The New England Patriots reportedly have a new offensive coordinator.
Alex Van Pelt, who spent 2020-23 as the offensive coordinator of the Cleveland Browns before being fired after Cleveland’s 45-14 AFC Wild Card loss to the Houston Texans will be joining first-year head coach Jerod Mayo’s staff with the Patriots.
NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero had the news first Thursday afternoon.
The #Patriots are hiring Alex Van Pelt as their offensive coordinator, per sources.
A former NFL quarterback and longtime respected assistant, Van Pelt spent the past four seasons as the #Browns’ OC. Now he fills a big spot on Jerod Mayo’s staff in New England. pic.twitter.com/WCg3pIL7eg
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) February 1, 2024
As noted, Van Pelt had been with the Browns since 2020 as both their quarterbacks coach and offensive coordinator. Cleveland’s offense was 16th in the NFL in total yardage in the 2023 season but also lost running back Nick Chubb very early in the season and wound up starting five different quarterbacks due to injuries or benching.
Van Pelt was the quarterback for the Pittsburgh Panthers from 1989-92 and was drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the eighth round of the 1993 NFL Draft but was cut before training camp ended and spent the season as Joe Montana’s backup for the Kansas City Chiefs. The rest of Van Pelt’s ten-year career was spent with the Buffalo Bills, where he was primarily a backup. He made 11 starts for the team between 1994 and his retirement in 2003.
After a year as the quarterbacks coach and offensive coordinator for NFL Europe’s Frankfurt Galaxy, Van Pelt returned to the Bills in 2006. He was a quality control coach from 2006-08 before getting promoted to quarterbacks coach and offensive coordinator for 2008 and 2009 before being fired with the rest of the Buffalo staff after the 2009 season.
Van Pelt then spent the next two seasons as the quarterbacks coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers before being fired after the 2011 season with the rest of Raheem Morris’ coaching staff.
Van Pelt’s big break came when he was hired by the Green Bay Packers in 2012 and stuck with the team until 2017, first as a running backs coach and then as a quarterbacks coach. After his contract expired he spent 2018 and 2019 as the quarterbacks coach of the Cincinnati Bengals before heading to Cleveland.
