New England Patriots fans rooting for offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt to be shown the exit shouldn’t hold their breath.
Patriots head coach Jerod Mayo doesn’t anticipate the first-year play-caller will be replaced anytime soon.
“That’s not under consideration,” Mayo said during a video conference Monday, one day after New England’s 15-10 loss to the Miami Dolphins.
The question surfaced after some outside One Patriot Place started to wonder whether the Patriots could move on from Van Pelt. Van Pelt, who was hired in February shortly after Mayo was named Bill Belichick’s successor, entered New England will a lengthy resume in the league but little play-calling experience.
Like New England’s youthful staff, the 54-year-old Van Pelt has been subject to early struggles.
Van Pelt’s offense ranks as one of the worst in the league after five weeks in large part because the offensive line. New England has allowed the highest pressure rate in the NFL and has been riddled with injuries, including the latest to captain and starting center David Andrews.
But Van Pelt isn’t free of criticism. Mayo himself stressed the importance of scheming things up more. However, the first-year head coach also put a fair share of blame on the offense’s execution after the Week 5 loss.
“What I would say is, our execution throughout the season, at the end of the half and end of the game, they just have to be better,” Mayo said. “That’s exactly what you saw at the end of the game, where we ran out of time. Once again, it wasn’t the call. It was just that we didn’t execute the play call.”
Mayo seems more open to a change at quarterback, but doesn’t feel the same about the offensive play-caller.