The New England Patriots need to be decisive in setting a direction for the franchise with their next head coaching hire.
Detroit Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson is set to interview virtually with the Patriots on Friday. His brilliance with Detroit’s offense took the NFL by storm over the last two seasons and can modernize the Patriots, whose offense features five years of stagnant inefficiency.
The question becomes if the Patriots do hire Johnson, an incoming rookie head coach, who would the offensive coordinator be on his staff? And how much impact would they have?
Coaching staffs often turnover almost completely when a new head coach comes to town, so this idea likely won’t matter, but let’s just consider for a moment. If Johnson becomes the head coach of the Patriots, that doesn’t mean he would relinquish play-calling to a coordinator.
Playoff teams in the Minnesota Vikings and the Los Angeles Rams run efficient offensive units with play-calling head coaches in Kevin O’Connell and Sean McVay respectively. Johnson could, and should, continue those duties in this New England scenario. He probably has an idea for a coordinator for game-planning purposes in mind, though incumbent coordinator Alex Van Pelt.
Jerod Mayo’s offensive coordinator for the 2024 season had major issues as a play-caller and now it’s pretty obvious why he didn’t call plays in the same role during his tenure with the Cleveland Browns under head coach Kevin Stefanski. What Van Pelt did do well in 2024 was improve fundamentals and further develop rookie quarterback Drake Maye. The North Carolina product showed why he’ll be a special talent in the NFL for years to come and credited Van Pelt for major strides in his development.
It’s hard to see this scenario actually unfolding, but would Johnson consider retaining Van Pelt given his preexisting work with Maye and the ability to focus on that and game-planning rather than play-calling?
That scenario could get the best out of Maye, who seeks a sophomore surge for the Patriots.
