Drew Bledsoe is leaning against a concrete wall in his personal wine bar, wearing a gray ball cap, glasses folded over the collar of his slate T-shirt and blue jeans.

It’s a little past 3 p.m. Pacific on a Thursday in Bend, Oregon. Bledsoe sips from a glass of white wine in his left hand and periodically glances at the phone held in his right. The 51-year-old is in the most natural place he could be post-retirement: between tastings as presides over his family-owned wine business.

Yet Bledsoe’s mind drifts elsewhere.

February 14, 1993. Indianapolis. The downtown Hooters.

That night, en route to becoming the No. 1 overall pick in the next NFL Draft, Bledsoe interrupted a week of workouts and meetings at the league’s scouting combine with a birthday celebration. He turned 21 while surrounded by fellow college prospects eager to break into the pros. Soon enough, in walked another quarterback who would later become a teammate and beloved friend: Alex Van Pelt.

Van Pelt, now the Patriots’ offensive coordinator, served as Bledsoe’s backup in Buffalo from 2002-03, the last two seasons of Van Pelt’s 11-year career. After he retired following the 2003 season, he called Bledsoe’s next and final Bills campaign as the team’s radio analyst. Time and business pulled them apart, but friends who remain in football long enough often find the game will bring them together again.

Two weeks ago, before Van Pelt interviewed for the Patriots’ job, he called Bledsoe asking for an endorsement with the team’s higher-ups. Bledsoe said yes. He planned to call new head coach Jerod Mayo, maybe even Robert Kraft, and put in a good word for a teammate whose sideline advice had been invaluable during their Buffalo days.

But Van Pelt wouldn’t arrive in New England for hours, and his interview wasn’t until the next day, so Bledsoe figured he had time. He gave it one day.

Too late.

7 things to know about new Patriots offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt

On Thursday, Feb. 1, news broke that Van Pelt had been hired as the Patriots’ next offensive coordinator. Bledsoe stared at his phone, surprise instantly giving way to joy. Typical Alex.

“Everybody that’s ever played with him absolutely loved him to death. And I know that the guys he’s coached love him to death,” Bledsoe told the Herald. “He’s a very real person, he’s honest, and he’s a guy who is able to take a very, very complex game and boil it down.”

That wasn’t the first time Van Pelt had called for a favor. Once, after he’d been hired as the Browns’ offensive coordinator in 2020, Van Pelt asked Bledsoe to video conference with his quarterbacks; to bring a new voice and fresh perspective on the position. Bledsoe smiles as he recounts his advice that day.

“I was like, ‘All right, look, you guys need to listen to (Van Pelt). Because when you look at him, you know, he’s six-foot tall, maybe six-foot-one, kind of chubby. Not real fast, doesn’t have a big arm. Well, this guy played over a decade in the NFL with that body. So he obviously really knows what he’s doing.'”

After the Patriots traded Bledsoe in 2002, the Bills belonged to him. He’d already been to two Super Bowls and three Pro Bowls with New England. He owned the quarterbacks room, and held the keys to the franchise.

Buffalo Bills quarterback Alex Van Pelt (10) runs for daylight while leading the Bills to a 9-6 win over the Miami Dolphins in his first NFL start Sunday, Nov. 2, 1997, at Rich Stadium in Orchard Park, N.Y. Bills coach Marv Levy has named Van Pelt as the starter against the New England Patriots in next Sunday’s game. (AP Photo/Don Heupel)

Yet Bledsoe found himself gravitating to his doughy backup; a failed starter at the end of a forgettable career. But like others close to Van Pelt, who cut video clips for quarterbacks’ film study in 2003, Bledsoe realized he was actually at the start of something new.

“During games, I’d come to the sidelines and I’d talk to the coaches, but I would go see Alex way more than I would see any of them to talk about what was going on,” Bledsoe says. “It was obvious at that point that, if he chose to, he was going to be a great football coach.”

Van Pelt arrives in New England with more than three decades of NFL experience, yet only one season as a play-caller. He has been billed as a unifier, a vitral force for a Patriots offense undone by dysfunction and distrust for two straight seasons. Bledsoe says he would have loved to have played for Van Pelt.

“I think the Patriots’ quarterbacks are going to greatly benefit from being around Alex,” Bledsoe says. “No matter how genius a coordinator is, I’ve always felt like it’s hard to be a play-caller if you haven’t at least played quarterback at some level. And Alex had a long career — and I’d say this if he was sitting right here — playing without much talent. It was the processing part that allowed him to play.”

Bledsoe takes a sip, and finally delivers his long-awaited endorsement.

“I think the Patriots are very, very lucky to have him,” he says. “He’s got a great football mind.”

Inside Patriots’ OC search

The New England Patriots introduce Jerod Mayo as their new head coach. (Nancy Lane/Boston Herald)

According to Sports Illustrated, the Patriots’ interview team during their offensive coordinator search consisted of head coach Jerod Mayo, front-office executives Eliot Wolf and Matt Groh and executive vice president of football business/senior advisor to the head coach Robyn Glaser.

Glaser recently added her senior advisor title, and joined the search with no prior background in football operations. Notably absent from the search committee were owners Robert and Jonathan Kraft. The Pats’ search involved hour-long video conferences for initial interviews, sources said, then second, in-person interviews for Rams tight ends coach Nick Caley, ex-Bears offensive coordinator Luke Getsy and newly hired offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt.

The search ended after Van Pelt spent roughly 24 hours in New England. Van Pelt was the 12th of 12 reported candidates to interview. The Patriots’ offensive coordinator vacancy was not seen as particularly appealing to the top candidates this cycle, sources confirmed after The Athletic initially reported New England was among the least attractive openings in the league.

The Patriots’ lackluster personnel soured some candidates on the job, a league source said, while their interview process and search committee puzzled some around the league, according to another.

Kraft repeats cash claims

Before the NFL Honors on Thursday night, Patriots owner Robert Kraft spoke with reporters in Las Vegas about the state of the team. During a mostly off-record conversation, Kraft pushed back against what he called a “perception” of the Patriots’ reluctance to spend money on their roster and coaching staff. He also claimed to have pushed his front office to sign players to more expensive contracts in recent offseasons.

According to ESPN, the Patriots rank dead last in cash spending on players over the last 10 years.

“I know there’s a perception that we have held back on spending,” Kraft told reporters. “Let me just say, for our fans, that’s just not true. Look, we were blessed to have a coach (Bill Belichick) in our system who was a great coach and also understood value. He ran a tight ship.”

Foxboro, MA – Robert Kraft speaks as Bill Belichick announces his departure as head coach of the New England Patriots. (Nancy Lane/Boston Herald)

Belichick maintained roster control over the final 20 years of his tenure. Kraft’s comments echoed those he made last year at the league meetings, when he insisted he has never refused Belichick’s request to spend money. The Patriots are currently scheduled to have $66 million in cap space heading into next month’s free agency, fourth-most in the league.

After setting what was then the league record for free-agent spending in 2021, the Pats spent little compared to their competitors the past two offseasons,

“They say we’ve been low spenders in the last 10 years, and that might be true,” Kraft said. “But we had a pretty good record. And we won three Super Bowls. But our coaches have always had the ability to spend at whatever level they wanted. I think Bill was always thinking about the future and really understood value.

“But we never held back with any of the coaches we’ve had over the last 30 years.”

The Patriots’ roster control now belongs to director of scouting Eliot Wolf.

Madrid hosting NFL game

The NFL will play a 2025 regular-season game in Madrid, Spain, the league announced this week.

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The game will be played at Santiago Bernabéu Stadium, home to Real Madrid Football Club. It will be the first NFL kickoff ever in Spain. The NFL is partnering with Real Madrid C.F., the city of Madrid and its local government to host the game, which also has the support of the Spanish government and High Council of Sports, according to the league’s release.

The NFL has played 50 international games to date across London, Toronto, Mexico City and Frankfurt. Next season, the Eagles will play in São Paulo, Brazil, the first regular-season NFL game in South America.

The Patriots could be a candidate to play in Spain in 2025. Among NFL teams, the Dolphins and Bears have exclusive international marketing rights in the country. The Patriots will play Miami twice a year so long as they remain division rivals.

Quote of the Week

“If cash spending became an issue for our family, and we couldn’t do it, then I would sell the team.” — Robert Kraft