The New England Patriots have revamped their coaching staff this year, beginning with new head coach Mike Vrabel, who returns to the sideline after serving as a consultant with the Cleveland Browns for a year.
Vrabel has already brought back Josh McDaniels as the team’s offensive coordinator, but another familiar face is unfortunately being released and won’t be a part of the coaching staff next year.
ESPN’s Mike Reiss first reported that special teams ace and 2024 head coaching assistant Matthew Slater is being relieved of his duties and will not be a part of the Patriots organization for the first time since 2008.
Sources: #Patriots have informed former special teams ace and 2024 assistant to the head coach Matthew Slater that he is being relieved of his duties. He is now out of the organization.@MikeReiss first with the report that he wasn’t expected to return. pic.twitter.com/HX4zEWxKWg
— Joseph Pasteris (@JPasteris_NFL) February 3, 2025
From 2008 until 2023, when he retired from the gridiron, Slater won three Super Bowls with the Pats and made ten Pro Bowls and five All-Pro teams. He then immediately joined the coaching staff.
It’s a sad departure for a guy who has become a fixture of the organization and was one of Bill Belichick’s favorites, but it opens the door for Vrabel to continue to build this coaching staff as he sees fit.
Another former Patriots star, Wes Welker, is in the mix to be named the team’s wide receiver coach.
Vrabel’s coaching hires will be intriguing, given that he faced frequent criticism during his tenure as head coach of the Tennessee Titans for his lackluster coordinator selections and his reluctance to part ways with them when they fell short of expectations.
That’s probably one reason Tennessee ultimately decided to part ways with him, so hopefully for Pats fans, this coaching staff is more well-rounded.
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