A look at Mike Vrabel's New England Patriots coaching staff
FOXBORO -- Mike Vrabel continues to build out his coaching staff for the New England Patriots, and has brought in a slew of coaches with plenty of experience.
While the official Patriots website only lists Vrabel and his three coordinators -- which were officially announced last week -- the moves have been coming fast and furious for New England. Vrabel has reportedly added Thomas Brown and Doug Marrone to the mix, both of whom are former players with experience at head coach and offensive coordinator at the NFL level.
Here's an updated look at the staff that Vrabel has assembled in New England so far, including moves that were announced by the team and those that have only been reported.
Patriots offensive staff
Josh McDaniels is back in New England to lead the Patriots offense for a third time in his coaching career. He's spent 18 of his 23 NFL seasons with the Patriots, 13 of which were spent as the team's offensive coordinator. McDaniels was on Bill Belichick's staff for all six of the New England's Super Bowl titles.
Here's a look at New England's offensive staff so far:
OC: Josh McDaniels
QBs coach: Ashton Grant*
Tight ends/pass game coordinator: Thomas Brown*
WRs coach: Todd Downing*
TBD: Tony Dews*
TBD: Doug Marrone*
TBD: Jason Houghtaling*
Offensive assistant: Riley Larkin*
TBD: Ben McAdoo*
*Hiring hasn't been officially announced by Patriots
Ashton Grant was reportedly hired to be Drake Maye's new quarterbacks coach in New England, after spending the last five seasons as an offensive coach for the Cleveland Browns. Grant was promoted to offensive assistant/quarterbacks coach for the Browns in 2023, and got to work with Vrabel last season when his new boss was a personnel consultant for Cleveland.
While Thomas Brown -- who was the interim head coach of the Bears for five weeks last season -- has reportedly been brought in as New England's tight ends coach and pass game coordinator, everyone else's title remains unknown.
Todd Downing worked with Downing while he was head coach of the Titans. Downing, 44, was tight ends coach of the Titans in 2019 and was promoted to offensive coordinator in 2021 when Arthur Smith left to become head coach of the Atlanta Falcons. He was Tennessee's OC for two seasons but was fired following the 2022 season after the Titans ranked 30th in total offense.
Tony Dews, who was reportedly hired last week, was the running backs coach of the New York Jets last season. He was with Vrabel in Tennessee from 2018-2023, serving as the Titans running backs coach for five seasons before taking over as tight ends coach in 2023.
A former head coach of the Bills and the Jaguars, Doug Marrone brings a lengthy history of coaching offensive lines as well. The former lineman could lead that group for the Patriots following the offseason departure of Scott Peters.
Jason Houghtaling could also be the team's offensive line coach, as he was the assistant offensive line coach of the Chicago Bears last season. He also has experience coaching with Vrabel, having served as assistant offensive line coach of the Titans from 2021-2022 and as the team's offensive line coach in 2023.
Riley Larkin is reportedly set to join Vrabel's staff as an offensive assistant, after he worked in the quarterbacks room of the Ohio State Buckeyes during their run to a National Championship in 2024.
Ben McAdoo was a senior offensive assistant under Jerod Mayo in 2024, and is reportedly returning in an unspecified role on Vrabel's staff, according to ESPN Boston's Mike Reiss.
Patriots defensive staff
Vrabel tabbed Terrell Williams -- one of his most trusted assistants in Tennessee -- to lead the New England defense in 2025 and beyond. Williams was the defensive line coach of the Titans from 2018-2023, and was also Vrabel's assistant head coach for the 2023 season.
Here's a look at the coaches that have been added to New England's defensive staff:
DC: Terrell Williams
TBD: Zak Kuhr*
TBD: Clinton McMillan*
TBD: Kevin Richardson*
TBD: Milton Patterson*
TBD: Scott Booker*
TBD: Justin Hamilton*
TBD: Mike Smith*
*Hiring hasn't been officially announced by Patriots
There's a lot of unknown with the staff on the defensive side of the ball, but familiarity is a trend among the reported names joining the coaching mix.
Zak Kuhr was a defensive assistant for the New York Giants last season, but he got his break in the NFL from Vrabel and the Titans, serving as a quality control coach in Tennessee in 2020. He was then promoted to Tennessee's assistant linebackers coach, a role he held from 2021 through 2023. He'll likely be the Patriots' inside linebackers coach under Vrabel.
Clinton McMillan also worked with Vrabel in Tennessee from 2021-2023 as an assistant defensive line coach. Though Vrabel was fired after the 2023 season, McMillian remained the team's assistant defensive line coach while also assuming the title of pass-rush specialist.
Kevin Richardson has never coached with Vrabel, but he was teammates with Patriots Hunter Henry and Deatrich Wise Jr. at Arkansas, where he was a defensive back from 2013-2018. He spent the last two seasons on the Illinois staff with his former college coach (and former Patriots assistant) Bret Bielema, serving as a defensive analyst in 2023 and the team's assistant defensive backs coach in 2024.
A former college linebacker, Milton Patterson has a little experience with Vrabel, having spent the summer of 2023 with the Titans through the Bill Walsh Diversity Coaching Fellowship. He was the defensive coordinator at Florida A&M in 2024, after being the team's linebacker's coach since 2021, and could potentially serve as linebackers coach in New England.
Scott Booker got his first NFL coaching job from Vrabel as a defensive assistant in Tennessee from 2018-19. He was then promoted to the Titans safeties coach, which he held for four years before Vrabel was fired. Booker spent last season as a nickel coach/senior defensive assistant in Buffalo. Before the NFL, Booker spent 15 seasons coaching at the college level.
Justin Hamilton was an assistant defensive backs coach for the Indianapolis Colts last season, and was a defensive quality control coach in Tennessee in 2023.
Mike Smith has reportedly been brought in to serve as Vrabel's outside linebackers coach, according to ESPN's Mike Reiss. Smith previously served as the outside linebackers coach for the Green Bay Packers (2019-21) and Minnesota Vikings (2022-23). A former player for the Baltimore Ravens, Smith got his start in coaching with the Jets in 2011.
On special teams, Jeremy Springer will be back as New England's coordinator while Tom Quinn will be his assistant for a second straight season.
