First Draft Pick of Belichick-Era Interviews for Patriots' Offense Coordinator

Oregon assistant coach Adrian Klemm spent five seasons with the Patriots as an offensive tackle from 2000-04.

FOXBORO — The search for the New England Patriots new offensive coordinator is well underway.

Less than one week removed from issuing a press release to announce their intention to begin interviewing prospective candidates, the Pats began the process in earnest on Wednesday by speaking with three candidates regarding their coaching staff vacancy.

One name on the list of potential new hires is current Oregon assistant coach and former Patriots' draft pick Adrian Klemm.

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.

In addition to Klemm, the Patriots interviewed current tight ends coach Nick Caley Wednesday and on Thursday will talk to Minnesota Vikings wide receivers coach Keenan McCardell.

New England has also requested permission to speak with Alabama offensive coordinator Bill O’Brien, who remains the front-runner for the position according to multiple reports.

Interviews are expected to continue throughout the remainder of the week.

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