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USA Today’s Tom Pelissero reported Thursday evening that the Patriots have hired former Cleveland Browns Offensive Coordinator Alex Van Pelt as their new Offensive Coordinator. Head Coach Jerod Mayo has completed hiring for the Patriots' three most important coaching positions, with the hiring of DeMarcus Covington on Saturday for Defensive Coordinator and Jeremy Springer as the new Special Teams Coach on Wednesday.
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Van Pelt has spent the last four seasons as the Offensive Coordinator for the Cleveland Browns before being fired this past January. Van Pelt coached notable quarterbacks such as Baker Mayfield, Deshaun Watson, Jacoby Brissett, Joe Flacco, and Aaron Rodgers. Two of the four seasons he spent with the Browns included trips to the postseason.
Van Pelt has held multiple offensive-minded positions around the league, being hired as Offensive Quality Coach for the Buffalo Bills in 2006 before being promoted to Quarterbacks Coach in 2008. He was then promoted again as Offensive Coordinator in 2009 following the firing of Turk Schonert before being fired along with the rest of Bill's coaching staff in January 2010.
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Van Pelt was then hired the following February by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as their Quarterbacks Coach under Raheem Morris, who was fired along with the rest of his staff in 2012. Following that, Van Pelt was hired by the Green Bay Packers as their Running Backs Coach that same year. In 2014, he was promoted to Quarterbacks Coach and served that role for four years until his contract expired in 2018. In the same offseason, Van Pelt was hired by the Cincinnati Bengals as their Quarterbacks Coach. Van Pelt was then hired by the Cleveland Browns in 2020.
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Before his time as a Coach, Van Pelt was drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers as a quarterback before being signed by the Buffalo Bills and spending nine years in Buffalo. Van Pelt threw for 2,985 yards and 16 passing touchdowns in 31 games and 11 starts.
The Patriots are hoping that Van Pelt is the breath of fresh air to steer the offense in the right direction. Van Pelt's hiring follows a carousel of offensive play callers, including Josh McDaniels, who left the Patriots for a Head Coaching position in Las Vegas for the Raiders, and then hiring Joe Judge and Matt Patricia, two coaches who lacked experience on the offensive side of the game. Bill O’Brien was hired following the release of Matt Patricia as Offensive Coordinator before leaving to be the Offensive Coordinator for Ohio State University.
Van Pelt has a huge hurdle to climb in reforming the Patriots offense, which was ranked 30th in 2023. Fans should be hopeful, though, as Van Pelt is one of the most respected coaches in the National Football League.