On Monday, Greg Bedard of the Boston Sports Journal reported that the Patriots are hiring former Jets quarterback coach/passing game coordinator Todd Downing as their new wide receivers coach.
Downing joining newly hired head coach Mike Vrabel’s staff for 2025 does not come as a major surprise, as Downing previously worked under Vrabel in Tennessee. During Vrabel’s tenure as head coach of the Titans, Downing held the roles of tight ends coach (2019-20) and offensive coordinator (2021-22).
Downing spent the last two seasons in New York, being saddled with Zach Wilson at quarterback four plays into his first season with the Jets, followed by a season with a fired head coach in Robert Saleh and a washed-up version of Aaron Rodgers under center.
Now in 2025, Downing’s new challenge will be reviving a wide receiver room that was among the worst in the NFL in 2024 - truly the rock bottom of a downward trend that has spiraled since the disastrous first-round pick of N’Keal Harry in 2019.
Downing’s path to becoming an assistant coach at the professional level is as unique as it gets.
After playing college football at the University of Minnesota, Downing played semi-pro football for the Minnesota Maulers from 2000 to 2002. In 2001, an internship in the Vikings research and development department eventually led to a job in their PR department, followed by two seasons as a football systems analyst. That unconventional path led to his first professional coaching gig, as the Vikings hired him as an offensive quality control coach.
Here’s Downing’s NFL resume:
2005: Minnesota Vikings Offensive Quality Control Coach
2006-07: St. Louis Rams Defensive Assistant & Special Teams Assistant
2008: Rams Defensive Quality Control Coach
2009: Detroit Lions Offensive Quality Control Coach
2010-11: Lions Assistant Quarterbacks Coach
2012-13: Lions Quarterbacks Coach
2014: Buffalo Bills Quarterbacks Coach
2015-16: Oakland Raiders Quarterbacks Coach
2017: Raiders Offensive Coordinator
2018: Vikings Tight Ends Coach
2019-20: Tennessee Titans Tight Ends Coach
2021-22: Titans Offensive Coordinator
2023: New York Jets Passing Game Coordinator
2024: Jets Quarterbacks Coach & Passing Game Coordinator
In addition to Downing’s previous working relationship with Vrabel, Patriots fans have already begun to speculate if Downing’s previous relationship with Eagles wide receiver A.J. Brown played a factor in bringing him aboard to lead the unit he would hypothetically be joining if able to successfully force a trade to New England.
The day after his introductory press conference in New England, Vrabel spoke glowingly with The Greg Hill Show about his relationship with Brown from their time together in Tennessee. The addition of Downing is yet another piece of connective tissue between the All-Pro receiver and the new Patriots coaching staff.
Over the weekend, ESPN’s Mike Reiss speculated that former Patriots wide receiver Wes Welker could have been in contention for the vacant wide receivers coaching position on Vrabel’s staff. With Welker’s experience coaching within both the offensive systems slated to be a huge part of what newly hired offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels will be building for Drake Maye, that fit seemed to make a lot of sense.
Instead, Vrabel goes with his former Titans running mate, tasking him with one of the most difficult jobs on the coaching staff.
Stay locked in to WEEI and WEEI.com for all the latest on the Patriots’ coaching staff in the coming weeks.