Patriots hire Van Pelt as OC

The New England Patriots hired Alex Van Pelt as their offensive coordinator, the team announced Thursday.

Van Pelt, 53, spent the past four seasons as the Cleveland Browns' offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach. The Browns dismissed him Jan. 17 following their wild-card round loss to the Houston Texans.

The Patriots add an offensive mind who boasts plenty of experience from stints with the Buffalo Bills, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Green Bay Packers, and Cincinnati Bengals.

Van Pelt impressed the Patriots' top brass during his interview at Gillette Stadium on Thursday, according to MassLive's Mark Daniels. He beat out several other candidates for the role, including Nick Caley and Luke Getsy, who were also reportedly brought in for in-person interviews.

The Pittsburgh native also reportedly interviewed for the Buccaneers' OC vacancy, according to Fox Sports' Greg Auman.

New England also named DeMarcus Covington as its new defensive coordinator and Jeremy Springer as the special teams coordinator Thursday.

Patriots head coach Jerod Mayo is embarking on his first season at the helm following the departure of Bill Belichick in January.

New England owns the No. 3 selection in the 2024 NFL Draft. The team could be in the market for a new quarterback after experiencing uneven play over the past two seasons from Mac Jones and Bailey Zappe.

The Patriots finished 30th in total offense last season, averaging 276.2 yards per contest and tying for last in the league in scoring average with 13 points per game.