Patriots running backs coach Vinnie Sunseri is leaving to become a defensive assistant on the University of Washington’s coaching staff, per The Athletic.

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Sunseri is following ex-Patriots defensive play-caller and linebackers coach Steve Belichick, who reportedly reached terms to be Washington’s new defensive coordinator. Sunseri served as the Patriots’ running backs coach each of the past two seasons. He originally split those duties in 2021 with retired Patriots running backs coach Ivan Fears.

Sunseri first joined the Pats’ staff in 2020 as a low-level defensive assistant, one year after he started his coaching career as a graduate assistant at Alabama. The 32-year-old former safety played for the Crimson Tide until 2016, when he entered the NFL as an undrafted rookie free agent. Sunseri bounced around the league for three years as a player, including a short stint on the Patriots’ practice squad.

Under Sunseri’s watch last season, Patriots running back Rhamondre Stevenson endured a down year due to injuries and poor offensive line play. Stevenson rushed for just 619 yards and four touchdowns over a dozen games, following a breakout, 1,000-yard campaign in 2022. Sunseri also coached the Patriots’ last two leading pass-catchers: Stevenson, who had 69 receptions in 2022, and Ezekiel Elliott last year with 51.

In Washington, Sunseri and Belichick will reunite with former Pats quarterbacks coach Jedd Fisch. Washington hired Fisch as its next head coach last month. Fisch coached in New England for most of the 2020 season before accepting the head job at the University of Arizona.

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Sunseri’s departure could be part of a house-cleaning on the Patriots’ offensive staff. Last week, the team announced it had hired new offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt. The Patriots are also reportedly in talks to add ex-Giants head coach and two-time offensive coordinator Ben McAdoo to their staff, and are targeting former Seahawks offensive line coach Andy Dickerson.

Former Browns running backs coach Stump Mitchell could be a candidate to replace Sunseri. A former NFL running back from 1981-1990, Mitchell has since coached in the league for more than two decades. He overlapped with Van Pelt for four years in Cleveland, where he tutored four-time Pro Bowl running back Nick Chubb and was not retained this offseason.