Mike Vrabel continued to fill out the Patriots' coaching staff on Monday, adding much-needed experience to the squad.
The Patriots are hiring ex-Bills and Jaguars head coach Doug Marrone, ex-Bears interim head coach Thomas Brown, ex-Titans offensive line coach Jason Houghtaling and ex-Florida A&M defensive coordinator Milton Patterson, per sources.
Marrone, 60, comes over from Boston College, where he was a senior analyst for football strategy. He last worked in the NFL as an offensive line coach with the Saints in 2022 and 2023. He's 38-60 in his two tenures as an NFL head coach. Marrone has never worked with Vrabel or Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels, but he does have a history with former Patriots offensive coordinator Bill O'Brien during stops at BC, Alabama and Georgia Tech. O'Brien is close with Vrabel. Marrone was a long-time offensive line coach, serving the role in college at Coast Guard, Northeastern, Georgia Tech, Georgia and Alabama and in the NFL with the Jets, Saints and Jaguars. He's also been an offensive coordinator and tight ends coach.
Brown, 38, will serve as the Patriots' tight ends coach and passing game coordinator, per sources. Following a three-year playing career with the Falcons and Browns, Brown went into coaching at Georgia in 2011. He also had stops in college at Chattanooga, Marshall, Wisconsin, Miami and South Carolina before joining the Rams as a running backs coach in 2020. He was promoted to assistant head coach in 2021 and began coaching tight ends in 2022.
Brown spent one year with the Panthers as offensive coordinator in 2023 before joining the Bears in 2024 as a passing game coordinator. He was first promoted to offensive coordinator last season following Shane Waldron's firing then took over head coaching duties with Matt Eberflus was fired. He was 1-4 as an interim head coach.
Houghtaling was on staff with Vrabel on the Titans from 2021 to 2023. He started out as an assistant offensive line coach before being promoted to offensive line coach in 2023. He was with Brown on the Bears last season as an assistant offensive line coach.
Houghtaling began his coaching career in college with stops at Wagner, Williams, Cornell and Colgate. He was head coach at Wagner from 2015 to 2019, assembling a 16-40 record.
Patterson spent last season as Florida A&M's defensive coordinator/linebackers coach. He's also spent time at Jackson State, his alma mater, Mississippi Valley State, Alabama State, Clark-Atlanta University and Fayetteville State.