There is much uncertainty facing the New England Patriots going into Jerod Mayo's first year as head coach, but the biggest concern is the same one that has existed since Tom Brady left the franchise in 2020. The offense.
Mayo is trying to first address it via the formation of his coaching staff. Alex Van Pelt signed on to be the new offensive coordinator after doing his best to helm a Cleveland Browns offense that went through four quarterbacks and lost All-Pro running back Nick Chubb to a season-ending injury in Week 2. Adaptability and covering up talent deficiencies was a staple of the “Patriots Way” for many years, so he could be a valuable hire.
He might be joined by a familiar face. “The Patriots are in talks to add ex-Giants {head} coach Ben McAdoo to their offensive staff, per sources,” Monday Morning Quarterback's Albert Breer reported Saturday. “He’s likely to play an assistant head coach type of role, and help OC Alex Van Pelt on that side of the ball.”
The rise and fall of Ben McAdoo
Many New York Giants fans will convulse at the mere mentioning of that name, but McAdoo has earned his share of success in the NFL. He won a Super Bowl during his time on the Green Bay Packers' staff, where he later worked with Van Pelt, and eventually became a sought-after name on the coaching circuit. McAdoo helped the G-Men end a four-year postseason drought in 2016-17 immediately after taking the HC job. That peak did not last long, though.
McAdoo's second season in New York was an unmitigated disaster. Two anonymous players claimed he lost the locker room, a notion that was accentuated when he inexplicably benched Eli Manning and ended his consecutive-starts streak with the year already out of hand. The coach was promptly fired, a month before the campaign ended.
Following a hiatus, Ben McAdoo returned to the NFL in 2020 as quarterbacks coach for the Jacksonville Jaguars. He most recently served as the Carolina Panthers offensive coordinator in 2022. The Patriots do not have the luxury of misfiring on a leadership decision, but an assistant role could allow him to lean on his strengths.
Although Jerod Mayo has been in Foxborough for over a decade, New England is still hitting the reset button in many ways. Why can't the same be said for McAdoo?
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