Patriots Almost Hired Former Champion WR

The New England Patriots brought in several fresh names to their coaching staff on both sides of the ball for the 2025 season.

Of course, the new addition of head coach Mike Vrabel leads the pack as the biggest headline of the bunch, but it seems another former Patriot was in the mix to join New England's staff for next season.

According to insiders at MassLive, the Patriots interviewed Wes Welker for their wide receivers coach vacancy before ultimately hiring Todd Downing for the role.

"With Wes Welker parting ways with the Dolphins, conventional wisdom suggested he’d be a candidate for New England’s wide receivers coach opening. The Patriots did interview their former All-Pro," MassLive wrote. "Ultimately, they hired former Titans offensive coordinator Todd Downing, whose play-calling experience was valued by both Mike Vrabel and Josh McDaniels."

Welker was a longtime receiver with the Patriots from 2007 to 2012, logging multiple All-Pro and Pro Bowl selections through his tenure, and was also the Miami Dolphins wide receivers coach from 2022 to 2024.

Since he parted ways with the Dolphins, Welker fit in perfectly as a potential addition to the Patriots staff. He was a teammate of Vrabel's during his Patriot days, was one of the best at his position during his time in New England, and has experience working in the wide receiver room as a renowned assistant.

Instead, the Patriots went in a different direction with Downing –– passing up on another player-turned-coach reunion on the staff. Downing comes over with extensive experience on the offensive side of the ball, being the Tennessee Titans' offensive coordinator from 2021 to 2022, and was most recently the New York Jets' pass game coordinator.

Bringing on the former Patriots pass catcher in Welker is undoubtedly a fun idea to entertain, but one Vrabel and Co. decided to pass on in the end.

Regardless, New England has effectively put together an appealing and tested staff for the season ahead, hopefully resulting in some steps forward on both sides of the ball from a brutal previous 2024 campaign.

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