With a new defensive coordinator in place and a promotion for assistant coach Vinny DePalma as a linebackers coach, Mike Vrabel's staff continues to grow.
The New England Patriots have been busy over the last few weeks, moving their coaching staff around to gear up for the 2026 season. Just last week, Zak Kuhr, who was primarily the Patriots' defensive play caller all season and also the linebackers coach, was officially promoted to the team's defensive coordinator.
Kuhr had filled in as an interim DC while Terrell Williams was dealing with a cancer scare this season. Williams has been moved to a high-ranking senior position on Mike Vrabel's staff.
Now, the Patriots have doubled down on building their in-house coaching pipeline.
Over the weekend, word got out that the team brought BJ Edmonds in for a soon-to-be-determined role. Edmonds was with the Patriots during the preseason as an intern on Vrabel's staff. He then left to be a running backs coach at Southern Miss for the 2025 season.
Edmonds must have clearly made an impression on Vrabel during the last preseason, so much so that he called him back up to have a more pivotal role on the team this coming season. The former Southern Miss assistant coach has had plenty of reps at the collegiate level, having also coached at Duke and Utah State before Southern Miss.
There is an assumption that Edmonds will be coaching on the defensive side of the ball for Vrabel this season. As a player, Edmonds made an impact on the field at Arkansas State as a defensive back. While there, he had 265 tackles and eight interceptions in four years of playing.
Edmonds also had an impact during his time behind the scenes at Duke. The Blue Devils' defensive back core strengthened while he was a part of their staff as a defensive analyst.
Edmonds helped the program hold second in the ACC in passing yards allowed per game (213.5) and third in yards per play (5.01). While in the building at Duke, he worked with cornerback Chandler Rivers, who went on to earn First- and Second-Team All-ACC for the 2024 and 2025 seasons.
The Patriots may be on to something with Edmonds, and it's clear the team cares about developing young coaches as it thinks about the future of this franchise.
Again, Edmonds is in a "soon-to-be-determined" role. Still, with Vinny DePalma recently promoted to LBs coach on the team, there may be an opening for Edmonds to fill come OTAs and preseason training.
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