New England Patriots Receivers Coach Leaving For College Job
The New England Patriots' coaching staff looks a little different now as one coaches headed back to the college ranks.
Wide receivers coach Ross Douglas is leaving the team to accept the same position with the Syracuse Orange, ESPN's Pete Thamel reported on Saturday. Thamel adds that Douglas will have "a significant role in the offense" for the ACC school and new head coach Fran Brown.
Douglas, 29, first joined the Patriots as a defensive quality control coach in 2021. He then moved to assistant wide receivers coach the next year and finally a co-wide receivers coach alongside Troy Brown, who is also coaching returners, this season.
Tyquan Thornton has been one of many disappointing receivers for the Patriots.
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Douglas began his collegiate playing career with the Michigan Wolverines in 2013 before transferring to join the Rutgers Scarlet Knights three years later. Instead of entering the NFL, he opted to begin his coaching career as a grad assistant at Rutgers in 2018, and worked alongside Fran Brown, who was the defensive backs coach in 2020. He then accepted a job as the Richmond Spiders' cornerbacks coach, but didn't coach a game there before heading to New England.
Fran Brown, who previously worked as a defensive backs coach with the Georgia Bulldogs, is assembling a staff of NFL coaches and elite recruiters. In addition to Douglas in the former group, the Orange are also expected to hire New York Giants running back coach Jeff Nixon as their new offensive coordinator. Syracuse is also bringing in Elijah Robinson, who helped the Texas A&M Aggies land the nation's best recruiting class in 2022, and Nick Williams, who was one of the Colorado Buffaloes' top recruiters alongside Deion Sanders, as defensive line coach.
Presumably, Troy Brown will take over as the Patriots' sole wide receiver coach for the remainder of the season.
