Bill Belichick’s Coaching Staff: Is it what’s best for the team or for Bill?

By: Steve Atkinson

Bill Belichick’s coaching staff has been in question going back to last season. His son Steve Belichick was calling the plays on the defensive side while Jerod Mayo holds the meetings. On the offensive side it was more usual with Josh McDaniel’s being the offensive coordinator and working with Mac Jones in his rookie season. Now that McDaniel’s is the Head Coach for the Las Vegas Raiders Bill Belichick has brought back Joe Judge and Matt Patricia to work with the offense. Patricia was with the Patriots last season and worked side by side with Belichick after a failed head coaching job with the Lions. Judge came back from the Giants who failed miserably as their head coach. He also didn’t develop Daniel Jones correctly. There’s only one word that should come to mind when thinking about the Patriots offensive coaching staff led by Joe Judge and Matt Patricia. SCARY!

Patriot’s Don’t Have an Offensive Coordinator

Mac Jones is heading into his crucial second season with the team. There is some pressure on him because of what other second year quarterbacks have done. Joe Burrow and Patrick Mahomes both took leaps their second seasons and made the Super Bowl. Mahomes won in his second year. Both Matt Patricia and Joe Judge spoke to the media Monday and Tuesday this week. Patricia is working with the offensive line while Judge is working with the quarterbacks. Judge working with the quarterbacks should scare Patriots fans more because of how a bad job he did trying to develop Daniel Jones with the Giants. I would trust Brian Hoyer the backup over Joe Judge who was a special teams coach before he went to the Giants. Patricia has worked with the offensive line in the past but neither of them have ever called offensive plays. They still don’t know who will be calling plays in the fall.

“Look, I’ll tell you directly and honestly right now: Nothing’s been declared or decided or voiced to me,” Judge explained. “I know Matt’s going to be the other one who gets asked, or Nick Caley. Look, right now we’re all just working [on] drills and skills. We’re working offensively. I do think it’s critical for every coach on the offense to understand the offense and be prepared as a play-caller. If you’re not really looking and approaching the game as a play-caller, I think it’s tough to really teach the game plan, if that makes sense to you.”

Patricia was asked the same question this was his response

“I’ve been so far in Phase II, we haven’t gotten to Phase III yet,” Patricia said, referencing the NFL offseason program. “In Phase II I’ve been with the offensive players, over there kind of working with them on the field. We weren’t allowed to do anything in Phase I obviously because of the rules.

“Specifically, kind of spending time with the guys up front, with the offensive line,” Patricia added.

Bill Belichick Thinking About Himself

So, who does this benefit more Bill Belichick or the Patriots? Answer is Bill Belichick because no team with a second year quarterback wouldn’t have an offensive coordinator. Jones could get confused like the defense did last year on who to listen too. Belichick could be looking at what it could look like when he’s no longer coaching the team and the rumor is Patricia is the successor to Belichick. Would that mean Joe Judge be next in line to be the offensive coordinator? Possibly. Tight Ends coach Nick Caley almost went to the Raiders with McDaniel’s but the Patriots blocked him from going there according to Albert Breer.