The New England Patriots have taken another step to bolster their coaching staff. Taylor Embry, who played for the New York Jets the last three years, joins the team as the new running backs coach. The 35-year-old replaces Vinny Sunseri, who left the Patriots for the University of Washington after three seasons at the position. But what does Embry’s hiring mean in the big picture? Let’s explore.The Patriots add a coach with an impressive resumeEmbry was a wide receiver at UCLA until his brief and ultimately unsuccessful attempt at an NFL career in 2012.
He quickly moved on to coaching and never looked back.Since then, he has gained experience in both academic and professional settings. Embry started at UNLV and UCLA before joining the Kansas City Chiefs as a defensive assistant in 2016. He returned to the offense the following year, working under Kyle Shanahan in San Francisco. He spent three seasons as the 49ers’ quality control coach. . After a year as the troubled coach at Colorado State, Embry was hired for his latest position. He joined the Jets as their quarterbacks coach in 2021, holding that role for three years.
Despite his lack of experience working with RBs during that time, he helped develop Breece Hall and Michael Carter into productive NFL players.Hall has 2,266 rushing yards and 14 touchdowns in just 24 NFL games. Despite missing half of his rookie season with a torn ACL, he established himself as one of the most dynamic running backs in the league. Carter, meanwhile, had 1,654 yards and seven scores in his first two seasons under new offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett before being fired in 2023.Coaching wasn’t the only reason for Hall and Carter’s success early in their careers, but it played a significant role.
Embry’s appointment is another sign of a move to the outer realm.Looking at Embry’s coaching history, there’s no doubt. He is from Shanahan and both worked with the same man (or his son) in San Francisco and under Robert Saleh in New York. That means he has experience working in an out-of-zone offense, something the Patriots will likely fit under new offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt. Finally, Van Pelt’s Cleveland Browns offense relied heavily on the outside zone, playing nearly a quarter of the snaps. They also mixed in a fair amount of slot blocking, the fact remains.
New England will have more zone-based blocking and running. Embry’s hiring of a running backs coach is another sign of change.New England jumps the Alex Van Pelt treeUnlike most other offensive linemen, Embry does not have a direct relationship with coordinator Alex Van Pelt. However, he has a fourth coach, one of his current teammates, T. McCartney, who also served on the 49ers’ staff in 2017 and 2018 and was responsible for quality control on the offensive side of the ball.Now the two have reunited in New England.
The offense has two more major opportunities.With Embry moving to running backs, the Patriots coaching staff is left with several vacancies, including two on offense: receivers coach and tight ends coach. Troy Brown and Will Laing held their posts until 2023, but neither is expected to return next season. In fact, Lowing went to work on Bill O’Brien’s staff at Boston College. Brown’s departure from New England appears to be nothing more than a formality at this point.
