Brian Hoyer reveals who will help Josh McDaniels coach the Patriots’ quarterbacks this year

The New England Patriots’ quarterback room has experienced some major changes over the course of the last year, but one move that flew under the radar was the departure of position coach Jedd Fisch. An offseason arrival in 2020, Fisch departed again after getting offered the head coaching position at the University of Arizona.

The Patriots have not yet announced who will replace him, but it looks like Brian Hoyer just revealed his successor anyway: Bo Hardegree. Speaking with reporters on a media conference call on Monday, Hoyer spoke about the composition of the room and mentioned Hardegree’s role within it.

“Every year since I’ve been back since 2017 — the first years we had Jerry Schuplinski, and then that shifted over to Mick [Lombardi], who we had in the room. And then obviously Jedd last year. And this year we have Bo Hardegree, who is in there, who’s helping out and doing a lot of stuff. Obviously, Josh has always been the guy who’s commanded that room and led that room,” Hoyer said.

Hardegree joined the Patriots in February after having spent time coaching at both the college and the NFL levels.

He held the title of offensive quality control coach for the Denver Broncos and was an offensive assistant for the Chicago Bears under offensive coordinator Adam Gase; he later served as the Miami Dolphins’ quarterbacks coach for three seasons with Gase as head coach. In 2019, Hardegree followed Gase to the New York Jets as an offensive assistant.

Now, he will be following in the footsteps of Schuplinski, Lombardi and Fisch. While Hardegree’s title is not yet official, it seems obvious that he will assist offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels when it comes to getting the quarterbacks ready.

New England has four of them under contract at the moment — Hoyer, Cam Newton, Mac Jones, Jarrett Stidham — and they will be working closely with both Hardegree and McDaniels this spring and into the season.

“Every year is different, every coach is a little bit different,” the veteran said. “Obviously, each year, my knowledge of this offense gets a little bit better and more. I would say it’s a collaboration, with Josh leading the room, of all the guys in there. We all have different experiences, we all see things a little bit differently. To bring another fresh face in there with Bo and his experiences it’s been good to have him in there as well.”