INDIANAPOLIS — Patriots director of scouting Eliot Wolf stressed this week at the NFL Scouting Combine that new head coach Jerod Mayo picked his staff, but the de facto general manager’s familiarity with offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt certainly didn’t hurt.
Van Pelt crossed over with Wolf as running backs coach and then quarterbacks coach with the Packers from 2012 to 2017. Van Pelt first interviewed with Wolf and Mayo and was hired 24 hours later.
“Alex is a great person, a great leader,” Wolf said this week. “I thought he showed a tremendous amount of growth from his time in Green Bay to when he interviewed with us. It was like, ‘wow this guy really got the big picture.’ So I’m excited to work with him again.”
Van Pelt has bounced around since his playing days with the Steelers, Chiefs and Bills and has crossed over with multiple head coaches around the NFL.
So, what are the Patriots getting in Van Pelt as an offense coordinator? Those across the league typically start by praising Van Pelt for his ability to create relationships.
“A great one. I’ll start with the person. You’re not going to find a better person in this profession,” Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski said this week. “AVP is a great friend of mine. I’m excited for him in that opportunity. Former player, has played in a bunch of different systems, he’s coached in different systems, he’s collaborative. So I think that Patriot’s got a great one.”
Van Pelt, a former quarterback, uses his 10-year playing career as an advantage while coaching the position. He shared a quarterback room with Joe Montana with the Chiefs and Jim Kelly and Drew Bledsoe with the Bills.
He threw for 2,985 yards with 16 touchdowns and 24 interceptions over 31 games with 11 starts.
“I think it’s really important. That view from that quarterback position when you’re playing is pretty unique, and I think he sees it through the eyes of those players and I think he instructs the system through the eyes of those guys, which is so important,” Stefanski said.
Stefanski was asked why Van Pelt wasn’t retained by the Browns after the 2023 season and would only say, “we make decisions that are tough sometimes in this league, but doesn’t change how I feel about him.”
Van Pelt did not call plays for the Browns, who have since named former Bills OC Ken Dorsey as his replacement. Stefanski wasn’t ready to say whether he or Dorsey would be the offensive playcaller in 2024.
Van Pelt will be calling plays for the Patriots this season in a role that’s largely unfamiliar for him. He did it in 2009 with the Bills and for two games with the Browns after Stefanski had tested positive for COVID. Van Pelt is expected to design an offense around the strengths of the Patriots’ roster.
Between Van Pelt’s time with the Packers and Browns he spent two seasons as the Bengals’ quarterbacks coach with one year working under Titans head coach Brian Callahan, who was then Cincinnati’s offensive coordinator.
“Alex is unbelievable. I was with Alex for a year. Really, really sharp,” Callahan said. “Obviously, has the playing experience to back up a lot of things he said. Worked with a great quarterback (Aaron Rodgers) in Green Bay. Great feel for offensive football. And I think what you love about Alex is he’s got a great personality and he’s outstanding when it comes to building relationships with the coaches and the players. Players love playing for him, being around him. I think he’s a great coach, personally. I really enjoyed my year with him.”
Van Pelt’s relationship with quarterback Andy Dalton stood out to Callahan.
“Some of the quarterback footwork was new for me. He had done things a little bit differently,” Callahan said. “So that was really fun to get to hear about that process and how effective it had been for Andy late in his career. So that was probably one thing I could point out for you.”