The Patriots’ special teams have ranked among the NFL’s worst each of the past two seasons.

Jerod Mayo is wasting little time trying to fix that.

The Patriots are expected to interview Rams assistant special teams coach Jeremy Springer for their special teams coordinator job, per the NFL Network. Springer is a second-year NFL assistant who previously spent eight years at the college level. He is the second coach Mayo has requested to interview for the position after Falcons special teams coordinator Marquice Williams.

Under Springer and coordinator Chase Blackburn, the Rams’ special teams ranked dead last by the opponent-and-situation-adjusted metric DVOA last season. They struggled to create return yardage and make field goals. However, former Rams kicker Matt Gay made a career-high 93.3% of his kicks during Springer’s first season with the team in 2022.

Last year, rookie Patriots kicker Chad Ryland hit 64% of his field goals under special teams coordinator Cam Achord, assistant Joe Houston and assistant head coach Joe Judge, who worked mostly with the special teams. Mayo’s series of interviews likely indicates at least one of them will not return next year.

Before the NFL, Springer worked as a graduate assistant at UTEP (2011-13), special teams assistant at Texas A&M (2015-17), special teams coordinator for Arizona (2018-20) and an assistant at Marshall (2021). He also played linebacker at UTEP, where he was a special teams standout.