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Consistency is the key to success. And if any team in the NFL knows that, it’s the New England Patriots. It’s no coincidence that the duo of Bill Belichick and Tom Brady won six Super Bowls.
On Friday afternoon, NFL insider Adam Schefter reported that quarterbacks coach Ashton Grant will remain a part of the Patriots’ staff.
Grant had been slated to interview with the Las Vegas Raiders for their vacant offensive coordinator job, but in the end he chose to stay put with his actual team and keep working with quarterback Drake Maye. It will be the first time Maye experiences coaching staff continuity for two seasons in a row.
And if any quarterback from the 2024 NFL Draft is destined for a big future, it’s Drake Maye.
Consistency for Drake Maye
Drake Maye was always quick to praise Ashton Grant whenever the opportunity presented itself. In particular, he credited Grant for helping him transition from West Coast verbiage to McDaniels’s system.
A positive for the #Patriots to keep same OC/QB coach for 2026. https://t.co/UpqJUhtjsU
— Evan Lazar (@ezlazar) February 13, 2026
The signal-caller is finishing his second pro season and has already battled for the coveted Lombardi Trophy.
Few quarterbacks ever experience a Lombardi Trophy opportunity in their careers, making Maye’s achievement exceptionally rare.
In 2025, Maye showed he’s the perfect fit for New England with arm strength and pocket awareness. He finished the regular season with 4,394 passing yards, 31 touchdowns, and just 8 interceptions.
After the Patriots’ Super Bowl loss to the Seattle Seahawks, Maye made it clear he wants another shot at the big stage and to fight for the title again.
“Just glad to have this uniform on and look forward to getting back and playing another one,” he told the reporters.
Together with Grant, Maye’s dream could become reality sooner rather than later. A second season with the same quarterbacks coach gives Maye career-first consistency in the coaching staff. Offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels will also stay by the 23-year-old’s side.
Maye has had different offensive coordinators every year since his redshirt freshman season at UNC. In 2022 he played under Phil Longo, in 2023 under Chip Lindsey. In his first season with the Patriots, he started under offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt, before Josh McDaniels came back to New England and took over in 2025.
Learning From Prior Mistakes
Lessons from Jones’ era show why keeping Grant and McDaniels matters for Maye. Looking back, Jones played his best season under Josh McDaniels in 2021. He threw for 3,801 yards, 22 touchdowns, and 13 interceptions, playing at a high level. McDaniels served as both quarterbacks coach and offensive coordinator that year.
McDaniels left for the Las Vegas Raiders head coach job in 2022 and Joe Judge took over as the quarterbacks coach. Jones couldn’t replicate his previous success, throwing for 2,997 yards, 14 touchdowns, and 11 interceptions.
Inconsistent coaching in New England stunted his development.
It looks like the Patriots aren’t making the same mistake twice. They’re building a strong coaching staff around Maye, and keeping Grant is a key part of that. Grant was initially hired as New England’s quarterbacks coach by head coach Mike Vrabel on Feb. 1, 2025.
New England is in a unique position to develop their franchise quarterback—not just coaching him, but keeping consistency around him.
With Grant and McDaniels both in place, the Patriots are laying the foundation for something special. Drake Maye now has the tools, the coaching, and the stability to reach his full potential. “Ashton has been awesome,” Maye told reporters earlier this week.
He added, “Just kind of relaying the connections between the past offense that he was in last year with the Browns that we had last year and just translating it, now using our own terminology and kind of building the foundation for this offense. There’s so much more we can take with this offense and give me more tools and more answers at the line of scrimmage.”
For New England, the goal is clear: develop their franchise quarterback, contend for championships, and avoid the missteps of the past. The 2026 season won’t just test Maye’s talent—it will show whether the Patriots’ new era of consistency can turn promise into glory.
Fabienne Lampe Fabienne Lampe is a German sports journalist, covering the NFL, College Football, NBA, and Formula 1 for Heavy Sports. Lampe has years of experience covering the NFL, especially the Atlanta Falcons as their sole German reporter. She has interviewed some of the biggest names in the NFL, including Atlanta Falcons running back Bijan Robinson. Lampe also hosts a Formula 1 podcast and works as a play-by-play announcer. More about Fabienne Lampe
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