Could a former Patriots stadium employee emerge as OC candidate? originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston
Josh McDaniels has been a popular name in discussions about the Patriots’ offensive coordinator job, in part due to his extensive coaching history in New England.
But is there another name to consider who has a bit of a different history with the franchise?
On the latest Patriots Talk Podcast, our Phil Perry listed both McDaniels and Minnesota Vikings quarterbacks coach Josh McCown — who coached Patriots quarterback Drake Maye in high school — as possible candidates for OC under new head coach Mike Vrabel.
Perry then brought up a third name: Seattle Seahawks quarterbacks coach Charles London, who served as the director of stadium operations at the Patriots’ Gillette Stadium before pivoting to a coaching career in the early 2000s.
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“He was the director of stadium operations, which I believe is somebody who, for concerts as well as games, is talking to team security and making sure they’ve got all the checkpoints down, ‘clear bags vs. opaque bags,’ things of that nature,” Perry told host Tom E. Curran on the podcast.
“I can’t pretend to know all the ins and outs of what a director of stadium operations does. But he was doing that here in New England like 20 years ago and said, ‘You know what? I’m gonna get into coaching.’ He went to be a graduate assistant at Duke and has just worked his way up the ranks, and now he’s in Seattle as the quarterbacks coach.”
London has had an interesting career path; a former running back at Duke from 1994-96, London also held jobs as the Cleveland Browns’ Stadium Assistant Manager and as an Events Manager for Disney’s Wide World of Sports before his work at Gillette Stadium.
London pivoted to coaching in 2004, returning to his alma mater as a graduate assistant at Duke for three seasons. He landed his first NFL gig in 2007 with the Chicago Bears as their offensive quality control coach and has held several NFL assistant coach jobs since then — including two stints working alongside Vrabel.
The 49-year-old was the Houston Texans’ running backs coach from 2014 to 2017 while Vrabel was linebackers coach and defensive coordinator, then served as the Tennessee Titans’ quarterbacks coach/pass game coordinator in 2023 with Vrabel as head coach.
Both Perry and Curran have reported that McDaniels is viewed as the favorite to be the next Patriots offensive coordinator. But if Vrabel wants to bring in a new face, London’s familiarity with his former boss in Tennessee could make him a name to watch as the interview process plays out.
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