Patriots Hire Adrian Klemm; Role in Bill O'Brien's Offense?

New Patriots offensive assistant Adrian Klemm spent five seasons with New England as an offensive tackle from 2000-04.

FOXBORO -- The New England Patriots are welcoming back another familiar face to help restore order to their fledgling offense. 

Per a Monday morning report from ESPN, University of Oregon assistant coach Adrian Klemm has agreed to join the Patriots offensive coaching staff. While it has yet to be confirmed by the team, a Patriots Country source has indicated that Klemm's primary coaching duties will include the offensive line. 

The role was held by Matt Patricia, with Billy Yates serving as assistant offensive line coach in 2022. 

Klemm becomes the third new coach added to the Pats offensive staff this offseason, joining new offensive coordinator Bill O'Brien, and offensive assistant Will Lawing. Former tight ends coach Nick Caley has been their sole departure to date, making a lateral move to join the Los Angeles Rams.  

He had conducted a virtual interview with the team in late January for their then-vacant coordinator position. However, the Patriots opted for hiring O’Brien. 

Still, the Pats were quite impressed with Klemm, particularly with the prowess he showed in coordinating Oregon’s run blocking schemes during his time on the Ducks staff — apparently to the point of interviewing him for a second time for their offensive line coaching position last week. 

The 45-year-old is quite familiar with the Patriots organization. Having played his college football at the University of Hawaii, Klemm was selected by the team in the second round (46th overall) of the 2000 NFL Draft. As such, he will forever hold the distinction of becoming the organization’s first draft pick under head coach Bill Belichick.

Klemm spent five years with the Patriots from 2000-2004, appearing in 26 contests with 10 starts. Though he was a member of three Super Bowl championship teams (XXXVI, XXXVIII, XXXIX) during his time in New England, his tenure was largely devoid of any standout individual performances. He played his final NFL season for the Green Bay Packers in 2005, appearing in 16 games and making eight starts.

In 2008, Klemm transitioned from the gridiron to the coaching sidelines. He spent three years at SMU, first as a graduate assistant, before taking on the duties as offensive line coach from 2009-11. He joined the coaching staff at UCLA in 2012, spending five seasons with the Bruins as run game coordinator and offensive line coach.

Following a two-year hiatus, Klemm returned to coaching in 2019. He joined the Pittsburgh Steelers, first as assistant offensive line coach (from 2019-20) before taking over the lead duties in 2021. However, he left the team with two games remaining on the 2021 regular-season schedule to accept an offer from the University of Oregon, to become their associate head coach, run-game coordinator and offensive line coach.

Adding Klemm back into the Foxboro fold, will likely come at a cost. He was reportedly earning approximately $1 million annually at the University of Oregon. 

Still, he appears to be the right man in the Pats' estimation to rebuild their struggling offensive line. One of the most prominent reasons for their cumulative struggles on offense, was inconsistent play throughout the unit. As a result, the team is expected to actively seek improvement both in free agency, as well as the draft. 

New England has starting left tackle Trent Brown, left guard Cole Strange, center David Andrews, and right guard Michael Onwenu under contract for 2023. 

Right tackle Isaish Wynn headlines the Pats' collection of free agent o-linemen, along with reserves Conor McDermott, James Ferentz and Yodny Cajuste, as a restricted free agent. 

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Follow Mike D’Abate on Twitter @mdabateNFL and Listen/Subscribe to his daily podcast: Locked On Patriots

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