Are the Patriots moving on from Matt Patricia and Joe Judge?
The Patriots' staff will coach the West team at next week's East-West Shrine Bowl in Las Vegas to get a first-hand look at a handful of prospects entering the 2023 NFL Draft.
New OC Bill O'Brien is on the coaching staff for the all-star game in a “supervisory role.” Patriots HC Bill Belichick and assistant Jerod Mayo will also serve as supervisors.
Notably, New England's 2022 de facto OC Matt Patricia and QB coach Joe Judge have been left off the Shrine Bowl staff. Their exclusion is yet another sign that their time in New England might be drawing to a close.
Patricia and Judge were awful running the team's offense after former OC Josh McDaniels took over as head coach in Las Vegas last season. New England averaged 21.4 points per game last season, 16th best in the league and a significant drop from their 27.2 ppg in 2021.
O'Brien's hire indicated that Judge and Patricia would likely have different roles in 2023. However, the new OC's Shrine Bowl commitment came before his New England agreement was officially announced, raising concerns for the future of the two assistants. Both are still on New England's staff.
Given his recent contract negotiations, Mayo will play a significant role on New England's coaching staff next season. The former Patriots LB could be in line for a promotion to DC, Patricia's former and more suitable role, adding to the uncertainty about the latter's future.
In a recent article regarding New England's offseason OC search, NBC Sports Boston's Tom Curran wrote that Patricia "might be on his way out."
Detroit is off the hook for its former HC Patricia's contract after paying him the past two seasons to be on the Patriots' staff. Now that the Patriots would be responsible for paying him, they might decide to move on. He'd earn a higher salary this upcoming year because of his senior football advisor title.
Judge is also still on the Giants' payroll after a disastrous head-coaching campaign, which may allow him to be brought back to New England for the upcoming season.
Phil Perry of NBC Sports Boston wrote that New England may re-assign Patricia to a different role. It's unclear whether that would be on the staff or front office. According to Perry, New England wouldn't stand in Patricia's way if he preferred to pursue outside job opportunities.
Seeing Belichick move on from his longtime assistants would be a surprise, considering how much he values personal relationships, but Patricia and Judge have proven their time in New England is up.
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