Patriots new HC Jerod Mayo brought in former Browns OC Alex Van Pelt for the same position with New England after Cleveland fired him this offseason. Van Pelt has been coaching in the NFL since 2006, with most of his years spent as a QB coach including six years with Jets QB Aaron Rodgers in Green Bay.
“I’m not exactly sure and I don’t want to get into what happened at Cleveland, but all the people that I talk to, they speak very highly of AVP,” Mayo said, via Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk. “Obviously, he understands the X’s and O’s of the game, but also developing talent. Really, he is a relationship guy, which I fundamentally believe is very important. Before you really get into X’s and O’s with the guys on the field, they’ve got to know that you care about them.”
“The one thing I would say about AVP is that he can make the same concept look a bunch of different ways,” Mayo added. “That’s always hard for us on the defensive side of the ball. Really, it depends on the players that we have and the flexibility that he has as far as scheme is concerned. He’s been cross-trained on multiple teams, and I think that experience and that philosophy is going to do us well in the future.”
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