Tedy Bruschi excelled on the defensive side of the ball for the New England Patriots, but he still had an up-close view of how things operated offensively during his career.
With roles on New England's offensive coaching staff for the 2022 season still yet to be defined, Bruschi explained on ESPN's Get Up on Friday why it's so important to have a singular voice in the ear of quarterback Mac Jones.
But regardless of who winds up serving as the team's play caller, Bruschi made one thing clear about who's ultimately calling the shots.
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"I'll give you one guarantee: The plan is always Bill Belichick's," Bruschi said. "I don't care if it was Charlie Weis, Josh McDaniels or whoever the offensive coordinator is, those meetings that they constantly have where they're going over the plan on how to attack a defense or, how to develop a player and what he wants done, the plan is always his."
How Belichick deflects that responsibility now, Bruschi said, has to be determined before the start of the season for the sake of Jones.
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"The voice Mac has in his ear during games, who he talks to on the sideline or at halftime, those adjustments, that relationship and that voice is consistent," Bruschi said. "You don't want him confused."
Matt Patricia and Joe Judge have seemingly emerged as front runners for the roll of calling plays based on how early OTAs looked, with Judge in particular having more involvement with the quarterbacks.
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Judge previously served as special teams coordinator in his first stint with the Patriots, helping out as an assistant wide receivers coach as well in 2019 before taking the head job with the New York Giants. Patricia hasn't coached offense since 2005, when he served as an assistant along the offensive line under the legendary Dante Scarnecchia with the Patriots.
"The quarterback/offensive coordinator relationship is still very, very important in terms of rapport and knowing each other's thoughts," Bruschi said. "That's what I hope gets worked out before the season starts."
Bruschi played his entire 13-year NFL career for the Patriots, including the final nine seasons under Belichick and Co., giving him a front row seat to how the operation unfolded.