With former first-year head coach Jerod Mayo being relieved of his duties shortly after his team’s 23-16 victory over the Bills on Sunday, the Patriots have seemingly wasted no time with diving into their job search.
In addition to the reporting from Tuesday saying both Lions defensive coordinator Ben Johnson and former Titans head coach Mike Vrabel are set to interview with New England this week, the Patriots announced two interviews from Tuesday across their social media accounts.
As first reported by Mike Jones of The Athletic, former Buccaneers offensive coordinator Byron Leftwich interviewed with New England on Tuesday for their head coaching job.
Shortly after Jones’ post on X, NFL Media’s Tom Pelissero posted on his feed that longtime NFL assistant coach Pep Hamilton was interviewed by the Patriots for the head coaching job on Tuesday as well.
Leftwich, who played quarterback for nine seasons in the NFL with the Jaguars, Falcons, Steelers and Buccaneers from 2003 to 2012, was last seen wearing a coach’s headset during the 2022 season - the last of a four-year stint as offensive coordinator for Tampa Bay.
Memorable to those in New England, Leftwich was the OC for former Patriots quarterback Tom Brady for his run to a seventh Super Bowl ring during the 2020 season.
Upon Brady’s retirement after the 2022 season, Tampa Bay relieved Leftwich of his duties. He’s been out of the game ever since, but longtime NFL reporter Josina Anderson said on Tuesday that the 44-year-old is “hopeful for the opportunity to coach again in the NFL.”
Hamilton has served in a variety of roles since at both the college and professional ranks since breaking into coaching ranks in 1997:
1997-01 - Howard Quarterbacks Coach
1999-02 - Howard Offensive Coordinator
2003 - Jets Offensive Quality Control Coach
2004 - Jets Quarterbacks Coach
2005 - Jets Wide Receivers Coach
2006 - 49ers Quarterbacks Coach
2007-09 - Bears Quarterbacks Coach
2010 - Stanford Wide Receivers Coach
2011-12 - Stanford Offensive Coordinator & Quarterbacks Coach
2013-15 - Colts Offensive Coordinator
2016 - Browns Assistant Head Coach & Quarterbacks Coach
2017-18 - Michigan Assistant Head Coach & Passing Game Coordinator
2020 - DC Defenders Head Coach & General Manager (XFL)
2020 - Chargers Quarterbacks Coach
2021 - Texans Passing Game Coordinator & Quarterbacks Coach
2022 - Texans Offensive Coordinator
While the resume for Hamilton is extensive, it does lack many examples of sustained success in any one position (in his defense, the 2020 XFL season was cut short due to the pandemic).
Pelissero points out in his post on X that Hamilton does have a history of working with young quarterbacks, including Patriots backup QB Joe Milton III ahead of last spring’s NFL Draft.
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