With his offense among the least productive in the NFL, Van Pelt might find himself on the hot seat.
Heading into their season finale, the New England Patriots field one of the worst offenses in football. Whether you look at it through traditional metrics or advanced metrics, the unit is near the bottom of the league in most categories.
As a result of that, first-year coordinator Alex Van Pelt’s future is in question. While there have been no definitive signals one way or another from the team, either decision by the Patriots would ultimately not come as too big of a surprise; there are arguments in favor of both retaining and letting Van Pelt go.
Some of those were outlined by tight end Hunter Henry during a press conference on Wednesday. The team captain sent a pretty clear message in favor of his OC.
“There will be changes, obviously, in the locker room on a year-to-year basis. But there still will be a carryover of guys,” Henry said. “When you can carry over an offense into an offseason, you can sometimes build upon it in a lot of ways. When you bring in someone new, you’re learning that scheme and trying to implement it, and just try to learn it in a way.
“Where, when you already know a scheme you can grow in it and evolve it in a way to make it your own. I can speak personally, on routes and different things, if I already know the scheme it’s my canvas. I can draw it this way, I can draw it this way, I can do routes different ways.”
Van Pelt joined the Patriots as part of their staff restructure following Jerod Mayo’s promotion to head coach. An external hire, who had coordinated the Cleveland Browns’ offense the previous four years, his arrival marked a change from two decades of relative systematic stability in New England.
What it did not do so far, however, was significantly alter the group’s output. After ranking 31st in the NFL in 2023 with an average of 13.9 points per game, Van Pelt’s unit enters the season finale versus the Buffalo Bills ranked 30th with a 16.6-point average.
Nonetheless, Henry is in favor of New England retaining the 54-year-old. In his eyes, stability would go a long way toward eventual improvement.
“I’ve loved AVP. I’ve loved the energy. I’ve loved the offense that he’s brought here,” he said. “I really do think it’s a great scheme, and I think there’s a lot of room for growth with everybody with it.”