Patriots reportedly hire Todd Downing as wide receivers coach
FOXBORO -- Mike Vrabel is rounding out his Patriots coaching staff in New England, reportedly adding former Titans and Raiders offensive coordinator Todd Downing as the team's wide receivers coach.
Downing is another coach with a lot of experience -- and experience coaching under Vrabel -- to join the new regime in New England. Greg Bedard of Boston Sports Journal was first to report the Downing hiring on Monday morning.
Who is Todd Downing?
Vrabel worked with Downing during his time as head coach of the Titans, with Downing serving a few different roles on Vrabel's Tennessee staff. He was hired as tight ends coach of the Titans in 2019, and was promoted to offensive coordinator in 2021 when Arthur Smith left to become head coach of the Atlanta Falcons.
Downing was Tennessee's OC for two seasons, but he was fired following the 2022 season after the Titans ranked 30th in total offense. The 44-year-old spent the last two seasons with the New York Jets as the team's passing game coordinator and quarterbacks coach. Downing took over offensive play-calling duties for the Jets last season after New York reconfigured its staff following the firing of head coach Robert Saleh.
Downing got his start as an NFL coach in 2005 when he was hired as an offensive quality control coach for the Minnesota Vikings. He was then a defensive assistant and special teams assistant for the St. Louis Rams in 2006 and 2007, and the team's defensive quality control coach in 2008.
He left St. Louis for a job with the Detroit Lions in 2009, becoming the team's offensive quality control coach. Downing was then promoted to Detroit's QBs coach, a position he held from 2012-13 before he left to take the same role with the Buffalo Bills in 2014.
In Buffalo, Downing worked under new Patriots offensive line coach Doug Marrone, who was head coach of the Bills at the time.
Downing went to Oakland in 2015 and took over as quarterbacks coach of the Raiders, which he held for two years before he was promoted to offensive coordinator in 2017. After one year as the tight ends coach of the Vikings in 2018, Downing joined Vrabel's staff in Tennessee.
Downing has occupied a number of different coaching positions in the NFL, but has never been a wide receivers coach until now. But he's another coach with loads of experience and another coach with experience coaching under Vrabel to be brought to New England this offseason.
Patriots coaching staff
With Downing joining the mix, Vrabel now has four coaches with offensive coordinator experience on his staff in Marrone, Josh McDaniels, and Thomas Brown.
Outside McDaniels as offensive coordinator, Terrell Williams as defensive coordinator, and Jeremy Springer as special teams coordinator, the Patriots have not officially announced any of the hirings to Vrabel's staff. That announcement is expected to come when all vacancies on his staff are filled.