Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel is reportedly bringing on his former offensive coordinator to coach wide receivers.
The Patriots are hiring Todd Downing as wide receivers coach, the Boston Sports Journal first reported. Downing was Vrabel’s offensive coordinator with the Titans in 2021 and 2022, previously serving as Tennessee’s tight ends coach in 2019 and 2020.
The Patriots are not retaining special assistant to the head coach Matthew Slater, a source confirmed. ESPN’s Mike Reiss was first to report the news.
Slater retired after the 2023 season following an illustrious 16-year NFL career that saw him win three Super Bowls and make 10 Pro Bowls and five All-Pro teams. Slater joined Jerod Mayo’s staff in 2024. Mayo was fired as head coach after the 2024 season.
Downing spent the last two seasons with the Jets as passing game coordinator in 2023 and quarterbacks coach/passing game coordinator in 2024.
The veteran offensive assistant began his coaching career as an assistant freshman coach at his high school, Eden Prarie, in 1999. After spending four seasons with the Vikings in non-coaching roles, he became an offensive quality control coach in 2005. He served in coaching roles with the Rams, Lions and Raiders before taking his first offensive coordinator role with the Raiders in 2017. He returned to the Vikings as a tight ends coach in 2018 before joining up with Vrabel with the Titans.
Downing has spent three seasons as an offensive coordinator and two seasons as a passing game coordinator, but he has never been a wide receivers coach. He has coached quarterbacks in six seasons and tight ends for three seasons.
He adds more valuable experience to Vrabel’s staff as the fourth former offensive coordinator, joining OC Josh McDaniels, Doug Marrone, who’s expected to coach offensive line, and Thomas Brown, who’s expected to coach tight ends.
The Patriots’ wide receiver room is young and in need of development. Kendrick Bourne is the only veteran pass-catcher in the group. He’s joined by 2023 sixth-round picks DeMario Douglas and Kayshon Boutte, 2024 second-round pick Ja’Lynn Polk and 2024 fourth-round pick Javon Baker.
Douglas led wide receivers with 66 catches for 621 yards and three touchdowns last season. Boutte finished second with 43 catches for 589 yards with three touchdowns. Polk, who had 12 catches for 87 yards and two touchdowns, and Baker, who caught just one pass for 12 yards, could provide a higher ceiling than Douglas or Boutte.
The Patriots need to continue adding to their wide receiver group, despite their youth at the position. Bengals wide receiver Tee Higgins is the top impending free agent. The Patriots also could add wide receiver help through the draft, where Colorado’s Travis Hunter, Arizona’s Tet McMillan, Missouri’s Luther Burden, Ohio State’s Emeka Egbuka and Texas’ Matthew Golden, are the top players at the position.
Downing was fired by the Titans after the 2022 season when his offense finished 26th in points and 29th in yards. He was also arrested on a DUI charge during the 2022 season. The Titans finished 11th in points and 15th in yards in 2021, Downing’s first year as OC. The Raiders were 25th in points and 23rd in yards during Downing’s one-year stint as OC.