The 2024 New England Patriots seemingly couldn’t do anything right. Their 4-13 record got head coach Jerod Mayo fired after just one season.
They were bad on defense, ranking 22nd in points allowed. Yet, the Patriots were even worse on offense, scoring the third-fewest points in the NFL.
One of the biggest reasons the Patriots struggled offensively was due to allowing 52 sacks, the fifth-most in the NFL. Pro Football Focus graded the Patriots as the worst offensive line unit in the league. Fixing the offensive line is a major offseason priority for the Patriots and they’ve already gotten to work.
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New England Patriots hire OL guru Doug Marrone
The New England Patriots are making wholesale changes. We’ve already seen Mike Vrabel replace Jerod Mayo. Vrabel brought Josh McDaniels back to be the new offensive coordinator and play-caller. Now, he’s hired a new offensive line coach too.
According to Fox Sports NFL insider Jordan Schultz, the Patriots have hired former Buffalo Bills and Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Doug Marrone. While he may be in line to become their offensive line coach, his official title is unclear.
The #Patriots are making a major addition to their coaching staff, hiring former Bills and Jaguars head coach—and highly respected offensive line coach—Doug Marrone to work under Mike Vrabel, per sources (and as @JPasteris_NFL said). Marrone is viewed as one of the very best OL… pic.twitter.com/z1cOmScDyF
— Jordan Schultz (@Schultz_Report) January 27, 2025
In addition to having a 38-60 record across parts of seven seasons as a head coach, Marrone is a former NFL offensive lineman with a long history in the trenches.
After starting his coaching career in 1992, the 60-year-old New York native has spent 12 seasons as an offensive line coach in the NFL. Most recently, he served as the New Orleans Saints offensive line coach from 2022 to 2023.
While adding Marrone should help, now the Patriots’ front office will have to give him more talent to work with. Whether that’s accomplished in free agency, through the draft, or a combination of both remains to be seen.
