With Jerod Mayo's firing after Sunday's win over the Bills, the assumption is that his successor will bring in an entirely new staff, which includes the fifth offensive coordinator in five years. Although Alex Van Pelt is still technically on the Patriots payroll, as reports have not revealed him to be let go (yet), a few names have come into play that fans would like to see take over as the playcaller.
Most are just dream candidates since we don't know who the head coach will be and who they'll want to bring in. Regardless, one of the primary targets has been Giants head coach Brain Daboll, as he was the offensive coordinator in Buffalo for the rise of Josh Allen.
With Drake Maye often being compared to the elite AFC East quarterback and seeing just how good Daboll was in helping the quarterback during the early years of his career, Patriots fans salivated at the idea of seeing that happen with their new franchise player.
It seemed like a match made in heaven, just waiting to be announced, but the Giants decided to retain Daboll as their head coach for the 2025 season.
The #Giants are keeping GM Joe Schoen and HC Brian Daboll. No changes. pic.twitter.com/I5b11EoDkd
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) January 6, 2025
Brian Daboll being off the table is not a great start for the Patriots offensive coordinator search
There was a lot of speculation surrounding what the Giants would decide about Daboll's future as their head coach. It's been a bumpy ride since he arrived in New York, and because of how things transpired this year with quarterback Daniel Jones, which led to his release and landing the third overall pick, it seemed like it was only a matter of time before Daboll was fired.
That made him one of the top candidates to go to the Patriots, a team he has a long history with and could really help mold Maye into a top of the league quarterback.
Knowing the Patriots won't have that chance to bring him back to Foxboro is certainly disappointing, especially considering Maye's future on the team.
But the potential reunion with Daboll might not be the last we hear about a former coach returning to New England, as the rumors surrounding Josh McDaniels have heated up in recent weeks, especially if he does not follow Bill Belichick to the University of North Carolina. There has been an alleged interest from Vrabel to bring in his former OC to join his staff if he's hired,
Considering Kraft's preference for hiring former players and coaches, it doesn't seem out of the question that McDaniels could be making his return to where he saw the most success.