The latest edition of our Patriots mailbag answers questions about the coaching staff, offensive line, and more.
It’s officially the offseason for the New England Patriots which will begin with another coaching search.
So, let’s get right into this week’s #PostPulpit mailbag.
Next Patriots head coach: Mike Vrabel or Ben Johnson?
We’re going to start with the biggest question at One Patriot Place currently: Mike Vrabel or Ben Johnson? Both are strong candidates and the Patriots will be better off with either. Here, however, the preference is Johnson.
Hiring another rookie head coach is admittedly risky. But Johnson is no Jerod Mayo. He has been coaching in the NFL for 15 years and has coached every position on the offensive side of the ball outside of the offensive line. Johnson has then been the best coordinator in football over the last 2.5 seasons and has known he will someday be a head coach.
While offensive players in Detroit seem to enjoy playing under Johnson, the inexperience raises valuable questions about how he will lead a team and handle the day-to-day responsibilities away from the football field. The hope is he can build a more legitimate staff than Mayo to help him adjust to life in the lead chair. That could include former head coaches Joe Philbin and Darren Rizzi, who worked with Johnson in Miami, and perhaps Lou Anarumo as a veteran defensive coordinator.
The main benefit of Johnson would then always come back to his offense, which has consistently ranked near the top of the league in Detroit. Unlike Mayo, Johnson will be a play calling head coach and has established himself as an elite offensive play caller. Pairing him with Drake Maye could be one of the league’s best combination that sparks an explosive offense.
As for Vrabel, the former coach would instantly bring a level of professionalism to the organization that is very much needed. Similar to Johnson, the staff that surrounds Vrabel is key. As a defensive coach, who is his offensive coordinator that will help maximize Maye?
Those are the questions that must be weighed, but we’d take our shot by pairing Johnson with Maye. However, it feels like it’d be a surprise at this point if it’s not Vrabel.
Is there anyone on the coaching scrap heap you’d be interested in? Do not limit yourself to head coach position. – 1stStateSoxFan
Not specifically. My eyes would be more on trying to find the next up-and-comer at a coordinator or positional spot. Assuming Vrabel is the hire, he is close to Tommy Rees, who was the Browns tight ends coach/pass game specialist last season and has experience calling an offense from his time at Alabama and Notre Dame.
Looking elsewhere, Vikings QB coach Josh McCown, Rams offensive coordinator Mike LaFleur and Packers offensive coordinator Andy Stenavich are names to watch. While the latter two are already OCs they do not call plays. Both would then need permission to interview for another offensive coordinator job, but perhaps are looking to prove themselves somewhere they call call plays.
As for coaches on the “scrap heap”, Lou Anarumo has been a popular one after being let go in Cincinnati. As we mentioned above, the veteran defensive coordinator would be a really good fit with Ben Johnson as the two worked together in Miami.
How much longer do we have to wait for a front office purge? – luckyfukikentucky
Executive Vice President of Player Personnel Eliot Wolf and Senior Personnel Executive Alonzo Highsmith will be “staying on,” according to Robert Kraft. Their exact roles, however, will likely be determined based off the next coach as there’s no sure thing they will be leading that department.
If someone like Vrabel is hired and hopes to bring his own general manager (or whatever title they assign) on board, it feels like they would be allowed to do so.
“We’ll wait until we bring that coach in,” Kraft said Monday when asked about changes beyond the coach. “Obviously, he’s going to have big input on who the players are and who the coaches are. It’ll be his decision.”
The question then falls to how would Wolf, who is sitting in on these head coaching interviews, feel about another addition atop the personnel department? And (the big question), who has final say?
Beyond saying Wolf and his staff would stay, Kraft did acknowledge he’s hopeful of Wolf’s new grading system improving draft results and added they’re looking for people to work together. So, it does seem like the hope is Wolf stays around a bit longer.
When are the Patriots going to bring somebody in who can actually evaluate and/or develop a WR? – Sportzballer
Getting a proven wide receiver coach is a must for whoever the next head coach is. In Ben Johnson’s case, he himself coached the position for three years with the Dolphins. That included assisting former Patriots wide receiver Shawn Jefferson for two years. Jefferson, who has coached the position since 2007, could be available this offseason as his future with the Jets is likely in limbo.
As for Vrabel, he had former wide receiver Rob Moore coach the position for his entire tenure as Titans head coach. Moore went on to coach the position with the Panthers last year, so his availability to join Vrabel is unknown. One other name I’d like that played with Vrabel in New England and coached with him for a year in Houston: Wes Welker.
If you could convince the new HC to retain one guy from the current staff, who would it be? – Matt1102
Cornerbacks coach Mike Pellegrino. He’s held the role since 2019 and the Patriots have always had strong cornerback play to go along with positive development of younger players. The hope is the next defensive coordinator continues to specialize in man coverage and lean into Christian Gonzalez, and keeping Pellegrino back there would be ideal.
Second place was leaving some level of continuity in the QB room with Drake Maye and Joe Milton, perhaps with T.C. McCartney remaining as quarterbacks coach.
IMO, Valderian Lowe was waaayyy too inconsistent & had too many penalties, but do you think he did enough to solidify himself as a starter moving forward, or should he be relegated to the top swing tackle role while we draft the best prospect or search for a replacement in FA? – PatsNationBreeze
Vederian Lowe does deserve some credit for going from virtually unplayable last season to being a below-average but serviceable left tackle while battling through injuries. It still was not good enough with consistency being a major issue from snap-to-snap and penalties. Left tackle remains atop the Patriots need list this offseason.
From there, Lowe’s future with the team is interesting as he absolutely could serve as a backup left tackle. But his play significantly dropped off last season at right tackle making him tough to potentially rely on as a swing option. He remains under contract, so perhaps that’s a question best answered next training camp.
What was the success/hit rate of the tackles taken in the first 3 rounds of this past draft? Who was drafted that became a starter and seemed to have success as a starter or made a meaningful contribution to their team? – SoDak605PatsFan
We’ll cut this list after the Patriots made Caedan Wallace the second tackle taken in round three (68th overall) and there was just one tackle selected after him that round who played significant snaps — Delmar Glaze, who started 14 games for the Raiders at right tackle and earned a 66.1 PFF grade.
Here’s how the first two rounds looked, where we’ll include each players’ Pro Football Focus grade for a general observation of how they played (fully acknowledging that PFF grades do not tell the whole story along the offensive line):
Round 1
- No. 4: Joe Alt — 16 starts, 77.6 grade (19/87)
- No. 7: JC Latham — 17 starts, 61.8 grade (60/87)
- No. 11: Olu Fashanu — 7 starts (five at left tackle, two at right tackle), 61.2 grade (61/87)
- No. 14: Taliese Fuaga — 17 starts, 65.7 grade (51/87)
- No. 17: Amarius Mims — 13 starts (right tackle), 57.8 grade (70/87)
- No. 20: Troy Fautanu — 1 start (right tackle), injured reserve
- No. 25: Jordan Morgan — 1 start (left guard), injured reserve
- No. 29: Tyler Guyton — 11 starts, (left tackle), 49.4 grade (78/87)
Round 2
- No. 55: Patrick Paul — 3 starts (two at left tackle, one at right tackle), 44.9 grade (85/87)
- No. 59: Blake Fisher — 5 starts (right tackle), 50.4 grade (77/87)
- No. 62: Roger Rosengarten — 14 starts (right tackle), 66.9 grade (46/87)
- No. 63: Kingsley Suamataia — 2 starts, 39.4 grade (N/A)
Round 3
- No. 67: Brandon Coleman — 12 starts, 64.1 grade (54/87)
It wasn’t a banner year for the tackle class, but the ones taken higher (outside of Rosengarten, Coleman, and Glaze on the right side) generally faired better. That’s the historical case as well with All-Pros and Pro Bowlers typically selected within the top-15 picks of the first round.
David Andrews wants to give it one more run, but do you think we bring him back after a rough couple of seasons, or for lack of better words, “force” him to retire, give Strange a full off-season at Center, and let Robinson take over for him at LG where he’s had a good few weeks? – PatsNationBreeze
What are the chances that David Andrews comes back as Offensive Line Coach? When he is done playing? – OohItsMe
Andrews has made it clear he plans to give it a go next season and is expected to be medically cleared around May which should allow him to be on the field for OTAs. But, he also acknowledged multiple times that he or the organization may feel it’s time to move on after the football starts.
As for now, the hope is that he’s good to go and his play gets back on track with a healthy shoulder and some continuity next to him at guard (at least with Mike Onwenu to his right). From there, that would allow an internal competition between Robinson and Strange at left guard, while Strange could also serve as depth along all three interior spots.
With Andrews coaching, he’s been asked before and hasn’t ruled it out. I could definitely see it at some point down the line.
Any news if the Patriots will introduce new uniforms now that their five-year residence in the state of Generica has passed? – Matt Monitto
Yes, the expectation is there will be some level of change.
That’s all for this week’s #PostPulpit mailbag. If you have questions you’d liked to be answered next week, submit them online in our weekly submission post or on Twitter using #PostPulpit. Make sure to be following @iambrianhines and @PatsPulpit as well.