The offseason has arrived for the New England Patriots but plenty of work remains. Mike Vrabel will continue building out his coaching staff with the attention soon shifting to upgrading the talent on the actual roster.

For anything not covered on Pats Pulpit throughout the week, let’s take a look in this week’s Sunday edition of Patriots Notes.

Commanders model

It was just a year ago the Washington Commanders were in the same place as the New England Patriots. Four wins. Hiring a new head coach. Getting ready to select their next quarterback atop the draft.

But what transpired over the following months in the offseason set the course for each team’s respective 2024 seasons. The results were quite different.

For New England, it was more of the same. Despite positive flashes from rookie quarterback Drake Maye the Patriots finished with four wins yet again. They went on to fire head coach Jerod Mayo after just one season.

In Washington, life has rarely been better. Quarterback Jayden Daniels is the heavy favorite for Offensive Rookie of the Year while an upset over the NFC’s No. 1 seed now has the Commanders in the NFC Championship Game Sunday afternoon. A far cry from four wins and picking in the top five of the NFL Draft.

After spending last offseason hoping for a Texans-like rebuild, the Patriots path back to success could instead follow the Commanders blueprint this go around. In addition to already having the young quarterback, the next step of their model has already been completed.

Rewinding back to this time last year, Washington seemed like the favorite to name Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson as their next head coach. Plans changed with Johnson ultimately returning to Detroit, forcing the Commanders to pivot where they landed on the experienced, defensive minded Dan Quinn.

New England’s search this past month also included an interview with Johnson, but the favorite was elsewhere all along. That was Mike Vrabel, who like Quinn comes with prior experience as a head coach and a focus that lies on the defensive side of the football.

Both coaches than quickly began working to fill out their staffs — primarily with the all-important offensive coordinator hire. It took Quinn just three days to hire Kliff Kingsbury for the role. Vrabel needed just over a week to add Josh McDaniels to his staff. Both experienced offensive minds who fizzled out as head coaches.

While the similarities on the coaching staff standout, Washington’s true advantage came over the following months. Despite being strapped with cash in free agency they did not make a big splash signing. Instead, Washington signed 16 external free agents with the main focus of adding veteran leadership and familiarity (as 15 of those additions had some sort of direct tie to a coach or front office member).

As the Patriots now get set to enter free agency with over $120 million in projected cap space, the splash signing move is available to them. But with a roster full of holes, stocking up on proven veterans like the Commanders may be the best possible path — especially for a team that lacked leadership last season.

With Vrabel at the helm, familiarity could also be key for external additions as he starts to establish his culture and build the roster to his liking. That likely starts with upgrading the trenches, where the Commanders used two of their biggest paydays and two day two draft selections.

“Making sure that up front we’re sound, we’re strong, whether that’s through free agency or the draft, that’s something that’s critical,” Vrabel said in his introductory press conference.

As the Commanders used free agency to build the bones of the roster, the key work came in the draft. After selecting Daniels second overall Washington had four additional picks in the top 80. Beyond the two additions to the trenches — which included now starting left tackle Brandon Coleman — the Commanders landed cornerback Mike Sainristil, a top snub among the Defensive Rookie of the Year finalists.

“You really build through the draft but you always have to supplement in free agency,” Washington general manager Adam Peters said at the Combine. “But we’ll always remain a draft-and-develop team at our core.”

Draft-and-develop is a familiar phrase in New England as that is Executive Vice President of Player Personnel Eliot Wolf’s belief coming from Green Bay. After landing Maye last year, Wolf and Vrabel will have four picks in the top 80 themselves this year to work with.

If all goes well, the Patriots will hope to find themselves playing meaningful football games like the Commanders this year late in 2025.

Evolving offense

During his time not coaching last season, Josh McDaniels spent time visiting different NFL teams and college programs — including both Ohio State and USC. These different trips came with the ideating of evolving his offense, something McDaniels hinted in his first exclusive interview with patriots.com.

“There’s just an evolution to our game that I think is important that you need to respect,” McDaniels said. “This year has given me an opportunity to really consider all aspects of what this job entails. I’m excited about what we’re going to build here and the evolution of our offensive scheme, our offensive attitude…”

Sitting down with WBZ, Vrabel pointed towards a similar evolution of McDaniels’ offensive scheme.

“It has evolved and there is a lot more to it than that,” Vrabel said. “I know from our conversations that he’s worked hard and studied, visited and met with people, and we’re going to continue to add things that we feel helps our players and give us an advantage to score touchdowns and take care of the football.”

Stretch’s role

Mike Vrabel’s right-hand man John “Stretch” Streicher has officially joined New England’s staff this past week. After a year with the Rams, Streicher will work under the title of Vice President of Football Operations and Strategy where he is expected to hold a key role in in-game management.

“John Streicher broke my heart and went back with Vrabel,” Rams head coach Sean McVay said. “We kind of knew that. What a great job he did with us. He’s going to have an opportunity to have an incredibly significant and cool role with the Patriots. So grateful for the year we had with him.”

Streicher worked under Vrabel in Tennessee from 2018-23 under a handful of titles. During that time, the Titans ranked inside the top-10 in terms of go rate on fourth downs.

Senior Bowl

The first big offseason date for the Patriots comes this week with the Senior Bowl. Who will be in attendance from a remodeled Patriots coaching staff besides and front office will be noteworthy to monitor. Head coach Mike Vrabel is expected to make the trip to Mobile, while offensive coaching assistant Omar Young will work with the running backs.

Senior Bowl practices will take place from Tuesday through Thursday before the all-star game kicks off on Saturday.

Titans plans

Who the Patriots end up taking in the draft will be decided by how the first three picks shake out in front of them. Holding the No. 1 overall pick, the Titans perhaps hinted at their plans during new general manager’s Mike Borgonzi’s introductory press conference this past week.

“We won’t pass on a generational talent with the first pick in the NFL Draft,” Titans president of football operations Chad Brinker said.

Borgonzi went on to add it’s too early to know what direction the Titans, who met with QB Shedeur Sanders this week at the Shrine Bowl, are ultimately headed in. But with question marks at the top of the quarterback class, the search for a generational talent suggests Tennessee could select WR/CB Travis Hunter or Edge Abdul Carter.

Pro Bowl

Brenden Schooler earned the first Pro Bowl nod of his career after a strong 2024 campaign on special teams. The lone Patriots Pro Bowler, however, will not be in attendance next week after dropping out due to an injury. Taking his place will be Steelers’ Miles Killebrew, who was a Pro Bowler and First-Team All-Pro selection last season.

Defensive Mentality

“The basic philosophies will be being physical, playing hard, and doing whatever it takes to win,” said new defensive coordinator Terrell Williams about his defense.

Setting up the week ahead

Spots remain to be filled out by Mike Vrabel on the Patriots coaching staff, which includes important hires along the offensive line and at wide receiver coach. New England will also need to fill out the staff in their secondary with no reported clarity on Mike Pellegrino and/or Brian Belichick’s status.

As mentioned above, a contingent of Patriots’ staffers should also be expected to be down in Mobile this week for the Senior Bowl. It will give New England’s decision makers time to see prospects up close and meet with them in person as the draft process kicks off.