MORSE: Patriots Training Camp Roster – Special Teams and Coaching Staff
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The final, Part 6, in the series of looks at the New England Patriots Roster entering the Pre-Season. This will look at the Patriots Special Teams and the Coaching Staff.
Brenden Schooler is the epitome of a Special Teams demon. In his rookie year in 2022, he was selected as 1st Team All Pro and Pro Bowl player. He played two seasons with Matthew Slater as his mentor and then in 2024 as a coach. The torch has been passed to him as the leader of the Special Teams units. Schooler spent 5 years in college at Oregon (3) and then Texas (2). He is older at 28, for a player entering his 4th season. At his Pro Day Schooler ran a 4.43 40 and a 6.71 3-cone drill which are both outstanding for Free Safety. Last season Schooler played 377 snaps on Special Teams and had 9 tackles. His PFF grade of 91.1 was 7th amongst ST players.
Bryce Baringer was drafted by the Patriots in the 6th Round (#192) in the 2023 draft. The punter out of Michigan State played one season at Illinois before transferring to Michigan State. He is used to kicking in bad weather. He had a streak broken last November of having 26 straight games with a punt of 50 or longer. In his two years with the team he has started each season strong but has faded as the season goes on. He finished 4th in the league with a 49.8 average per punt. However, his Net Yard Average was 41.5 where he dropped to 15th. This is more of a product of his coverage team and him outkicking his coverage. he was excellent in dropping kicks inside the 20.
John Parker-Romo was signed to the practice squad on December 10th after being waived by the Minnesota Vikings. Romo went undrafted in 2022 after finishing his college career at Virginia Tech. He was brought to camp by New Orleans in 2022 but was cut and resigned to the Practice Squad. Next season he signed with the San Antonio Brahmas of the XFL. He went on to be names All-XFL 1st team in 2023. This allowed him to be signed by Detroit who waived him at the cutdown day, and he then signed with the Chicago Practice Squad. He was waived by Chicago in October. Minnesota signed him in March of 2023 but cut him in July, only to resign him on November 19th 2024. He played 4 games for Minnesota as an injury replacement for kicker Will Reichard. He was 11 of 12 on FGs with a long of 55 yards, and 7 of 8 on XPs. When Reichard was healthy they let Parker Romo go. The Patriots signed him to their Practice Squad for the remainder of the season and then signed him to a Futures Contract in January. It’s an open competition for the kicker job. From the early indications. Parker Romo is trailing rookie Andres Borregales in the competition.
Andre Borregales the rookie out of Miami was drafted by the Patriots in the 6th Round (#182) of the draft. This is what NFL Draft Scout had to say about him. “The Borregales name has become synonymous with kicking excellence at Miami, and Andres carried that torch with distinction. Following in the footsteps of his brother Jose, a Lou Groza Award winner, Andres carved out his own legacy by becoming Miami’s all-time leading scorer with 405 career points. After earning the starting role as a true freshman in 2021, he demonstrated remarkable consistency and clutch performance across four seasons as the Hurricanes’ primary placekicker. The 2024 season proved to be his masterpiece, converting 18 of 19 field goal attempts and a perfect 62 of 62 on extra points. His career-long 56-yard bomb against Virginia Tech highlighted his continued development in leg strength and accuracy. The First-Team All-ACC selection in both 2023 and 2024 cemented his status as one of college football’s premier kickers.” As stated above in the Parker Romo paragraph it is a battle to watch in camps as they go head to head for the kicking job.
One concern about Borregales is how will he kick in bad weather coming from Miami. The confident Borregales replied by saying “I know a lot of people thought that, obviously, being from Miami, I can’t handle the cold, but I think I can prove people wrong about that.” Borregales is a big fan of Adam Vinatieri. The Patriots traded up with Detroit to select Borregales.
Julian Ashby was drafted in the 7th round (#251) of the Draft by the Patriots. This was the first time a Long Snapper and Kicker were both drafted in the same draft by one team. The undersized Long Snapper stand 6’1” 231-pounds. He started his college career at Furman and played 4 years there before transferring to Vanderbilt for his final year playing in the SEC. In 2023 he was named an FCS All-American while at Furman. He was a finalist for the Patrick Mannely Award for college football best Long Snapper. He is it, as there is no other Long Snapper in camp. Longtime Longsnapper Joe Cardona was released immediately after the Patriots drafted Ashby. Cardona has subsequently signed with AFC East rival Miami Dolphins.
Head coach: Mike Vrabel I will put two more games in the Patriots win column just because of Vrabel’s in game coaching. His organization and Belechickian attention to detail is rejuvenating. He has a no-nonsense approach, stressing accountability, playing to the whistle and being aggressive on Defense. This team is going to be fun to watch this season.
Offensive coordinator: Josh McDaniels It is well documented the failures of Josh McDaniels as a Head Coch. That shouldn’t tarnish his reputation as a brilliant Offensive Coordinator. Prognosticators are discounting McDaniels success and therefore discounting what the Patriots will accomplish. Just look back to the miracle he coaxed out of Mac Jones as a rookie.
Quarterbacks coach: Ashton Grant Grant was a very good D II WR at Assumption University. I watched him play many games in person while my daughter was attending college there. He had a tryout with the Chicago Bears at rookie Mini Camp but wasn’t signed. He reportedly had a tryout with Kansas City to no avail. He played for the Salt Lake Stallions of the Alliance of American Football in 20193. That ended his football playing career. He got into coaching with his Assumption coach Bob Chesney at Holy Cross in 2019. The next season he was selected as the Cleveland Browns Bill Walsh Diversity Coaching Fellowship. This led to Grant being hired by Cleveland on a permanent basis in 2021 and steadily Grant has risen through the ranks. He finished last season as Offensive Assistant / QB Coach. This is where Mike Vrabel was a consultant and witnessed Grant up front and personal. Vrabel thought enough of Grant to make him his QB Coach. Grant is one of the most inexperienced coaches on the team, however, he has Josh McDaniel as a mentor and McDaniels will be doing the majority of Drake Maye’s coaching.
Running backs coach: Tony Dews was the Tennessee Titans Runningbacks Coach under Vrabel in 2018 – 2022 then moved to TE coach in 2023. He was the Jets RB coach in 2024. He started coaching in 1997 as a High School coach before moving onto numerous college coaching from 1998 – 2017
Wide receivers coach: Todd Downing has a 20-year resume of coaching at the Pro level starting with the Vikings in 2005. He was TE coach for two years 2019-20 and then moved to Offensive Coordinator 2021-22 under Mike Vrabel in Tennessee. Last season he was the QB coach and Passing Game Coordinator for the Jets. This year he takes on the challenge as a WR coach. It’s nice to have someone with Offensive Coordinator skills as the WR coach.
Tight ends coach/Passing game coordinator: Thomas Brown is another coach with Offensive Coordinator skills as he was hired last season as the Bears Passing Game coordinator. He was elevated from Offensive Coordinator to interim Head Coach and went 1-4 after Matt Eberflus was fired. He started coaching after a brief stint as a player in the NFL in 2012. Miami hired him in 2015 and he has coached with Los Angelas Rams, Carolina (Offensive Coordinator) before moving to Chicago in 2023. He will be the TE coach and Passing Game Coordinator in New England.
Offensive line coach: Doug Marrone is a very experienced coach with over 34 years in the NFL. He played in the league for 6 years and for the London Monarchs for his final season. He was the Head Coach for Syracuse and Buffalo Bills. Last season he was a consultant for his good friend Bill O’Brien at Boston College. He has a big job ahead of him trying to improve the putrid Offensive Line the Patriots put out there last year.
Assistant offensive line coach: Jason “Hoss” Houghtaling came to the Patriots from the Bears as their Assistant Offensive Line coach. He started coaching in 2006 at Wagner and eventually became their Head Coach in 2016 – 2019. In 2021 he became the Assistant O-line coach for Tennessee under Mike Vrabel, eventually being elevated to the Offensive Line Coach in 2023.
Assistant offensive line coach: Robert Kugler is one of the few holdovers from last season’s Patriots staff. Mike Vrabel must of thought a lot of Kugler to keep him around. It also interesting that the Patriots have dedicated themselves to having three offensive line coaches.
Offensive assistant: Riley Larkin is coming from Ohio State in the same position as Offensive Assistant. Vrabel is very close to the Ohio State program having served as a Linebacker Coach and then Defensive Line coach. Larkin also has another connection. He was a QB for John Carroll University, the same school that produced Josh McDaniels (see The John Carroll paragraph below).
Offensive assistant: Chuckie Keeton a former College QB at Utah State in 2011, starting 21 of 22 games his 1st two seasons but his career was derailed by a series of injuries that limited to 6 games the next two year. In 2016 he started coaching in college until the Seahawks tabbed him to be an Offensive Assistant last year. Seattle plucked him from Montana State where he was set to become the QB Coach in 2024.
Defensive coordinator: Terrell Williams is a highly regarded Defensive Line Coach who is getting his shot at becoming a Defensive Coordinator. Williams came from Detroit where he had established a fearsome front four. Williams coached under Vrabel at Tennessee. The 51-year-old started coaching in college in 1998 and got his 1st job in the Pros with the Oakland Raiders in 2012. He went on to Miami, then Tennessee where he became Assistant Head Coach under Vrabel in 2023. However, the 1st time Defensive Coordinator had an undetermined health scare this Spring and has been physically away from the team. He has been participating in all the meetings via electronic media, so he has been engaged. Hopefully we will see Williams at the start of Training Camp.
Defensive line coach: Clint McMillan hired by Vrabel in 2021 as a Titans defensive assistant, McMillan has focused on working with defensive linemen and was their pass rush specialist in 2024. McMillan started his coaching career at Webber State in 2012. Brian Callahan chose to retain McMillan in 2024 when Vrabel was let go.
Outside linebackers coach: Mike Smith another highly respected coach, Smith, has a reputation for developing pass rushers. Smith was a 7th round pick (234) of the Baltimore Ravens in 2005 and played 3 years in the league. He only coached in college for one year at Hawaii and then started his Pro Coaching career as an intern with the Jets in 2010 eventually becoming Linebacker coach with the Jets in 2012. He moved back to the College game for three years as he was elevated to Co-Defensive Coordinator. Kansas City plucked him as a Linebacker Coach in 2016. Then Green Bay added him to the same position in 2019. Onto Minnesota in 2022 as Outside Linebackers, Pass Rush Specialist. Getting Smith in New England was quite the coup for Vrabel.
Inside linebackers coach: Zak Kuhr spent the 2024 season as a defensive assistant with the New York Giants. Before that he worked for Vrabel with the Tennessee Titans from 2020-23, starting as a quality control coach before moving up to assistant inside linebackers coach. Before jumping to the NFL, Kuhr also had collegiate coaching stints at Ohio State, Texas, Texas State, Rutgers, James Madison and Old Dominion. Kuhr took on the Defensive Coordinator role during OTAs and in Minicamp during Terrelle Williams absence.
Cornerbacks coach: Justin Hamilton is a former college Safety and a 7th Round (#222) draft selection of the Clevland Browns in 2006. He started coaching in college in 2011 and eventually coached at his Alma Mater Virginia Tech for 4 years of increasing responsibilities. His 1st Pro coaching position was in Tennessee with Mike Vrabel as a Defensive QC Coach in 2023. Last Season he was an Assistant Defensive Backs coach in Indianapolis in 2024.
Safeties coach: Scott Booker – Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel is adding another one of his former Titans assistants to New England’s defensive coaching staff, hiring Scott Booker for the safeties coach position. Booker has plenty of experience coaching NFL secondaries, and plenty of experience working with Vrabel. Booker spent last season as a senior defensive assistant and nickel cornerback coach for the Buffalo Bills.
Booker played safety in college at Kent State from 1999-2002, and then joined the school’s coaching staff as a graduate assistant from 2003-04 and a defensive backs coach from 2005-08. He also coached at Western Kentucky as a secondary coach in 2009, at Notre Dame as an offensive assistant from 2010-11 and tight ends coach and special teams coordinator from 2012-16, and at Nebraska as safeties coach and special teams coordinator in 2017.
Booker made the jump to the NFL in 2018 when he was hired by Vrabel as a defensive assistant in Tennessee. He was promoted to the Titans safeties coach in 2020, and held that role for four seasons in Tennessee. During his run in that position, Booker coached Kevin Byard, who was a first-team All-Pro and Pro Bowler for the Titans in 2021.
Defensive assistant: Vinny DePalma is a another rising star. DePalma is in his second year and an Assistant Linebackers Coach. He was retained in the same role from Jerod Mayo’s staff. Last year was his first year in the NFL, or coaching period, after finishing his collegiate playing career as a linebacker at Boston College in 2023. DePlama was praised by Linebackers Coach Zack Kuhr for handling most of the Linebacker Coaching duties while he has been filling in for Terrell Williams during his absence this Spring.
Defensive assistant: Kevin Richardson appeared in 45 games as a cornerback and special teamer during his five-year college career at Arkansas. After graduating from Arkansas, he went into coaching and got his first opportunity as a graduate assistant at Mid-America Nazarene in 2019. The next year, he joined Northeastern State as defensive backs coach. His 1st stint at Illinois for his former Head Coach and former Patriots Assistant Bret Bielema was in 2021. He left for a year as Long Island DBs coach before returning to Illinois.
Defensive assistant: Milton Patterson joins the Patriots in 2025 as a defensive assistant following five seasons at Florida A&M as the defensive coordinator/linebackers coach. Prior to Florida A&M, Patterson was the defensive coordinator at Fayetteville State from 2020-21. From 2017-20, he held multiple positions at Clark-Atlanta University. Patterson was the assistant strength and conditioning coach at Alabama State in 2017, following a stint at Mississippi Valley State where he coached on defense and was the director of sports performance. He began his coaching career at Jackson State in 2012, where he spent three seasons as a defensive analyst and assistant strength and conditioning coach. A native of Jacksonville, Ark., Patterson graduated from Jackson State with a degree in therapeutic recreation/recreational therapy.
Senior defensive assistant: Ben McAdoo was retained from Jerod Mayo’s staff but his responsibilities have changed to a Defensive Analyst. He is taking his expertise as an Offensive Coordinator and Head Coach and applying it to the Defensive preparation.
He was with the Head Coach of the New York Giants from 2016 to 2017, after serving as their offensive coordinator the previous two years under former head coach Tom Coughlin. He was fired from that position on December 4, 2017, following a 2–10 start, along with benching longtime starting quarterback Eli Manning. At the time of his termination, his 28 regular season games were the fewest by a Giants coach since 1930. Prior to working for the Patriots, McAdoo had also served as an assistant coach for several college football teams, as well as for New Orleans, San Francisco, Green Bay, Jacksonville, and Carolina. He started as a High School coach and moved on to college, then the Pros in 2004 with the Saints.
Special teams coordinator: Jeremy Springer is another holdover from the Mayo staff, Springer did a very good job with the Special Teams with a dramatic improvement. The retention of Springer received concurrence from the fans. The energetic Springer spent two years with the LA Rams as an assistant Special Teams coach. The Patriots snagged him from Sean McVay and in his 1st year the Patriots Special Teams greatly improved. He has a big job with a new Placekicker and Longsnapper this season.
Assistant special teams coach: Tom Quinn is another holdover coach from the Jerod Mayo staff. Quinn has ties to Vrabel as an Assistant Special Teams coach in Tennessee in 2023. The 57-year-old coach started his career coaching in 1991 and through 2005 coached for 6 College teams. In 2007, he was named the NY Giants Assistant ST coach and was elevated to ST Coordinator in 2008 through 2017 for the Giants. In 2018 and through 2021, he returned to the Assistant ST Role for the Giants. Vrabel hired him in 2023, and then the Patriots grabbed him in 2024.
Vice president of football operations and strategy: John Streicher is an interesting character, “Stretch” will have multiple roles on the team. Streicher, 35, spent six campaigns working under Mike Vrabel with the Tennessee Titans. Starting as an assistant to the head coach in 2018 and 2019, he went on to work in football development from 2020 through 2022. The title of director of football administration followed in 2023.
An Ohio State alum, like Vrabel, he served as an equipment manager and student assistant during his time with the Buckeyes.
Streicher spent two seasons on James Madison’s football staff, as a special assistant to the head coach as well as the director of football operations and player personnel. He later became the director of football operations at Texas State before entering the NFL ranks.
Sean McVay was devastated when he got the news of Streicher leaving. He served as game management coordinator under McVay. I expect that Streicher will have multiple roles with the team but I think it will be more like the role that Ernie Adams had under Belichick.
Director of sports performance: Frank Piraino – The Patriots addressed an area of need by hiring Frank Piraino who joins the Patriots in 2025 as director of sports performance. Piraino joined New England from the New York Giants, where he served as the director of strength and conditioning. Prior to his time in New York, Piraino spent five seasons (2019-23) at the Tennessee Titans as director of strength and conditioning and six seasons (2013-18) as head strength and conditioning coach for football at Boston College. He has a decorative career working in college ranks, spending time at Temple (2011-12), Marshall (2010), Florida (2005-09), Notre Dame (2004) and Michigan State (2003-04). He began his career working as an assistant coach at Walsh Jesuit High School in Ohio. A native of Cleveland, Ohio, Piraino earned a bachelor’s degree in sports and exercise science at the University of Akron and later earned an MBA in sports administration from Michigan State.
Strength and conditioning coach: Deron Mayo in a surprise move, the Patriots retained Mayo as the Strength and Conditioning coach. I felt that the high number of injuries to Patriots players last season was directly correlated with the Strength and Conditioning program. Further, Deron Mayo is the brother of Jerod Mayo, and I thought he would have been swept out with the Head Coach change.
Assistant strength and conditioning coach: Brian McDonough is another holdover. The UMass Dartmouth grad played as a member of the football team while earning his master’s degree. McDonough’s gym, Edge Performance Systems, is located a stone’s throw from Gillette Stadium. The proximity of the facility has put McDonough in a position to help injured and recovering players on the Patriots. He was instrumental in the rehab of Patriots star Julian Edelman when he was on suspension and couldn’t be at the Patriots facility while recovering from knee surgery.
McDonough joins New England on a full-time basis in 2024 after working with the team as a consultant for over 20 years.
It is uncanny that a small DIII school would produce so many NFL coaches and executives.
Executives
Coaches
Player
The above profiles were extracted from Wikipedia.
If you haven’t seen it yet it is a must see for all Patriots fans. It’s like “Hard Knocks”, an inside look into the Patriots players, coaches, practices and their off- field activities. The big difference is that this is a Kraft Production, and the content is completely controlled by the team.
There is an extensive sequence involving the Offensive Line coaches. You get to know the otherwise obscure Doug Marrone, Jason “Hoss” Hougtailing and Roberts “Kugs” Kugler. They show quite a lengthy segment on the Offensive Line.
After watching this I wanted to run through the wall and it made me even more excited for the start of Training camp.
Cody Benjamin of CBS Sports has ranked NFL Head Coaches, and Mike Vrabel was listed as a Tier 2 a “serviceable” veteran coach and ranked No. 16. He is ranked behind Demeco Ryans (HOU) and Kevin Stepanski (CLE). Vrabel is a former NFL Coach of the year (2021) and is not being given credit for that. He took last year off and served as a consultant for the Cleveland Browns. Is he being dismissed because he is coaching the Patriots?
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It will be interesting to see how Vrabel is viewed 3 years from now. Seems he’s a good coach and a hard a## guy. My only question there is if he’s to Belichickian for todays player culture, and so do FA’s want to come here going forward? Minor worry thought as Vrabel seems to be the right guy. Given this is his second stint as a head coach, he’s got his lesson learned solved. I hope he’s here 15 years with a few more trophys to hang. McDaniels. I’ve seen that reference a few times now that it was a… Read more »