Can inside linebackers coach Vinny DePalma uncover a diamond in the rough?
FOXBOROUGH — A good coach makes things easier for their players.
They understand the game, and they know how to deliver it in a way that clicks. To do so three years removed from a collegiate playing career is rare, but enter Patriots inside linebackers coach Vinny DePalma.
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“He’s going to be a great up-and-coming coach,” linebacker K.J. Britt said after Tuesday’s practice. “[He takes] the thinking out. Anytime you have a coach that can take the thinking out [of] your game and get you to react, read and react, that’s what you want.”
DePalma joined the Patriots in 2024 as a defensive assistant after six years playing linebacker at Boston College. He stayed in that role last year under Mike Vrabel, and has now been promoted with Zak Kuhr’s full-time move to defensive coordinator.
Britt, who joined the team this offseason on a one-year deal, said he has already let DePalma know his impressions of him.
He’s not just impressed by his ability to teach technique, but also situational coaching and his ability to help the room understand possible outcomes from each play call.
But the new guy has only had so much time to understand DePalma. Christian Elliss, on the other hand, has been in New England since the start of DePalma’s tenure. He mentioned the young coach unprompted when discussing the linebacker room.
“Every year we have Vinny leading us,” Elliss said. “He’s very good at bringing us together. He’s very good at getting the new guys integrated, and [the team] always bring in good people.”
Coalescing the room will be particularly important this year as the Patriots released Jahlani Tavai, traded Marte Mapu, and let Jack Gibbens walk. Elliss and Robert Spillane continue as the top two interior ‘backers, but depth is a question mark.
It’s tough to expect a first-time position coach to find that, but DePalma is the son of a high school coach. He also was a two-time captain and third-team All-ACC linebacker at BC. Add in the opportunity to coach under former All-Pro linebackers in Vrabel and Jerod Mayo, and DePalma’s chance to tutor a surprise contributor in that room seems realistic.
“He knows the position well, he comes here with the knowledge of what it takes to play the position, and then he’s also extremely smart, so he’s able to take the coaching that they want to give us and apply it to us, and give us the drills that we need to do,” Elliss said. “I love Vinny. He’s an amazing coach.”
Coaching is more than understanding the position. Coaches must be able to get through to their guys and be efficient with their time both on and off the field.
“He’s a great teacher. You start to evaluate young coaches and their ability to use the technology, the excitement of the PowerPoint, the presentation, and all these different things,” Vrabel said. “But how quickly he learned our system and his knowledge, that was an easy move and well deserved for Vinny.”
With depth in question, there’s plenty of room for rookie linebackers to step up. That’s where a good teacher comes in.
Britt noted sixth-round pick Namdi Obiazor and undrafted signee Khalil Jacobs as potential standouts. Elliss said Jacobs is “miles ahead” of where he was as a rookie, and he has “high hopes” for him.
Whether it be a rookie or not, the Patriots will also need help in coverage. Britt is an option for that role, which he studied more last year with the Dolphins. Still, his contributions mainly came on special teams, where he played 77 percent of the snaps.
Producing a strong rookie or two, along with plugging a hole in an otherwise stout defense, would not just be a huge for the Patriots, but also for DePalma’s résumé.
“It’s a good room,” Britt said. “Everybody’s hungry, everybody’s pushing each other, everybody’s going to compete, and we all have fun.”
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