The New England Patriots’ staff turnover continued on Tuesday with the reported departures of two defensive assistants. Neither cornerbacks coach Mike Pellegrino nor safeties coach Brian Belichick will be back with the organization under new head coach Mike Vrabel in 2025.
Pellegrino and Belichick were two of the most prominent assistant coaches on the team the last few years, and them leaving creates a significant hole in the secondary. What else does it mean for the team, though? Let’s find out.
Serious gamble
According to a report by Andrew Callahan of the Boston Herald, both Pellegrino and Belichick were “open to staying” in New England, but “had been preparing for Mike Vrabel to go in a new direction.” The new head coach indeed doing that is a gamble for the team.
Pellegrino and Belichick, after all, brought considerable experience and a quality résumé at their respective positions. Pellegrino arrived in New England in 2015 and had been coaching cornerbacks for the last six years — helping three of his players (Stephon Gilmore, J.C. Jackson, Christian Gonzalez) earn All-Pro recognition. Belichick, meanwhile, joined the team under his father in 2016 and started coaching the safeties in 2020.
While the Patriots as a whole have been up and down over the last few seasons, their position groups were some of the best and most consistent on the roster year in and year out. The on-field talent played a part in that, but Pellegrino and Belichick seemingly did a good job developing players and building a cohesive unit that regularly found itself among the NFL’s best.
Heading into 2025, a major question mark hangs over the secondary now. That is particularly true given that incoming defensive coordinator Terrell Williams is a front-seven guy; he has been working with the defensive line at every one of his stops going back to the start of his coaching career in 1998.
Teaming him up with veteran secondary coaches would therefore make sense. Those coaches, however, will not be named Mike Pellegrino and Brian Belichick.
Player impact
From the outside looking in, Pellegrino and Belichick managed their respective rooms at a high level. A big part of that was developing players — a group that ranged from high draft picks Christian Gonzalez and Kyle Dugger, to former rookie free agents such as J.C. Jackson and Dell Pettus, to veterans like Jonathan Jones or Jabrill Peppers.
There was a certain level of clarity at One Patriot Place in regards to the cornerbacks and safeties: they would be in good hands under Pellegrino and Belichick. The shoes left to fill in that regard will be big.
The impact on players goes beyond developing them, however. Looking ahead at free agency, two members of the secondary are headed for the open market: both Jonathan Jones and Jaylinn Hawkins will become unrestricted free agents in March. Their willingness to return — if presented an offer by a new-ish regime in the first place — might have changed with their coaches no longer around.
End of era
For the first time since 1999, the Patriots’ coaching staff will have no family connections to long-time head coach Bill Belichick.
While the elder Belichick and his oldest son, fellow defensive assistant Steve Belichick, left New England following the 2023 season, Brian stayed on board under new head coach Jerod Mayo. One year later and with Mike Vrabel replacing Mayo, however, the outlook has changed — and in turn, the Belichick representation on the team’s coaching staff.
Replacement candidates
Mike Vrabel has added several coaches since taking over as Patriots head coach, but only one of them seems like a candidate to work with the secondary in 2025: Kevin Richardson, a former assistant defensive backs coach at the University of Illinois. Richardson will factor into the post Pellegrino/Belichick mix, but he will not be alone.
One name to consider as a potential addition to Vrabel’s staff is Chris Harris.
Harris, himself a former NFL defensive back, was hired by Vrabel to serve as the Tennessee Titans’ cornerbacks coach and defensive pass game coordinator in 2023. He remained on Tennessee’s staff in that same role after the team’s head coaching change in 2024, but was recently announced as not returning for the 2025 season. Harris reuniting with Vrabel in New England would make sense.
Other names to consider for the open positions are Pittsburgh Steelers assistant secondary coach Anthony Midget, Indianapolis Colts assistant defensive backs coach Justin Hamilton, Cleveland Browns defensive assistant Zach Dunn, and Detroit Lions defensive assistant Jim O’Neill. Patriots coaching assistant Jamael Lett also appears to be a candidate, but his future with the team is in question given the high rate of turnover from 2024 to 2025.
Staff turnover rate
While there are still a few loose ends when comparing the Patriots’ current coaching staff to last year’s, the status of Pellegrino and Belichick was the biggest uncertainty heading into this week. With them now no longer part of the equation, we can see that Mike Vrabel is indeed cleaning house in New England.
On defense, every position on staff has seen change from 2024. Defensive coordinator DeMarcus Covington was replaced by Terrell Williams, while defensive line coach Jerry Montgomery, linebackers coaches Drew Wilkins and Dont’a Hightower, and Pellegrino and Belichick will all not be back with the team either.
Those changes also extend to the offensive side of the ball, where the only holdovers from last year — Ben McAdoo, Evan Rothstein, Robert Kugler, Omar Young — are also far from guaranteed a return. The only stability comes in the kicking game, where coordinator Jeremy Springer was retained for 2025.
