The New England Patriots have been quite busy since their 2024 campaign came to a conclusion. After their season-ending victory over the Buffalo Bills, team owner Robert Kraft almost immediately fired head coach Jerod Mayo after just one year with the team. Shortly after that, the team brought in Mike Vrabel, who was widely expected to replace Mayo once the move was made.

Vrabel’s ties to New England, where he played from 2001 to 2008, winning three Super Bowls along the way, made him an obvious hire. While that doesn’t differentiate him from Mayo, he has a track record of success as a head coach that his fellow former linebacker does not, and he has the ties across the league that were necessary in order for him to build a proper coaching staff around him.

In the past 24 hours, that has been on full display, as Vrabel has hired old friend Josh McDaniels to be the team’s offensive coordinator, while bringing in former Detroit Lions defensive line coach Terrell Williams to be their defensive coordinator. The coaching staff is coming together nicely for Vrabel, but now, the Patriots need to focus on making some significant upgrades to their roster if they want to take a leap forward in 2025.

Mike Vrabel’s coaching staff is solid, but Patriots need more talent

While Mayo’s first, and only, season in charge of New England was a disaster, he wasn’t the only guy on the coaching staff who was to blame for their struggles. Offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt did a good job developing rookie quarterback Drake Maye, but his playcalling left a lot to be desired. DeMarcus Covington, on the other hand, took over a defense that was one of the best in the league in 2023 and saw them regress dramatically in 2024.

Both guys were let go of in the wake of Mayo’s departure and Vrabel’s subsequent hiring, which wasn’t much of a surprise. Given Vrabel’s ties to McDaniels, he was quickly linked to the team for a third stint as their offensive coordinator, and bringing him back to town is a solid idea. McDaniels coaxed a Pro Bowl campaign out of Mac Jones when he was a rookie back in 2021, so he should be able to help Maye continue to develop in 2025 and beyond.

Williams has experience working with Vrabel from his Titans days, as he was the team’s defensive line coach from 2018 to 2023, while also being Vrabel’s assistant head coach in 2023. After keeping the Lions defensive line in tip-top shape in 2024, despite dealing with a rash of injuries, he will be tasked with helping New England’s defense get back on track.

Hiring Vrabel was the move New England should have made last offseason, and he’s done well to grab a pair of coordinators he has familiarity with, which should help ensure that he builds the team back up in the way he sees fit. The issue is that unless this team gets a massive influx of talent this offseason, these additions will all be for nothing.

Again, while Mayo and the coaching staff struggled in 2024, it wasn’t totally their fault. Simply put, the roster those guys inherited was one of the worst in the NFL. In order for Vrabel and company to be successful, they are going to need more to work with, even if their coaching chops are far better than what Mayo and his staff were working with.

There are needs all over this roster. The offensive line and wide receiver corps were both arguably the worst in the entire league last season, and the defense as a whole needs some touching up, particularly on the defensive line, where a star pass rusher is almost a necessity. Good coaching should help, but the overall talent level of this roster needs to be improved.

The good news is that New England has the assets needed to make those improvements this offseason. They are armed with loads of salary cap space, which should allow them to be aggressive in free agency, and on the trade market, where they could look to swing a trade for a star wide receiver and then sign him to a long-term extension. They also have the fourth overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, which should net them an immediate contributor at whatever position they target.

The base that Mike Vrabel has built with the Patriots is solid, but people were saying the same thing about Mayo last year. Now, the front office needs to ensure that Vrabel has the tools needed to succeed as he begins his work in New England. He’s done his part by assembling his coaching staff; now, it’s time to assemble a team that will be able to put this staff’s coaching to good use.