The New England Patriots have experienced a lot of change among their coaching ranks this offseason. The biggest change is at the offensive coordinator position, as longtime play-caller Josh McDaniels left the team to become the head coach of the Las Vegas Raiders.
However, it seems as if the Pats are going to replace their old offensive coordinator with someone else with head coaching experience.
Early Favorite
According to Jeff Howe of The Athletic, the feeling is that former Detroit Lions head coach Matt Patricia has emerged as the favorite to take over offensive play-calling duties.
"Belichick has not yet decided who will call the plays during the season, but it’s trending in Patricia’s direction, according to a source," Howe wrote. "Patricia and (Joe) Judge are each preparing for the possibility of calling plays, but Patricia’s workload this spring has suggested he’s the early favorite to handle that responsibility."
Changes Abound
McDaniels' departure is not the only departure on the offensive coaching staff. As a matter of fact, his departure created other departures.
The new Raiders coach took three offensive assistants to Vegas with him. Among those was former wide receivers coach Mick Lombardi, who was a candidate for the offensive coordinator position in New England before taking up that role with the Raiders.
Matt Patricia's Experience
Patricia joined the Pats as an offensive assistant in 2004 but moved to the defensive side of the ball in 2006. He rose through the Patriots coaching ranks before taking over as defensive coordinator in 2012. He won two Super Bowls as the defensive play-caller before leaving to become the Lions head coach in 2018.
However, his tenure in Detroit was not as successful. The Lions finished 6-10 and 3-12-1 in two full seasons under his care and were 4-7 in 2020 when he was let go following a blowout Thanksgiving loss at home to the Houston Texans.
No Worries
For his part, Patriots head coach Bill Belichick is not worried about Patricia transitioning back to offense for the first time in nearly 20 years.
“We’ve had a lot of coaches take multiple responsibilities,” Belichick said at this year’s league meetings. “Josh (McDaniels) and Brian Daboll were on defense, and then the offense. Matt was on offense, then went to defense. So forth and so on. So I’m not really worried about that.
“I think a good coach is a good coach, and Matt’s a great coach, Joe’s a great coach. They’ll help us no matter what position they’re coaching.”
]]>The Inquisitr
