory press conference. Check it out. It is hard not to be excited with his hire.
Jeremy Springer has been retained as the Special Teams Coordinator, which was a smart move. Under Springer and top assistant Tom Quinn, who also coached under Vrabel in Tennessee, the special teams made significant progress from 2023 to 2024.
Vrabel said, “I like the dynamic in there (on special teams),” Vrabel said in an upcoming interview with MassLive.com. “I know Tom, he was with us in Tennessee. Veteran coach who had done it. Jeremy is young, exciting, and a great teacher. He’s creative. I think through the interview process and the product they had on the field, it led me to that decision.”
The coordinators are now in place and Vrabel has also hired some assistant coaches.
John Streicher is arguably the most intriguing hire for Vrabel’s assistants. He was hired as a game management specialist and was Vrabel’s eyes and ears for six years in Tennessee. Sean McVay lamented Streicher’s loss after he spent 2024 with the Rams. He’ll be Vrabel’s Ernie Adams.
Ashton Grant has been hired as the quarterback coach. He played wide receiver at Assumption College, coached at Holy Cross, and has been on the Cleveland Browns staff for the past four years. He got to know Vrabel there last season.
Tony Dews has been named as the new running backs coach. He’s been coaching in the college ranks and the NFL since 1998. He also coached with Vrabel in Tennessee and drew rave reviews from then-offensive coordinator Matt LaFleur and running back Derrick Henry.
Riley Larkin has been named as an offensive assistant. Larkin served as the Ohio State Buckeyes offensive assistant with the quarterbacks in 2024. He joined Ohio State in 2023 after being on the staff for Middle Tennessee State. Larkin was also a former quarterback for John Carroll University, where Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels graduated from.
Clinton McMillan, another former Tennessee coach under Vrabel, has been hired. He was the defensive line/pass rush specialist coach there, and he is expected to hold the same role in New England.
Zak Kuhr was hired by Vrabel in Tennessee in 2020 as a quality control coach, and then moved to inside linebackers coach. He spent last season with the New York Giants as a defensive assistant.
Jabrill Peppers: A jury acquitted New England Patriots safety Jabrill Peppers in just minutes on Friday in his assault and battery trial.
Peppers denied that he choked or shoved the woman who had accused him. Peppers, who first took the witness stand Thursday, had been on trial on charges of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon.
“I usually say, ‘My client was found not guilty,'” Marc Brofsky, Peppers’ attorney, said. “But in this case I will say, ‘He was found innocent,’ given the state of the evidence, given how quickly the jury returned their verdict. They knew it was a joke.”
A civil trial is pending. Peppers did plead guilty to cocaine possession, which the judge continued without finding. If Peppers stays out of trouble for four months, that will be cleared off his record. But he still faces league punishment.
Vrabel and Steve Burton: WBZ’s Steve Burton interviewed the head coach, Burton does an outstanding job on Patriots Gameday. In an interview which will air today at 11:30, Vrabel touched on several topics.
On Josh McDaniels: “When you talk about Josh, I think schematically and the way he teaches the quarterback. The versatility of the offense and the base foundation of the offense. His growth in that offense, trying to put conflict on the defense and the way he structures a gameplan, having gone against him and seen the system here as a player,” said Vrabel.
“It has evolved and there is a lot more to it than that. I know from our conversations that he’s worked hard and studied, visited and met with people, and we’re going to continue to add things that we feel helps our players and give us an advantage to score touchdowns and take care of the football.“
Vrabel had this to say about Terrell Williams:
“I’m excited for the people here in Boston and New England and our fans to get to know Terrell the way that I did my first year in Tennessee,” said Vrabel. “He was on our coaching staff for six years and was a vital contributor to that success.
“I’ve seen him meet and visit and have a connection with offensive linemen. So much so I was excited to make him the interim head coach for a preseason game,” said Vrabel. “He had earned that opportunity and I thought it was something that was important for me to do, to reward those coaches that have earned the right. That is something he had earned at the time, just like he earned this opportunity to be the defensive coordinator.”
But Vrabel’s most interesting comments came from his answers about Drake Maye: “He’s exciting, talented, ready to learn and ready to continue to develop. He’s athletic and mobile, has the ability to make throws to all part of the field with arm talent,” he said. “But every year is a new process. There will be some new terminology, and some carryover from what he’s had. I know that he’s ready to learn and is excited. We welcome that and want him to lead our football team.”
No “Blueskies” for the Patriots: We missed a small item last week. The NFL ordered the Patriots to take down their Blue Sky account because the app has yet to be approved by the league. Fred Kirsch reported this on the Patriots Unfiltered podcast last week.
Patriots 4th & 2 Podcast: Derek and I were joined by our partner, Russ Goldman, who checked in to discuss the Patriots coordinators who had been hired. 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.
Daniel Jeremiah of NFL.com did his first mock draft of the year. He has the Tennessee Titans taking Abdul Carter with the #1 pick and the Patriots taking Will Campell at #4. Jeremiah is really good, but remember that it is still early in the process, and things will change.
The Jets have hired Aaron Glenn as their next head coach. Like Vrabel in New England, this move made perfect sense. Glenn was a draft pick of the Jets and played eight years there. He is an excellent coach and will right the ship in New Jersey if ownership stays out of football operations.
Meanwhile, the Miami Dolphins have hired Robert Prince from the Dallas Cowboys coaching staff as their new wide receiver coach. Prince has a lot of coaching experience in both college and the NFL. Miami fired Wes Welker after three seasons as Miami’s WR coach.
I think Pete Carroll will turn things around in Las Vegas. It certainly appears that Tom Brady, the “minority owner,” has a pretty large hand in the situation. I have always liked Pete Carroll as a head coach and believe he’ll be successful.
The two Conference Championship games are set. I like the Philly defense to slow down the Washington Commanders and Jayden Daniels this afternoon. Washington has been really exciting to watch this year. But the Eagles’ running game with Saquon Barkley has been tough to stop. He may have broken Eric Dickerson’s rushing record if he hadn’t sat out of Week 18. Of course the big question is, whether Jalen Hurts will play.
Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills will get a fourth crack at Patty Mahomes and the Chiefs in the past five years later tonight. While the Bills have done well against KC in the regular season, the playoffs are another matter. The Bills have been knocked out of the playoffs the past three times they’ve faced the Chiefs.
They will have to deal with the crowd noise in Arrowhead, Mahomes, and… let’s call it what it is, the game officials. The calls Kansas City gets and aren’t called against are far too numerous to be called a coincidence. The league really wants a three-peat, and Buffalo is standing in the way…again.
So, why am I picking Buffalo? Because Josh Allen leaves no doubt this time. It is the Bills’ year, and they’re going to and will win the Super Bowl. You heard it here first.
______________
Sunday, January 26
Buffalo over Kansas City
Philadelphia over Washington
Last week: 3—1
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
______________
“I want to galvanize our football team. I want to galvanize this building. I want to galvanize our fans. The most important thing is the players. There are some of them right here. I want to provide a program that provides their ownership but also their accountability of each other, and one that they’ll be proud to be a part of and that they’re going to fight for.
“You guys are going to ask me questions about culture, which I’ll be happy to talk about and discuss. One thing I’ve realized about culture is that you can find out what your culture looks like when your family, your business, or your team is at its low point.
“It’s not when you’re winning Super Bowls, or it’s not when you’re 7-1 or 10-1 because then everybody’s waving towels and everybody’s happy and they’re excited to come to work. But when you get hit in the mouth, or you’re down, or the chips are against you, then you can take a snapshot of what your company or your team looks like, and then you’ll find out what culture you have.
“But that culture is going to be built on winning, a competitive spirit throughout our roster, throughout our players, and throughout our coaches and our staff, and the ability to put the team first and care about somebody other than yourself. I’m excited to do that. I’m excited to get to work. But everyone in this building is going to understand and believe that their job is critically important for our success. And it’s going to be, ‘How can I help you in order to help the players?’
“Our players will respect and they will appreciate, and they will be grateful for the opportunity that they have here and the people that work in this building, some very familiar faces that I can’t wait to reconnect and to work and figure out how we help these players and this football team.”
“We’re going to earn the right to be here every day. We’re going to remove entitlement from our football team. We’re going to get everything that we’ve earned from the head coach to the position coaches, all the way down to the players. We’re going to earn the right to be here every single day. I always say that I don’t want to get into too many messages that will be geared for the players, but I hold those conversations.
“Those are special conversations between the coaches and the players, but we want to treat every player the same way they treat the team, and we want to treat every employee the same way that they treat the team. If they care about the team and they come here with a great attitude and a willingness to work and help the team, I’ve asked Robert to do everything that we can for them, to support them and their families. That’s the type of environment that I want to build, and I’m excited about it.”
At his introductory press conference, the Patriots’ new head coach, Mike Vrabel, discussed building a team culture.
_______________
“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.
From our archive - this week all-time:
April 9 - April 24 (Through 26yrs)
Join 2,000+ fans getting exclusive stats, analysis, and insights delivered straight to their inbox every week. Never miss a play.