Patriots Insiders Float Intriguing Candidate For Offensive Coordinator Job

Mike Vrabel has a lot of connections around the football world, which could lead the Patriots head coach calling back to a former Gillette Stadium employee.

Vrabel noted that he wanted to look at all his options regarding coordinators. That mindset came in response to the Josh McDaniels rumors that were floated even before New England hired the three-time Super Bowl champion.

The Patriots reportedly interviewed Chicago Bears interim head coach Thomas Brown. They reportedly requested an interview with Los Angeles Chargers pass game coordinator Marcus Brady for what appears to be their vacant offensive coordinator position.

Another name they could consider is Charles London. NBC Sports Boston’s Tom Curran and Phil Perry suggested the Seattle Seahawks quarterbacks coach due to his fascinating connection to the team.

“He was the director of stadium operations, which I believe is somebody who, for concerts as well as games, is talking to team security and making sure they’ve got all the checkpoints down, ‘clear bags vs. opaque bags,’ things of that nature,” Perry told host Tom E. Curran on the “Patriots Talk Podcast,” per NBC Sports Boston.

“I can’t pretend to know all the ins and outs of what a director of stadium operations does. But he was doing that here in New England like 20 years ago and said, ‘You know what? I’m gonna get into coaching.’ He went to be a graduate assistant at Duke and has just worked his way up the ranks, and now he’s in Seattle as the quarterbacks coach.”

Part of London’s coaching journey included a stint on Bill O’Brien’s staff at Penn State as his running backs coach. London joined O’Brien when the former Patriots offensive coordinator became Houston Texans head coach. That means he overlapped with Vrabel when he was on O’Brien’s staff. And London was Vrabel’s quarterbacks coach and pass game coordinator with the Tennessee Titans in the 2023 season.

The connections are there, and he might be a name to watch out for as the Boston Sports Journal’s Mike Giardi also floated London as a potential offensive coordinator candidate in his appearance on the WEEI “Afternoon Show” on Friday.

McDaniels is still viewed as the favorite, but the Patriots insiders believe Vrabel wants to have a long list of candidates, and London could be part of that list.