Here’s what New England Patriots quarterbacks coach Ashton Grant had to say while speaking with reporters on Thursday 4/3.
On his family being in Connecticut:
“Yeah. Me and my wife’s family, we actually… Our parents live five minutes apart from each other, so they’re all in Manchester, Connecticut.”
On if he’s had any contact with T.C. McCartney or Alex Van Pelt, knowing they were here in his shoes a year ago, and if they offered anything about Drake Maye:
“Yeah. I stayed in contact with TC and AVP throughout last season just because we built a tight relationship. As soon as I got the job, they both reached out to me and were super excited. I reached out to them and just tried to get as much insight as I can. They said,’Drake’s awesome. You’ll love to work with them.’ I actually stayed at AVP’s house for about a week when I first moved out. So it’s been great.”
On how well he got to know Mike Vrabel last year in Cleveland:
“It’s funny because when he got to Cleveland, he came as a consultant. Probably around during the combine is when he joined our staff. The way Kevin [Stefanski] set his role up was kind of, on the offensive side of the ball, but his main responsibility was to help develop the younger coaches. So I got to spend a ton of time with Coach Vrabel just in terms of we would do mock interviews with each other, and I’d have to get on the board and teach him concepts, and he’d give me feedback. I just remember one day I was doing that type of exercise, and I turned around and it’s Vrabel in one chair, it’s Kevin Stefanski in another chair, it’s Jim Schwartz up top, and I’m like, ‘Holy crap, this is pretty neat being able to do that in front of three former and the current head coaches.'”
On when he called him to set up this job, what his reaction was:
“I was excited, but he didn’t call me and say, ‘Ashton, do you want the job?’ He said, ‘Ashton, do you want to interview?’ I was like, ‘Of course I do.’ So, I interviewed with him and Josh, and it went well, but I was excited for the opportunity.”
On the fact Josh McDaniels talked about the process of them all coming together on the offense and what that’s been line:
“It’s been great. It’s been a lot of inclusion of new ideas, guys coming from a bunch of different systems and staffs and just different exposure. So, it’s been fun to see what Josh has done throughout his career, but then merge the different ideas from Tony [Dews] and Todd [Downing] and Thomas [Brown] and Doug [Marrone] and Hoss [Jason Houghtaling], and all those guys. It’s been pretty neat.”
On the fact they haven’t been able to have football conversations with players yet, but what his initial impressions have been of Drake Maye just from watching him:
“I think in terms of the talent, I think he can do everything that you would want out of a quarterback position. I’ve had a couple of conversations with him just trying to get to know him, and he seems to be a super smart kid, but I’m excited to get him back on Monday. Same with Dobbs. I feel like a little kid the day before school, I got my outfit picked out, got it laid on the dresser. I’m excited for that.”
On what kind of relationship he has with Josh Dobbs:
“We were together in 2022 and the beginning of ’23 in Cleveland. Got to know Dobsey a little bit, and it’s been great. He’s an awesome teammate, a great quarterback, and just super excited to add him to the fold.”
On the strides Drake Maye made with his footwork last year and if they plan on keeping it the same:
“I have experience with the same footwork Drake was using last year, and that was the same footwork that we were using in Cleveland while AVP was there. Then last season, we switched the footwork up a little bit. We’re probably going to end up keeping it the same and try to build on what he’s done in the past.”
On whether or not those are conversations he has with Josh McDaniels and what other details they compromise on:
“Yeah. So me and Josh have been tight at the hips. We go to Dunkin’ Donuts every day at 12: 30, and we just talk more football. It’s just a chance for me to get him one-on-one and pick his brain a little bit. And it’s been awesome just to be able to pick his brain and get step and key with each other in order to be able to speak the same language. But it’s been great.”
On the fact when it comes to McDaniels system in the past, a lot of it has been on the quarterback as far as pre-snap communications, protections, things like that and how does he deal with making sure they don’t put too much on a second-year QBs plate:
“I think the job of the quarterback coach is to build and protect the quarterback’s confidence. The way you do that is by having clear rules for the quarterback. As simple as we can make it for Drake and as consistent as we can keep it, I think it’ll be good and easy for him to operate.”
On if he feels like Maye’s going to be making the calls:
“I think we’re going to try to keep the system. It’s going to be within the same wheelhouse per se, so the quarterback is going to have a lot to say at the line of scrimmage, and we’ll get going and see how well he does and how he handles it come this spring.”
On his relationship with Mike Vrabel and what it was before this and how excited he is to be here:
“I just answered that question a second ago, but it’s been great. Coach Vrabel came and joined us back in February in Cleveland, and his job was to kind of help the coaches, especially the younger coaches, develop. So we were able to build that relationship there, and the transition has been awesome. I think the world of Coach Vrabel .”
On how excited he is for this opportunity:
“Super excited. When you have players that we’ve been able to acquire and the players that have been here, when you get the opportunity to work in the NFL, it’s a great day.”
On his initial impressions of Thomas Brown so far:
“Thomas is a very smart and serious coach. He’s been around a bunch of different systems and a bunch of different good coaches, so he’s been able to bring all his experiences here. And he seems to be young. I never asked him what his age is, but in his short or whatever career, it seems that he has a ton of experience, and I’m excited to work with him.”
On the fact that Vrabel talked about quality of life, which goes against the old-time stories he hears about and how impressed he is:
“I’m super excited, but I don’t want to confuse it with us being able to get out here early. I mean, the work still has to get done regardless of how long it takes you, but it’s nice to have a head coach that is on the forefront of his mind. I think my wife is a little more happy that he said that than I am, but it’s nice to have that.”
On how he would describe the passing game they’re putting together:
“I would say, as of right now, it’s fluid. We haven’t been able to have the players back up here, so it’s going to be about what they can handle and what they can go out and execute. There’s going to be a starting point as there has to be. Then as we figure out what these guys do very well and what the quarterback can handle and what he does very well, then I think it will start to head that direction.”
On how much of it was learning what Josh McDaniels has run in 25 years versus stuff he or Thomas Brown, or even Todd Downing might bring:
“Well, I think every year, the offense is going to evolve. In the offseason, you’re going to study what other teams are doing around the league. When you go back and watch some of these college quarterbacks, you pick up some stuff that guys are doing in college. So your offense is going to forever evolve. But it’s neat to go back and watch the cut-ups of like, [Tom] Brady in 2004, running some of the concepts that we might install. It’s kind of like watching Jordan practice his free throws or things of that nature. So that part has been pretty neat. But again, it’s forever evolving. So even some things we do in the spring might not be the same that we do in training camp.”
On what he was doing in 2004:
“2004, I was nine years old, so I was in the fifth grade, and I was probably at recess trying to kick the ball over the fence.”
On if he watched the Patriots:
“I actually grew up an Eagles fan. My stepfather’s from Philadelphia, so I was super into Donovan McNabb and T.O. [Terrell Owens]. In 2004, that’s probably when they were rated one of the best. No, I’ve been super in tune with what the Patriots have been doing my entire childhood, just growing up in this area and kind of setting the foundation of what a dynasty looks like and what we want to get it back to. So I’m super entrenched in that.”
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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.
