The New England Patriots continue making additions to the staff under head coach Mike Vrabel, less than two weeks after the Super Bowl defeat.
Pete Thamel of ESPN reported that the Patriots are hiring BJ Edmonds and adding him to their staff for the 2026 campaign.
Edmonds has spent his entire coaching career in the college ranks, most recently serving as the running backs coach for Southern Miss.
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This will serve as Edmonds’ first coaching position at the professional level and on an NFL team with Super Bowl aspirations again in 2026.
BJ Edmonds Coaching Background
Edmonds took his most recent role with Southern Miss about a month ago, so this represents his second job change in less than a month.
He previously worked for two seasons under head coach Manny Diaz at Duke as a defensive analyst, working primarily with the cornerbacks.
Edmonds helped cornerback Chandler Rivers earn First Team All-ACC honors in 2024 and Second Team All-ACC honors in 2025.
Duke also was a great passing defense team in 2024, ranking second in the ACC in passing yards allowed per game (213.5) and third in passing yards per play (5.01).
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The Blue Devils won the 2025 ACC Championship Game and finished 18-9 during his two seasons there.
Edmonds worked for Utah State for three seasons prior, serving as a defensive recruiting analyst in 2021 and then as a defensive graduate assistant for two years, 2022-23.
Utah State made three straight Bowl Games with Edmonds on staff and won the 2021 Mountain West Championship. They accrued a record of 23-17 and also had a strong defensive unit in 2023, with three defensive touchdowns and 10 fumble recoveries, ranking 15th and 16th in the FBS.
His first coaching job came as a defensive graduate assistant for NAIA program Kansas Wesleyan in 2020, ending in an 8-2 record.
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Edmonds previously played defensive back for Arkansas State, starting three years and playing in 49 games from 2016-19.
Alabama wide receiver Jerry Jeudy (4) escapes the grasp of Arkansas State defensive back B.J. Edmonds (3) to score a touchdown in first half action at Bryant Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa, Ala., on Saturday September 8, 2018. Jeudy02 | Mickey Welsh
He finished with 265 tackles (143 solo), three tackles for loss, eight interceptions, 19 passess defended and three forced fumbles.
Edmonds helped Arkansas State win the Sun Belt Championship in 2016 and he was an All-Sun Belt Honorable Mention in 2017 and All-Sun Belt Second Team honoree in 2019.
This article was originally published on www.si.com/nfl/patriots/onsi as Patriots Hiring New Member of Coaching Staff.
