Marqise Lee tips off new coaches for New England Patriots

According to Marqise Lee, the New England Patriots have already addressed their once-vacant quarterback and receiver position coaches for the 2020 season.

According to Marqise Lee, the New England Patriots have already addressed their once-vacant quarterback and receiver position coaches heading into the 2020 season.

Partly due to Lee, it has been reported that the Patriots gave their assistant quarterback coach, Mick Lombardi, a promotion that results in him having been named the wide receivers coach this season.

Lombardi — whose father is a veteran NFL executive that worked with Bill Belichick for the Browns and the Patriots — began his professional coaching career as a scouting assistant with the Patriots from 2011-2012 before becoming an essential coaching assistant with the 49ers from 2013-2016.

Then, the 31-year-old offensive-minded coaching assistant found himself becoming the New York Jets’ assistant quarterbacks coach/offensive assistant for one year before returning to New England in 2020.

It’s worth mentioning that this makes Lombardi the third consecutive wide receivers coach for the New England Patriots in as many as three years.

It’s also a great positional move for Lombardi, who was working firsthand with then-rookie quarterback Jarrett Stidham last season. Lombardi has a great understanding of how Stidham works and what the receivers can do to be successful with him.

Lombardi will be succeeding Joe Judge, who took a head coaching position with the New York Giants.

The person who will be succeeding Lombardi as the quarterbacks coach is veteran offensive coach Jedd Fisch — who joins New England having plenty of experience throughout his career as an offensive type of coach in the NFL and in the NCAA.

Fisch has held football coaching duties for the Houston Texans (2002-2003), Baltimore Ravens (2004-2007), Denver Broncos (2008), Seattle Seahawks (2010), Jacksonville Jaguars (2013-2014), and Los Angeles Rams (2018-2019).

Fisch was the offensive coordinator for the Jaguars when they selected Lee in the second round of the 2014 NFL Draft. Per NESN’s Doug Kyed, Lee expressed how the transition to New England has been a lot easier for him now that he knows he’ll be working with a familiar face in Fisch:

"“Coach Jedd was a great, great coach at Jacksonville for me as far as when I first got there, just teaching me the things I needed to be as far as a player. Even when he left, just staying in communication, just making sure I stayed on top of things for the next couple of years. It was a little helpful for me to actually know he was on the team. It gave me a little relief going to a team and not really not knowing everybody. I still have the opportunity to know somebody.”"

Although it’s fair to say that Lee will have to take a crash course on how to speak to the media as a member of New England, it’s great to know what the Patriots have done to replace some of the coaches they lost during the offseason.