Who will start at quarterback for the New England Patriots in Week 1?
That's the biggest storyline at training camp right now, and it's thrust veteran Jacoby Brissett and rookie Drake Maye into the spotlight. But there's another question worth asking: Who decides who starts at QB in Week 1?
Head coach Jerod Mayo gave a vague response to that question Wednesday, telling reporters the decision rests between himself, offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt, de facto general manager Eliot Wolf and "the rest of the offensive staff."
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If you ask Patriots Insider Tom E. Curran, though, Van Pelt should have the most authority in determining the starting quarterback.
"I think the first vote goes to Alex: 'Alex, the floor is yours. Who do you want to start at quarterback?'" Curran said Wednesday on NBC Sports Boston's Arbella Early Edition. "And then as the supervisor, CEO of the team, there have to be other things that enter into it from Mayo's mind to say, 'I'm watching it too. I see this, and if we do this then this will happen.' So, Mayo could potentially overrule him, but I don't think he would in the first camp."
Mayo is a first-year head coach with an exclusively defensive background -- he played eight NFL seasons as a linebacker for the Patriots and spent five seasons as the team's inside linebackers coach before elevating to head coach -- so he'd be smart to empower Van Pelt, a seasoned coach who has been an NFL offensive assistant since 2006.
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The Patriots still can take a collaborative approach to the QB position, with Van Pelt, Mayo, Wolf, senior offensive assistant Ben McAdoo and quarterbacks coach T. C. McCartney all providing their input. But Curran believes Van Pelt's experience should make him the authority figure on the QB decision.
"At this juncture, I think it should be Alex Van Pelt," Curran said when asked who should have final say if there's a disagreement on the staff about QB position.
"Mayo has said, 'I'm delegating the offense to Alex Van Pelt. He is the head coach of the offense.' But a good leader would say, 'All right, we're going to go with your decision. I'm not going to hammer you if it doesn't work out, but if I at some point decide your decision is what we're going to do going forward, you're going to be okay with that too.' I think that's what you would have to do in a healthy relationship."
In most cases, the head coach would have final say on all roster decisions, especially at quarterback. But the Patriots are in a unique position of having a first-year head coach with a defensive background (Mayo) on a team with a crucial decision to make at the QB position.
So, while Mayo might convey that final decision to the public, it might be smart to have Van Pelt make the ultimate determination as to whether Maye is ready to start Week 1 or Brissett should get the nod instead.
Check out the full conversation with Curran, Patriots Insider Tom E. Curran, 98.5 The Sports Hub's Marc Bertrand and host Trenni Casey in the YouTube video below.