Bo Hardegree to Leave Patriots to become Raiders Quarterbacks Coach
The Las Vegas Raiders continue to draw talent from the proverbial Foxboro well, as they build their staff for 2022 and beyond.
As new general manager (and former New England Patriots director of player personnel) Dave Ziegler and head coach (former Patriots’ offensive coordinator) Josh McDaniels begin to assemble their crew, they have chosen a former New England colleague to join them in the Nevada desert.
The Raiders are reportedly set to make Patriots assistant coach Bo Hardegree their quarterbacks coach, per multiple reports.
Hardegree began his career as a graduate assistant at Duke in 2008, before accepting an intern role with LSU in 2011. Hardegree entered the NFL coaching ranks with the Denver Broncos in 2014. During his time in Denver, he worked closely with Adam Gase on the Broncos offensive coaching staff. He has also spent time as an assistant on the coaching staffs of the Chicago Bears and New York Jets.
Hardegree spent two seasons (2016-2018) as the Miami Dolphins’ quarterbacks coach. In his first season with the team in 2016, Hardegree helped Ryan Tannehill have the most efficient season of his five-year NFL career. Despite getting injured in Week 14 and missing the remainder of the season, Tannehill still set career highs with a 93.5 quarterback rating, 7.7 yards per attempt and a 67.1 completion percentage. In 2017, Hardegree worked with several different quarterbacks as the team adjusted from Ryan Tannehill’s season-ending injury in training camp. Jay Cutler and Matt Moore both started for the Dolphins and the offense hit its stride in the second half of the season, ranking ninth in the NFL with 249.3 passing yards per game over the final eight weeks.
Hardegree joined New England’s staff prior to the 2021 season as an assistant quarterbacks coach.The 37-year-old reportedly played an integral role alongside McDaniels in the development of Pats’ rookie quarterback Mac Jones. The Alabama product led all rookies with a 67.6 completion percentage and a 92.5 passer rating, while compiling 3,801 yards and 22 touchdowns. He completed at least 70 percent of his attempts in nine games and twice threw for 300-plus yards through the air. Jones was the centerpiece of a rookie class, which was chosen as the best in the NFL this past year by Pro Football Focus (PFF). His PFF grade ranked 12th among quarterbacks. The 23-year-old was also selected to the PFWA's All-Rookie team along with teammate Christian Barmore.
Hardegree’s departure opens yet another vacancy on New England’s offensive coaching staff. In addition to McDaniels’ departure, longtime running backs coach Ivan Fears is expected to retire, leaving the Patriots with three openings on their staff.
Unfortunately for New England, a consensus top choice among several team analysts may not be a potential candidate, after all.
On Wednesday, AL.com’s Mike Rodak reported that Bill O’Brien, who many believed to be the top potential replacement for McDaniels, is said to be operating under the assumption that he will be returning as Alabama’s offensive coordinator in 2022.
As for Hardegree, his new role will likely ensure working closely with McDaniels and Raiders’ quarterback Derek Carr, as they prepare to put their stamp on the 2022 Raiders’ offense.
