Keiley is one of nine offensive coordinator candidates the Patriots are looking at. The search for the New England Patriots offensive coordinator job continues, and there’s a familiar face among the candidates. Nick Keiley, who spent eight years on the Patriots staff under former head coach Bill Belichick, is interviewing for an open position.
He has already had virtual meetings with the team and is scheduled to be in town for in-person meetings Sunday and Monday. But who is Kaylee? Why do the Patriots consider him a candidate to take over as offensive coordinator? Let’s explore.Who is Nick Kayley? Current Location: Coach of the Los Angeles Rams
Kaylee’s playback background is nothing to write home about. He was born in St. Petersburg, Canton. He played high school football at Thomas Aquinas and later joined Walsh University as a defensive back and punter. He began his coaching career after joining John Carroll in 2005.Coaching Experience: Kaley focused on the defensive side of the ball early in her career, starting as a student assistant at her alma mater, John Carroll. Not surprising given his personal playing history. He joined the University of Akron in 2006 (master defensive assistant), transferred to Auburn in 2008 (defensive administrative assistant) and Iowa State University in 2009 (defensive assistant).
In 2012, Kayleigh received her first opportunity as an assistant coach. He was hired by new Eastern Illinois head coach Dino Babers as the second coach under coordinator Kim McCloud. However, he left the Panthers after one season and joined the University of Arkansas as a defensive assistant. A year later, he returned as Florida Atlantic’s second coach. After one season under head coach Charlie Partridge and defensive coordinator Rock Bellantoni, he made the jump to the NFL.
The Patriots brought him on as an offensive assistant coach for the 2015 and 2016 seasons. In 2017, he transitioned to tight ends coach under offensive coordinator (and fellow John Carroll grad) Josh McDaniels. He worked with both your quarterbacks and running backs and remained in that role for six years, including working with Pro Bowlers Rob Gronkowski and James Devlin, but left in the 2023 offseason. The Patriots decided to hire Bill O’Brien as offensive coordinator.
He decided to take his talents to the Rams. In 2023, Kaley served as the tight ends coach under Los Angeles head coach Sean McVay and offensive coordinator Mike LaFleur. Under his leadership, the Rams’ tight ends caught a total of 62 passes for 668 yards and three touchdowns. Why do the Patriots consider him a potential offensive coordinator? In the Venn diagram of fame and scheme expansion, Caylee is right in the middle.
On one hand, he spent four years on the Patriots staff with new head coach Jerod Mayo. They covered areas on different sides of the ball but constantly interacted on the road.It’s clear there’s plenty of Patriot in Kailey’s coaching DNA, but her lone season in Los Angeles makes her an interesting target for a team looking to rebuild its offense.
After growing up in New England’s version of the Ehrhardt-Perkins system, he was exposed to Shanahan’s offense under Sean McVay. This is something Mayo is very interested in. Ultimately, the Patriots interviewed several offensive coordinator candidates to work with McVay, his assistants or other Mike Shanahan apprentices.
Zach Robinson, Dan Pitcher, Shane Waldron, Thomas Brown, Jerrod Johnson, Brian Fleury and Luke Gaetsy fall into the same category.Except for Robinson and Waldron, who had served elsewhere, what they lacked was New England experience. With Mayo being a first-time manager, this could play a role in his decision.
