On Thursday evening, it was announced, by NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero, that the Patriots are hiring former Browns OC/QB coach Alex Van Pelt. The team reportedly hired Van Pelt shortly after his visit to Gillette Stadium earlier that day.
Van Pelt, 53, has been around the NFL for decades. He began his journey as a backup quarterback for the Buffalo Bills from 1994–2003 and became a coach shortly after. Van Pelt began his coaching career with the Bills on the offensive end and was later promoted to a quarterback coaching role. From there, he traveled to a couple of different teams, mostly resuming the role he had with the Bills.
Van Pelt was hired by the Browns coaching staff in 2020. He did not call plays for Cleveland aside from having to fill in for head coach Kevin Sefanski during a playoff game, which resulted in an impressive win. During his tenure with the Browns, Cleveland’s offense ranked in the top half of the league for scoring every year he was there, except for one. However, Van Pelt was fired at the end of the 2023 regular season.
The offensive system Van Pelt was a part of in Cleveland was primarily west coast-based, which would be a great system to base the new Patriots offense on. Due to Van Pelt’s experience, it’s evident he’ll have multiple influences when calling an offense, which will come to his advantage.
According to ESPN’s Mike Reiss, one source back in Cleveland spoke very highly of Van Pelt, stating, “Great football mind. Very relatable to players as a former player.”
In addition, NBCS’ Phil Perry reported that a source who worked with Van Pelt in Cleveland described him as a “phenomenal culture guy.” It seems that Van Pelt should have no problem connecting with the players and establishing his offense.
The Van Pelt hire should also help the development of a rookie quarterback, assuming New England were to draft one, whether it be at pick No. 3 or in the later rounds. Van Pelt’s coaching experience should not go unrecognized, having coached great quarterbacks such as Deshaun Watson and Aaron Rodgers, who was evidently upset when he was not retained by the Green Bay coaching staff after the 2017 season.
Van Pelt’s experience should also take some of the stress on offense off of new head coach Jerod Mayo, who recently hired a new special teams coordinator in Jeremy Springer and a familiar face in DeMarcus Covington as defensive coordinator.
With Jerod Mayo being a first-time head coach, who lacks experience, there wasn’t much surprise the Patriots opted to hire a veteran coach to fill their coordinator position. While there was speculation that the Patriots would hire Nick Caley or Zac Robinson, the Patriots decided to take the experienced coach instead.
Van Pelt was fired by the Browns last month, but he wasn’t the only coach Cleveland parted ways with. The Browns fired running backs coach Stump Mitchell and let go of tight end coach T.C. McCartney. Both coaches could be candidates to follow their old offensive coordinator to New England.
The next step for both Van Pelt and Mayo is to work together to fill out the rest of the offensive assistants and begin a new era in New England.
