What Matthew Slater and Ben McAdoo’s duties will be with the Patriots

While McAdoo’s title may not be the most prestigious, he is the only member of Mayo’s staff to have previously served as a head coach. He was head coach of the Giants for two seasons (2016-17) and has three seasons of experience as an NFL offensive coordinator under his belt, bringing some seniority to a relatively younger coaching staff.

As for Slater, Mayo noted that he was “happy” to have his former teammate on the team, sharing that he will be an advisor who will help him in several areas.

“He’s my advisor on all things football and, honestly, things off the field,” Mayo said. “He’s a very intelligent person and I would say we see most things the same way. And at the same time, I know he’s a guy who will be honest with me. Once you put on the head coaching hat, it’s hard to find people who are honest with you.

Slater has been present with the team throughout off-season training, with players commenting on how nice it has been to retain his presence at Foxborough while he has also been seen on the training ground.

Mayo added that player development will be part of Slater’s duties. Of course, the development of Drake Maye will be most vital for Mayo as he begins his tenure as Patriots head coach. New England selected Maye with the third overall pick in last month’s draft in hopes he will be its quarterback of the future.

Although Maye is a very promising quarterback, they were able to select him after their previous first-round quarterback’s regression, in part due to an unusual offensive coaching setup.

Mayo said the way the Patriots handle things with their quarterbacks will be similar to the rest of the league, with offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt serving as the main voice in Maye’s ear.

“That’s a great question,” Mayo said when asked which coach would primarily work with Maye. “You know, throughout the league, most offensive coordinators interact with the quarterback, the starting quarterback for the most part. We have a group of coaches that have quarterback experience, but I would say overall it would be AVP (Alex Van Pelt) as far as that leader.

Mayo added that he didn’t want “Drake to hear too many voices,” naming Van Pelt as the coach who will lead his development.

“You hear all these voices, but you have to have a small circle that you really talk to and trust. I think AVP is part of that circle,” Mayo said. “I know AVP is in that circle with Drake and the rest of the quarterbacks.”

Meanwhile, Mayo spread across all areas of the team in his first offseason as head coach, but he worked more on one side of the ball than the other.

“Honestly, I’m done with offense more than defense,” Mayo said. “And it just comes down to continuing to grow and continuing to learn, like I said in those offensive meetings as well. I’m learning alongside these guys.

“As far as practice goes, I’m going to be rebounding, offense, defense, special teams. I mean, they all play a huge role in winning football games, but that’s the advantage of having a bigger squad, or a bigger squad, so I’m able to do it.