The New England Patriots tried to draft their quarterback of the future in 2021, when they selected Alabama’s Mac Jones with the No. 21 overall pick.
Just 3 years later, the Patriots needed to cut bait and traded Jones to the Jacksonville Jaguars for peanuts and drafted another quarterback.
This time, it seems like they nailed it — they selected North Carolina’s Drake Maye at No. 3 overall in the 2024 NFL draft and it seems like they might have the next Josh Allen on their hands.
Unfortunately for the Patriots, they don’t have someone anywhere near capable of handling a young quarterback like Maye in first-year head coach Jerod Mayo, who has seemed overmatched and out of his depth almost the entire season as the Patriots have stumbled to a 3-11 record and are in the running for the No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 NFL draft.
Moving forward, there’s a world in which the Patriots, rightfully, cut bait on Mayo after just 1 season and bring in a new head coach more suited to handle tapping into Maye’s ceiling — which is very, very high.
One candidate who would be perfectly suited for the job is Tampa Bay Buccaneers offensive coordinator Liam Coen, who has seemed like a genius at times in 2024 guiding the Bucs’ offense with quarterback Baker Mayfield — a player with a similar skill set to Maye, albeit just 4 inches shorter and 10 to 20 pounds lighter.
Patriots’ Coaching Decisions Defy Logic
One of the main criticisms of Mayo and his coaching staff this season has been how they’ve used Maye — including the decision to go with Jacoby Brissett as the starting quarterback for the first 5 games as the Patriots went 1-4 before turning to Maye.
Since then, it’s been a mix of confusion and frustration as Patriots games seem to follow a distinct pattern with Maye that includes holding him back to start the game then letting him loose once they get behind — usually when the game is already out of reach for a team like the Patriots.
“(Maye) is unbelievable,” The Ringer’s Bill Simmons said on “The Bill Simmons Podcast” on December 15. “For three quarters, they just hand off and have him throw bubble screens and do nothing that he’s really great at. And then they’ll fall behind by 20. And then all of a sudden it’s like, hey, you should let him throw downfield, wing it downfield. And then he (throws) a perfect, 40-yard pass … I don’t understand why they don’t play with tempo. It’s super frustrating.”
Coen Already Rumored as Head Coaching Candidate
If Coen does land a head coaching position, it would be the second consecutive year the Buccaneers’ offensive coordinator landed a head coaching job after Dave Canales was hired as head coach of the Carolina Panthers following the 2023 season.
Coen’s name has already been thrown around as the possible head coach of the Las Vegas Raiders — another team that could have a one-and-done head coach with Antonio Pierce.
The common factor between Canales and Coen has been the brilliant play of Tampa Bay quarterback Baker Mayfield over the last 2 seasons — Mayfield made his first career Pro Bowl in 2023 and seems in line to make another Pro Bowl in 2024 as he’s currently fourth in the NFL in passing through 14 games and has the Buccaneers in line to win a fourth consecutive NFC South title.
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