For the first time since 1999, the New England Patriots have a new head coach and a completely revamped coaching staff.
Over the offseason, Bill Belichick and the Patriots mutually agreed to part ways, opening the door for them to hire former New England linebacker Jerod Mayo as their new head coach. Who is Mayo’s offensive coordinator?
Who Is the Patriots’ Offensive Coordinator?
The Patriots’ new offensive coordinator is Alex Van Pelt, who previously served as the OC for the Cleveland Browns (2020-2023) and Buffalo Bills (2009). He’s also had coaching stints with the Green Bay Packers and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, mostly working as a quarterbacks coach.
Van Pelt is known for his work with quarterbacks, which makes sense since he is a former NFL QB himself.
After a terrific collegiate career with the Pittsburgh Panthers that saw him break the school’s record for passing yards, completions, and attempts (which were previously held by Dan Marino), Van Pelt was drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the eighth round of the 1993 NFL Draft. Van Pelt would go on to play for the Kansas City Chiefs and Bills as well.
Over the course of his 11-year NFL career, Van Pelt mostly served as a backup, totaling just 477 pass attempts, 16 touchdowns, and 24 interceptions across 31 career games.
Van Pelt actually began his coaching career overseas as the quarterbacks coach for the Frankfurt Galaxy of NFL Europe in 2005. That same year, he also served as a volunteer QB coach at the University of Buffalo.
The Bills took notice, offering him a job as offensive quality control coach in 2006. After two years, he was promoted to quarterbacks coach. The following year, he took over as the team’s offensive coordinator after Turk Schonert was fired just before the start of the 2009 NFL regular season.
Who Was New England’s OC Before Van Pelt?
The Patriots’ last offensive coordinator was Bill O’Brien. O’Brien returned for a second OC stint with the Pats last season after previously holding that role in 2011.
From 2007 to 2011, O’Brien served as an offensive assistant on Belichick’s staff, and the team was very successful. New England won four AFC East titles and made two Super Bowls over that stretch. The offense ranked in the top 10 during each of those seasons.
MORE: List of Current NFL Offensive Coordinators (Updated 2024)
O’Brien was the head coach of the Houston Texans from 2014 to 2020. His teams won the AFC South four times and had five winning seasons. Houston was 52-48 and won two playoff games under O’Brien; however, he was fired after starting 0-4 in 2020. After a brief stint at the University of Alabama, he agreed to reunite with Belichick and the Patriots.
However, the Patriots really struggled during the 2023 campaign, ranking 31st in points per game, 30th in yards per game, and 31st in third-down conversions.
