Mike Pellegrino had served as New England’s cornerbacks coach since 2019.
Mike Pellegrino will be remaining in the AFC East.
The division champion Buffalo Bills are expected to hire the ex-New England Patriots cornerbacks coach, according to a report Sunday from Matt Zenitz of 247Sports.
The #Bills are expected to hire former #Patriots cornerbacks coach Mike Pellegrino, sources tell @CBSSports/@247Sports.
Pellegrino worked for the Patriots the last 10 seasons, including the last six as cornerbacks coach.https://t.co/qOetA1iLiU pic.twitter.com/enWYR2Lmk9
— Matt Zenitz (@mzenitz) February 10, 2025
Pellegrino, 31, began his run in Foxborough as a football operations intern in 2015. The former Johns Hopkins All-American and Major League Lacrosse draft choice earned Super Bowl LI and LIII rings as a coaching assistant through 2018. From there, he would spend six seasons as the team’s cornerbacks coach.
New England’s defense ranked No. 2, No. 6, No. 2, No. 18, No. 10 and No. 6 around the NFL in total passing yards allowed per campaign over that span. His tenure in that role began with Stephon Gilmore earning AP NFL Defensive Player of the Year honors in 2019. Later arrived All-Pro selections for J.C. Jackson in 2021 and Christian Gonzalez in 2024.
Pellegrino had been retained last offseason following Bill Belichick’s exit and Jerod Mayo’s promotion. News of his departure surfaced in late January, however, weeks after Mike Vrabel was named the 16th head coach in franchise history and Terrell Williams was added as defensive coordinator.
The staff turnover has since seen Justin Hamilton, most recently the assistant defensive backs coach for the Indianapolis Colts, hired as cornerbacks coach. And Scott Booker, who spent last year as a senior defensive assistant and nickelbacks coach in Buffalo, has since replaced Brian Belichick as safeties coach.
Both additions to the secondary overlapped with Vrabel during his tenure with the Tennessee Titans.