Matt Patricia lasted less than three full seasons as the head coach of the Detroit Lions, but Bill Belichick still seems to view him as a jack of all trades.
The New England Patriots have not named an offensive coordinator in the wake of Josh McDaniels leaving to become the head coach of the Las Vegas Raiders. Belichick may not name one, which is something he has done in the past immediately after coordinators leave. Someone will still have to call plays, so who will it be?
According to USA Today’s Henry McKenna, Belichick may hold some sort of competition during training camp to determine who will be the Patriots’ offensive play-caller. Assistant coaches Matt Patricia and Joe Judge are viewed as the "top candidates."
Patricia’s official role with the Patriots is “senior football adviser.” He made a name for himself as a defensive assistant under Belichick for 12 years from 2006 to 2017. Patricia was defensive coordinator for the last six of those before he was hired by the Lions. Although, he did spend two seasons as an offensive assistant under Belichick in 2004 and 2005.
Judge was a special teams coach during his entire first stint with the Patriots from 2012 to 2019. He added wide receivers coach to his resume in 2019 before moving on to become the head coach of the New York Giants.
Either Patricia or Judge would be an unconventional choice for an offensive play-caller. If Belichick is not comfortable with one of his assistants calling plays, there has already been talk that he may go a different route.
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