Patriots reportedly contemplating including Wes Welker to teaching workers

The Patriots have already reunited with a pair of acquainted faces with their teaching hires this offseason. They may add one other coach with earlier ties to the crew to assist spherical out the teaching workers.

Wes Welker is among the many candidates the Patriots are contemplating to rent for his or her subsequent large receivers coach, ESPN’s Mike Reiss reported in his Sunday notes column. Welker most lately served because the large receivers coach for the Dolphins, holding that function for the final three seasons earlier than getting fired in January.

In fact, Welker got here to prominence as a participant throughout his six seasons (2007-12) in New England. He helped the Patriots attain two Tremendous Bowls, taking part in an enormous function of their undefeated common season in 2007 when he had a league-high 112 receptions. He recorded no less than 100 receptions in 4 of the next 5 seasons, main the league in receptions two extra instances and incomes 5 Professional Bowl nods throughout his time with the Patriots.

After spending a few seasons with the Broncos and a yr with the Rams to shut out his taking part in profession, Welker grew to become an offensive assistant for the Texans in 2017. Whereas he joined Invoice O’Brien’s workers in Houston, he additionally labored alongside new Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel, who was the Texans’ defensive coordinator that season.

Welker spent one other yr in Houston earlier than turning into the 49ers’ large receiver coach in 2019 and adopted Mike McDaniel to Miami for a similar function when he grew to become the pinnacle coach of the Dolphins in 2022. In his six seasons as a large receiver coach, Welker has labored with a handful of notable receivers, together with Deebo Samuel, Brandon Aiyuk, Tyreek Hill, and Jaylen Waddle.

As Hill and Waddle grew to become one of many league’s high receiver duos over the 2022 and 2023 seasons below Welker, Hill endorsed his place coach to get a promotion through the 2024 offseason.

“Underrated coach,” Hill wrote of Welker in a social media submit.

Nevertheless, Hill had his worst season since his rookie yr and Miami’s receiving sport suffered with Tua Tagovailoa lacking a number of video games in 2024, rating twenty first in yards per move try.

“I additionally wish to thank Wes for his funding right here,” McDaniel instructed reporters of his choice to let Welker go in January. “This was not a call I got here to calmly, however as I’ve evaluated the season and areas the place we should enhance, I consider that change is required and am motivated to do what’s finest for the crew as we transfer ahead.”

Nonetheless, Welker was in style among the many gamers he coached in Miami.

“It’s a unique method as a result of he truly performed and he had success on this league,” Waddle instructed reporters of Welker forward of his breakout season in 2022. “You actually consider what he’s telling you as a result of he did it earlier than. It simply makes it hit house somewhat higher.

“I believe he’s simply himself. Out right here and in conferences, he’s himself. He’s not going to sugarcoat nothing. He’s going to let you know if that was a foul play, that’s a foul play. That’s all you’ll be able to ask for from a coach, actually, is to offer his true opinion.”

If he’s employed by the Patriots, Welker will likely be tasked with making an attempt to raise younger gamers like he did with the Waddle. DeMario Douglas has proven indicators of being a stable slot receiver within the NFL whereas second-round decide Ja’Lynn Polk and fourth-round decide Javon Baker struggled as rookies in 2024.

Past Vrabel, Welker additionally has a reference to offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels. He performed below him for 3 seasons in New England throughout McDaniels’s first and second stints because the Patriots’ offensive coordinator.

The Patriots have stuffed out a lot of the positional teams below McDaniels since they re-hired him as offensive coordinator in January. Reiss famous that Panthers large receivers coach Rob Moore (who coached below Vrabel for six seasons with the Titans) and Browns large receivers coach Chad O’Shea (who has labored below McDaniels in New England) as doable candidates resulting from their reference to the teaching workers. Nevertheless, they might must be granted permission by their groups to interview with the Patriots as a result of they might be leaving for lateral jobs.

Tyler Hughes, who was the Patriots’ large receivers coach below Jerod Mayo in 2024, was let go shortly after Vrabel was employed as head coach.