Report: Joe Judge To Coach Quarterbacks, Matt Patricia To Coach Offensive Line For Patriots
By Michael Hurley, CBS Boston
BOSTON (CBS) -- Last week, Scott Zolak threw out some "theoretical" job titles for members of the Patriots' offensive coaching staff. He might have been on to something.
Albert Breer wrote in his Monday column that Joe Judge is expected to work with quarterbacks and that Matt Patricia is expected to coach the offensive line for the New England Patriots in 2022. The Patriots lost quarterbacks coach Bo Hardegree and offensive line coach Carmen Bricillo (and also wide receivers coach Mick Lombardi) to Josh McDaniels' staff in Las Vegas.
Breer said both Judge and Patricia will "figure into the equation of replacing McDaniels," who left his post as offensive coordinator to become the head coach of the Raiders.
Considering Judge has almost no experience as an offensive coach (he spent one year as the Patriots' wide receivers coach) and Patricia has almost no experience on offense (he was assistant offensive line coach for the Patriots in 2005), Breer described this setup as "a dice roll given the critical point that Mac Jones is at."
Breer added that things are "quiet" on the Bill O'Brien front with the Patriots, and that the team has not spoken to Adam Gase about the OC job.
Certainly, both staffing decisions present considerable risk, but it's particularly true at the quarterback position. When Judge was the head coach of the New York Giants, the team ranked 31st in yards and points in both of his seasons. After Judge was fired, Giants owner John Mara said this of young quarterback Daniel Jones: "We've done everything possible to screw this kid up since he's been here."
After Jones had a very encouraging rookie season and was by far the best of the rookie class in 2021, the opportunity is there for him to take a big step forward in year two. That was always going to be difficult with the departures of McDaniels and three other offensive assistants, and it's now up to Judge and Patricia to prove Belichick right or wrong for his faith at such a critical juncture for the quarterback and the offense as a whole.