Mike Vrabel‘s staff in New England continues to take shape. Most notably, the Patriots have landed on a new QBs coach to work alongside Josh McDaniels and Drake Maye. Jonathan Jones of CBS Sports reports that the Patriots have hired Ashton Grant for the gig.
Grant has spent the majority of his coaching career in Cleveland, where he worked his way up from an offensive quality control coach to QBs coach. While Deshaun Watson‘s performance left plenty to be desired, Grant also earned praise for his handling of the rest of the depth chart (including Jameis Winston).
In New England, he’ll be taking over a QBs room that features a pair of young arms in Maye and Joe Milton. Grant is set to replace T.C. McCartney, who isn’t expected to return to the Patriots in a new role, per Mark Daniels of MassLive.com.
The Patriots weren’t finished making additions to their coaching staff. According to ESPN’s Mike Reiss, Jason Houghtaling is expected to join New England’s staff. Houghtaling was an OL coaching assistant on Vrabel’s staff in Tennessee before spending last season with the Bears. Elsewhere on offense, the team is bringing in Riley Larkin as an offensive assistant, per ESPN’s Pete Thamel. Larkin most recently served as an offensive assistant in Ohio State’s quarterbacks room.
On the other side of the ball, Aaron Wilson of KPRC2 in Houston reports that former Titans defensive assistant Clint McMillan will also be following his former boss to New England. Further, Matt Zenitz of CBS Sports reports that the Patriots are expected to hire Bills nickels coach/senior defensive assistant Scott Booker. Following the theme, Booker previously worked Vrabel during the duo’s time with the Titans. Finally, while a deal hasn’t been finalized, the Patriots are targeting Colts assistant defensive backs coach Justin Hamilton for a role on their defensive staff, per Zenitz. Unsurprisingly, Hamilton was on the Titans staff in 2023.
As Vrabel crafts his first New England staff, he’ll also be saying goodbye to a handful of incumbent coaches. Most notably, Brian Belichick won’t be back with the Patriots in 2025, according to Reiss. The son of Bill Belichick, Brian spent the past five seasons coaching safeties in New England, including this past year working under a new boss in Jerod Mayo. Drew Wilkins, who most recently served as the Patriots outside linebackers coach, also isn’t expected to be retained (per Jones), and cornerbacks coach Mike Pellegrino won’t be back with the organization (per Reiss).
There is at least one coach who will be retained from last year’s staff. Former Giants head coach Ben McAdoo is expected to stick on Vrabel’s staff, per Reiss. McAdoo spent this past season as a senior offensive assistant, but Reiss notes that the coach’s title could change in 2025. Speaking of titles, the Patriots have also officially hired Vrabel’s right-hand man, John “Stretch” Streicher, who will serve as the team’s vice president of football operations and strategy (per Albert Breer of TheMMQB).