Bill Belichick still not saying which coach will call offensive plays, as training camp open
BOSTON -- Going without an official defensive coordinator is one thing. Going without an offensive coordinator is another.
Considering the offensive coordinator is in a time crunch between every single snap, needing to quickly relay the play into the quarterback's earpiece, needing to plan ahead for two or three plays down the line, needing to have the answers for the entire offense on the sideline, needing to install game plans each week, among many other tasks ... the role of OC is a rather significant job. Especially with a second-year quarterback running the team on the field.
Yet as training camp opens in Foxboro, the Patriots still don't have one. And it appears it will remain that way for the foreseeable future.
Head coach Bill Belichick spoke to the media via Zoom on Tuesday morning, the day that players reported to camp. He was asked if there will be a point this summer when he will name an offensive play caller -- either for the public to know or at least for his players to know.
"Yeah, look -- I'm the head coach. Ultimately, I'm responsible for everything," Belichick said. "So, just leave it at that. That's what it is."
The two coaches in position to be calling plays are, of course, Joe Judge and Matt Patricia. Judge -- the former Patriots special teams coordinator and one-time receivers coach -- was hired by Belichick as an offensive assistant after Judge was fired as head coach of the Giants. Judge has since added the title of quarterbacks coach. Patricia returned to the organization last year in a senior advisory role, and this year he's officially entered back into the coaching ranks with the offensive line coach title.
With Josh McDaniels having left the organization (and taking several assistants with him), it figures to be Judge or Patricia -- or both -- who will be running the offense. And it's a setup that Belichick is obviously comfortable with having.
"I think I've said many times, I think Matt and Joe are two outstanding coaches in every sense of the word, whatever those duties entail," Belichick said. "They're very good. They're exceptional at the entire gamut. So, glad we have both of them. They do a good job."
