Some Believe Matt Patricia Will Join Patriots' Coaching Staff On Offensive Side
BOSTON (CBS) -- The Patriots have watched as Josh McDaniels, Mick Lombardi, Carmen Bricillo and Bo Hardegree have all left their jobs as offensive assistants on the coaching staff. Longtime running backs coach Ivan Fears is expected to retire this offseason, as well. The solution for filling some of those spots is not simple, and it may involve Matt Patricia.
ESPN's Mike Reiss reported that some "smart NFL personnel" believe that Patricia may be tabbed by Bill Belichick to work as a coach on the offensive side of the ball.
"With the Patriots set to retain the core of their existing defensive staff, but losing elite institutional brainpower/knowledge on offense without McDaniels and others, Belichick might view some combination of Patricia and [Joe] Judge as his best option to spearhead the offensive transition," Reiss wrote.
Patricia returned to the Patriots last year, but not as a member of the coaching staff. His official title was Senior Football Advisor, considered more a member of the front office than the coaching staff.
Patricia is obviously held in high regard by Belichick, who hired him as an offensive assistant in 2004. But Patricia's last year working exclusively on offense came in 2005, when he was the Patriots' assistant offensive line coach. He switched to defense after that, working as the linebackers coach and safeties coach before becoming the defensive coordinator from 2012-17.
In Patricia's three years as Detroit's head coach, the Lions ranked 25th, 18th and 20th in point scored. They also ranked 24th, 17th, and 20th in offensive yardage.
It's a similar story for Judge, who was hired as an offensive assistant last week. The Giants ranked 31st in offense -- both in points and yards -- in his two seasons as head coach in New York. Prior to that, Judge had one season working was a coach on the offensive side of the ball, serving as the Patriots' wide receivers coach in 2019. Tom Brady posted his lowest passer rating since 2013 that season, and just his second sub-90 passer rating since 2006.
While some questions remain about how exactly the offensive coaching staff will come together, some answers will surely come in the approaching days and weeks as the Patriots' offseason begins in earnest.
