The biggest story coming out of Sunday’s 30-17 loss by New England in Arizona has been the future of offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt.
During the CBS telecast, cameras caught a frustrated Robert and Jonathan Kraft, with internet lip readers suggesting the younger Kraft was none too pleased with their team’s play calling.
To make matters worse, first-year head coach Jerod Mayo threw gasoline on the AVP fire during his postgame press conference.
“Did you consider running Drake [Maye] in that situation - that it’s a short yardage situation, you feel like he can run?” Phil Perry of NBC Sports Boston asked Mayo, referencing the consecutive stops on 3rd and 1 and 4th and 1 by Arizona from the Cardinals 4 yard line at the top of the fourth quarter, thwarting a rare opportunity for points in the red zone.
“Uh, that’s - you said it, I didn’t,” Mayo responded flatly, quickly moving on to the next question.
Even with Mayo telling The Greg Hill Show on Monday that this was an inadvertent shot at his offensive coordinator, the damage was already done.
The calls by Patriots fans and media alike for Van Pelt’s job are the loudest they’ve ever been during this abysmal 3-11 season.
Rookie quarterback Drake Maye was asked about the noise surrounding his signal caller when he joined the WEEI Afternoon Show on Monday for his weekly “Patriots Monday” appearance.
“I’m sure you’re aware there’s been a lot of criticism of [Van Pelt],” said WEEI’s Andy Hart. “There was even a video during the game that showed the Krafts questioning the play calling. Are you aware of the criticism of Alex Van Pelt, and that people are calling for his job?”
“No sir,” said Maye. “No I think - you know, I try to stay away from - you know, you’re 3-11, and you know things like some bad media, and you know, people saying some not-so-nice things is more common when our record’s not too great.
“But I think, you know, AVP - what he’s done for me this year, and what he’s done for my development has been huge for me. And I credit AVP and T.C. [McCartney] and the quarterback room for helping me prepare every week. And still take every week - you know, even with our record every week - like it’s a big one for us. And I really respect that and appreciate [them] for - they’ve really taken a chance on me, along with the rest of the franchise.
“So a lot of things to look forward to, and you know, I’ve been a big fan of AVP and how he’s handled my approach, and we’re still - shoot, this is only our eighth or ninth game together. So we’re still figuring, kind of, each other out, and, kind of, how he’s calling it, and how much input he wants me to, kind of, help him with. So it’s been nice trying to find that, and I think we’re not far from it.”
While Maye sang the praises of Van Pelt on Monday, many in the fanbase are still left looking for an alternative on the coaching staff.
With that, a popular name that gets thrown around is senior offensive assistant Ben McAdoo, who has worked with both Aaron Rodgers and Eli Manning during the course of his NFL coaching career.
McAdoo was added to the Patriots staff ahead of the 2024 season, but has rarely been spotted with the team by local media throughout the season.
Hart asked Maye, “What is your relationship with Ben McAdoo, and what is his role with this offense each week?”
“Yeah, can’t forget about B-Mac,” said Maye. “B-Mac’s been great. I think, you know, he’s been a great voice, and he’s been a - shoot, a head coach, and he’s coached, you know, bunch of great players. Eli Manning, and [he and AVP were with] Rodgers. So they had a bunch of great film of them back in the day with certain footwork and offering up little things and little tidbits throughout the week that B-Mac helps [with].
“And helps, kind of, game plan the third down, and really kind of shows us what they do on third down. And we try to take what he shows us, and try to scheme up the best deal for that. So he’s been great. You know, B-Mac’s also been in there in the quarterback room and, you know, can’t forget about B-Mac. He’s very knowledgeable, and I’ve seen a lot of different things and a lot of different footwork, a lot of different concepts, and his coverages and great ideas. So, it kind of just all kind of has their roles and kind of bounce off each other's ideas.”
Based on what Maye is saying here about his relationship with McAdoo, it doesn’t feel like too much of a stretch to hand the play calling duties over to the former New York Giants head coach - whether that’s for the final three games of this season, or during the rapidly approaching offseason. While Maye credits much of his development to the work Van Pelt has put in this season, it sounds like McAdoo has been a big part of that process behind the scenes.
We’ll see if Kraft’s lip-read frustrations with the play calling on Sunday beget changes on offense at some point in the coming weeks.