Patriots Pursuing ‘Best of Both Worlds’ in Offensive Coordinator Nick Caley?

The New England Patriots are looking to the future, while prudently embracing the past, by positioning Nick Caley atop their list of offensive coordinator candidates.

As William Shakespeare once wrote, “What is past is prologue.” 

While the hiring of Jerod Mayo as the 15th head coach in franchise history has largely been heralded as a “new era,” the New England Patriots appear content to retain a degree of familiarity among the expected changes to their coaching staff. 

One might even be inclined to say that the Pats are looking for “the best of both worlds.” 

Enter new offensive coordinator … Nick Caley?  

Current Los Angeles Rams, and former New England Patriots TE coach Nick Caley / Cred: SB Nation via Getty Images

Despite interviewing and/or considering nearly a dozen candidates to replace outgoing coordinator Bill O’Brien, Caley, currently the Los Angeles Rams tight ends coach, will become the first candidate to meet with the Patriots in-person on Sunday. 

To say that the Patriots and Caley are familiar with each other may be a slight understatement. He coached at the collegiate level for 10 years before becoming part of Bill Belichick’s coaching staff in 2015. Having been promoted to the role of tight ends coach in 2017, Caley added to his resume in 2020 by becoming the team's fullbacks coach. Throughout his tenure, he worked with top-level talent such as tight ends Rob Gronkowski, Martellus Bennett and Hunter Henry and fullbacks James Develin and Jakob Johnson.

Though he may have spent the past year on the west coast (more in that in a moment,) Caley still holds a great deal of Foxboro in his heart, as well as his practice. During his eight seasons in New England, the 41-year-old earned a solid reputation for his leadership and knowledge among his colleagues, as well as his players — even as a “rookie” tight ends coach. 

Taking over for the departing Brian Daboll — who left for a job with Nick Saban at Alabama — Caley faced the challenge of succeeding a knowledgeable and popular coach on a staff known for its unprecedented prosperity.  

Still, Caley’s ability to engage a superstar in Gronkowski, while maximizing the talent of reserve Dwayne Allen, earned him a new level of respect among his peers, including then-offensive coordinator, and fellow graduate of John Carroll University, Josh McDaniels. 

"He understands the game," McDaniels said of Caley in 2017. "He's passionate about his job. He works extremely hard. He fits in very seamlessly with our group …  personally, as well as his knowledge of the game and our system.”

At the time, New England was employing a Belichickian-stamped version of the Erhardt-Perkins system of offense — featuring an up-tempo, no-huddle style designed to control time of possession by running the ball, while deploying the passing game to score. Caley’s quick adaptation to the Pats’ blocking concepts and methods of scheming his players open clearly impressed McDaniels.  

Perhaps most importantly, it proved that no task was too great for Caley to accomplish. 

"It was a tough transition," Allen told the Akron Beacon Journal of Caley in 2018, "but we all worked through it. The tight ends could see how hard he worked. Coach Caley is a grinder. He has all the information we need to be the best we can be. He's a good guy. We talk about home, family ... not just football."

Accordingly, Caley was notably rumored as a potential candidate to replace McDaniels (who was leaving to become head coach of the Las Vegas Raiders) as New England’s offensive coordinator during the 2022 offseason. Belichick ultimately decided to fill that void with a combination of Matt Patricia and Joe Judge; though Caley was given some opportunities to call plays during training camp and the preseason. 

Following the failed Patricia-Judge experiment, Caley once again interviewed for the Patriots vacancy. Though the team eventually settled on O’Brien, Caley made an impact on the Pats brass present during his interview — including Mayo. In spite of their desire to retain his services, Caley chose to diversify his resume by accepting the Rams’ offer to become their tight ends coach under coordinator Mike LaFleur and head coach Sean McVay for 2023. 

The move marked a departure in style for Caley, whose experience in McVay’s outside zone concepts was limited. However, the Rams’ coach strategically chose Caley’s versatility in both his and LaFleur’s efforts to incorporate more diversified motion concepts into their offense. Not only did the Rams use motion to create favorable angles in the run game, they also used it to create significant advantages for the passing game — a concept with which Caley was quite familiar during his time with New England. 

In addition to his input within McVay’s pseudo-evolution on offense, Caley also was a notable voice in designing run blocking strategies for a gap-scheme running game — a far departure from McVay’s outside zone roots. Not only was Caley gaining valuable experience in crafting a modern-style offense, he was bringing a bit of vintage value to one of the league’s most-successful systems. Unsurprisingly, his knowledge of contemporary styles, combined with his knowledge of the Pats previously successful schemes, has vaulted him to the top of New England’s list of potential new offensive coordinators. 

Patriots Add 2 More Candidates (9 Total) For Offensive Coordinator

If hired, Caley will be granted the unenviable task of repairing one of the most ineffective offenses in the NFL. Despite O’Brien’s efforts to repair a perceivably damaged unit in 2022, New England’s scoring unit regressed even further in 2023. The Patriots finished the season ranked No. 32 in scoring offense, averaging 13.9 points per game, while managing only 27 touchdowns. 

In short, it is an unenviable task which may take the “best of both worlds” to accomplish. 

Fortunately for the Patriots, the proper coach to lead their offensive reconstruction may already have dinner reservations in Foxboro this weekend. 

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