Who is Alex Van Pelt, the Patriots new offensive coordinator?
FOXBORO -- Alex Van Pelt is the new man in charge of the Patriots offense, hired as the team's offensive coordinator on Thursday. The 53-year-old brings plenty of experience to Jerod Mayo's staff in New England.
He has a tough job ahead with a lot of uncertainty on the New England offense. The Patriots were a mess offensively in 2023, averaging just 13.9 points per game (tied for last in the NFL) and quarterback Mac Jones was benched for good after Week 12 following a string of in-game benchings. The Patriots will likely have a new quarterback in 2024, potentially by way of the third overall pick in the NFL Draft.
Mayo is a first-year head coach and will have a first-year defensive coordinator in DeMarcus Covington. So experience is a key word in Van Pelt's hiring, and he will bring plenty of that -- along with a vast knowledge of different systems -- to the offensive side of the ball in New England.
Here's what you need to know about the new offensive coordinator of the New England Patriots.
Van Pelt is a former quarterback
Van Pelt played his college ball at Pittsburgh from 1989-92, and was then an eighth-round pick by the Steelers in 1993. That's the same year that the Patriots drafted Drew Bledsoe first overall. Van Pelt went 18 selections after New England took Troy Brown.
Van Pelt played as a backup for the Bills from 1994-2003. He appeared in 31 games, starting 11, and finished his career with 16 touchdowns passes and 24 interceptions. He played in five games against the Patriots during his career, throwing one touchdown and seven picks.
Van Pelt brings a lot of experience to New England
Van Pelt started coaching in 2005 in NFL Europe, serving as the QBs coach and playcaller for the Frankfurt Galaxy. He joined the Buffalo coaching staff in 2006, serving as an offensive quality coach for two years before being elevated to quarterbacks coach in 2008. By 2009 he was the team's offensive coordinator, but that lasted only one year as he (and the rest of the offensive staff) was fired after a 6-10 season.
He wasn't unemployed for long though, hired as the quarterbacks coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers a month later. He held that job for two years, and then coached running backs (2012-13) and quarterbacks (2014-2017) in Green Bay, where he worked with Aaron Rodgers. Van Pelt then moved on to become the quarterbacks coach in Cincinnati in 2018 under Zac Taylor.
From there, he became the offensive coordinator of the Cleveland Browns in 2020. The Browns finished 10th in the NFL at 23.3 points per game in 2023 despite a revolving door at quarterback, but Van Pelt and the rest of the offensive staff were fired by Kevin Stefanski after the team's loss to the Texans in the Wild Card round.
That paved the way for Van Pelt to join Mayo's staff in New England. He only interviewed once, on Thursday, and the Patriots moved quickly to hire him to fill out Mayo's staff.
Van Pelt has a lot of experience with a lot of quarterbacks
He built up quite the quarterback resume during his four seasons in Cleveland, working with nine different starters, including Baker Mayfield and Jacoby Brissett. Last year alone he had five different starters: Deshaun Watson, Jeff Driskel, P.J. Walker, Dorian Thompson-Robinson, and Joe Flacco.
In Green Bay he worked with Aaron Rodgers, who enjoyed working with Van Pelt and wasn't happy when the Packers didn't retain him in 2018. He also worked with Andy Dalton in Cincinnati, and Ryan Fitzpatrick (among others) in Buffalo.
Van Pelt has some -- but not much -- experience calling plays
Van Pelt did call offensive plays for the Bills early in his coaching career, but not a lot since his days his Buffalo ended. He called plays for the Browns during some preseason action over the last four years but only twice in real games when, Stefanski had to miss time with COVID.
What kind of offense will the Patriots run under Van Pelt?
Over the last four years under Stefanski in Cleveland, Van Pelt ran an offense that was influenced by Mike Shanahan and Gary Kubiak offenses. The Browns ran a ton of play action last season, and he will bring experience with a West Coast system to New England.
He can also run offenses similar to Sean McVay's system in Los Angeles after working with Taylor (a former QBs coach under McVay) in Cincinnati, which is a golden ticket for any offensive coach. Van Pelt has also worked under coaches like Mike McCarthy and Marvin Lewis.
Van Pelt has experience in numerous different offensive approaches, and should be able to easily adapt to whatever New England wants to run depending on which quarterback(s) this offseason.