Most of the negative attention surrounding the Patriots 2024 season has been on head coach Jerod Mayo, but not too far behind has been offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt. From the start of the season, his play calling has been in question and has only become more highlighted since rookie quarterback Drake Maye took over in Week 6.
He was initially brought in to work with Jacoby Brissett, as the quarterback saw his most successful season while working with Van Pelt in Cleveland, but that didn't translate well in their move to Foxboro. It didn't look much better once Maye took over, despite the apparent boost in performance from the young player.
Because of that and the offense appearing to have declined as the seasoned progressed, Van Pelt's status as the Patriots play caller has come into doubt, with his job up in the air just as much, if not more, than Mayo's.
However, some players don't want to see him fired this offseason and are speaking out about making another move at the role, as Van Pelt is the fourth OC in four years in New England.
Patriots players continue to vouch for Alex Van Pelt to return to the team next season
Earlier this week, running back Antonio Gibson said Van Pelt was undeserving of the blame for the offense's performance this year. He believes the players should be more on the hook, as they are the ones expected to do what the play call is.
“I know a lot of people have been trying to attack him, but we’re the ones who have gotta go out there and play. They call the call in and we’ve gotta execute. Our execution this whole year has been on and off, never consistent.
So to throw him under the bus would be completely wrong. He has a lot of great things that are drawn up for us. Sometimes it gets shaky, but when it’s his fault he takes responsibility for it, and when it’s our fault we do the same thing. So I’m rocking with him.”
GIbson makes a fair point and there should be more blamed placed on the players, regardless if the vast majority believe the roster isn't talented enough to be much better than they have been. They have a duty to perform at a certain level and avoid making lazy mistakes, and for the most part, they have done anything but that.
But it's not just the lack of proper execution that has been a problem for the offense this year. It has also been the questionable play calling. It has been so head-scratching that even the Krafts were shown on television visibly frustrated with what was happening during the game.
Even with that in mind, it's not stopping more players to speak on behalf of Van Pelt remaining in his current position, as wide receiver Kendrick Bourne shared his thoughts on the matter while speaking to reporters on Thursday.
“It’s tough. It’s something people don’t really think about on the outside. It’s tough. You have to learn new things. You have to learn new terms. You have to learn how this OC wants it. It changes how we go into the offseason. So hopefully AVP sticks around. We don’t know what’s going to happen. Nobody is guaranteed anything, but he’s helped Drake (Maye) a lot. He’s helped me a lot.
Hopefully we can just come in with the same team, same offense. Because it’ll help us, I think, take a step. If we’ve gotta start with something new, it’s gonna be tough regardless. Obviously I’ve experienced it for the last four years and it’s adversity, but hopefully they make a decision and they stick with it.”
Because he has been on the team to see the change of offensive coordinator every year, Bourne makes a lot of sense with his argument to keep Van Pelt for another year. It's never easy to move on from any coach and the offense suffers when they do.
The Patriots will have to consider what would be best for the development of Maye moving forward, as what happened with Mac Jones is not a scenario they need to recreate. It's possible that what the quarterback has to say about Van Pelt might be strongly considered in Kraft's decision, but there might be most better options out there in the offseason.