New England will bring the former Rams assistant on board.
The New England Patriots have a new special teams coordinator. As first reported on Wednesday morning, the team of new head coach Jerod Mayo will hire former Los Angeles Rams assistant Jeremy Springer as its special teams coordinator.
Springer spent the last two years in L.A. as assistant special teams coach. Now, after being one of three coaches to interview with the Patriots for the position, he will take the next step up on the coaching ladder.
Let’s assess what this might mean for the Patriots from a big-picture perspective.
Jerod Mayo makes his second move
The Patriots’ new head coach has now filled two coordinator spots. After promoting DeMarcus Covington from defensive line coach to defensive coordinator, he has now brought Springer aboard as his first external hire.
With him in the fold, one major domino remains to fall: the offensive coordinator position. New England has interviewed 11 candidates, but as of Wednesday only six remain available.
Second time’s the charm
The Patriots reportedly offered their special teams coordinator job to another candidate, Marquice Williams, but he decided to stay with the Atlanta Falcons under new head coach Raheem Morris. This, in turn, opened the door for Springer to get the position.
The Patriots show trust in Springer’s coaching ability
New England’s special teams did not live up to expectations in 2023, but it was significantly better than what the Rams had: according to well-respected analyst Rick Gosselin’s kicking game rankings, Los Angeles was dead-last in the NFL last season. The Patriots, for comparison, ranked 13th.
Things did not look much better in L.A. in 2022, Springer’s first season on the Rams’ staff under special teams coordinator Chase Blackburn. The team ranked 29th (compared to the 16th-ranked Patriots), down from 16th the previous year.
Two notes on those rankings are in order, though:
1.) It is hard to assess how big of an impact Springer had on the Rams’ special teams.
2.) Rankings such as these are not necessarily indicative of a coach’s job.
With all that said, the numbers themselves do not paint a particularly pretty picture. The Rams, after all, ranked league-worst in four categories in 2023: kickoff return average (16.1 yards), punt coverage (15.5 yards), points allowed (14), and blocked kicks (3).
For both the Patriots’ special teams and its new coordinator, 2024 will be a prove-it year.
New England’s kicking game gets a total makeover
The writing was already on the wall, but hiring Springer confirms that the Patriots’ special teams unit will get a fresh start in 2024. What exactly that will look like remains to be seen, but the coordinator will not be the only new face in the building.
Assistant special teams coach Joe Houston already departed; he will take a position at the University of Florida next year. The expectation is that his former superior, previous special teams coordinator Cam Achord, will leave the Patriots as well.
Not only has his job now gone to a different coach, he also is out of contract. Achord had been with the Patriots since 2018, including the last four years in his most recent position.
Assistant head coach Joe Judge, who himself spent a considerable portion of his time with the kicking game in 2023, also is unlikely to return. There was speculation he would follow Bill Belichick to his next head coaching destination, but with the ex-Patriots coach unlikely to land anywhere in the NFL this year Judge’s future is uncertain as well.
Also falling into that category is Troy Brown. Besides coaching wide receivers, he also worked with the kick returners since his arrival on staff in 2020. Brown himself, who currently coaches at the Senior Bowl, seems well-aware of his unclear outlook.
The changes may not end with the coaching staff. Veteran special teamers Matthew Slater and Cody Davis are both candidates for retirement, while Adrian Phillips — who played 70 percent of kicking game snaps last year — is no safe bet to be back either. Other roster moves with a new coordinator in town could also very well happen.
The Patriots get at least one coach with Sean McVay ties
New England has expressed interest in several Rams assistant coaches this offseason, but saw one of them — offensive coordinator target Zac Robinson — take a job with the Atlanta Falcons. One of the others has now indeed joined the Patriots, and he might not remain the only one: Rams tight ends coach Nick Caley, who himself spent multiple years coaching in New England under Bill Belichick, is a candidate for the OC job.
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