Throughout the offseason, Patriots head coach Bill Belichick has remained mum on not just the titles, but also the roles of New England’s offensive coaching staff in 2022.
Still, the titles were announced last week, notably with Matt Patricia as senior football advisor/offensive line and Joe Judge as offensive assistant/quarterbacks. The Patriots won’t have an official offensive or defensive coordinator this season.
But Belichick was once again asked about titles and roles in his Tuesday press conference. And he once again did not say much about them.
“We’re not really big on titles and all that,” Belichick said, via Zack Cox of NESN.com. “I think it’s important that we all work together and create a great final product, so that’s what we’re going to try to do. That’s what we’ve always done.”
Multiple reports have indicated that Patricia will be calling New England’s offensive plays this season. But as noted by Tom E. Curran of NBCSportsBoston.com, one reason why the Patriots haven’t officially acknowledged that is because it allows Detroit to keep paying Patricia through this year, which was the end of his head coach contract. It also means Patricia does not have to do weekly coordinator press conferences.
So Belichick shifted focus to himself when asked if there is a plan to announce who’s calling plays.
“Look, I’m the head coach,” Belichick said. “Ultimately, I’m responsible for everything. So just leave it at that. That’s what it is.”
Patricia and Judge both were on the Patriots’ coaching staff before getting head coaching jobs with the Lions and Giants, respectively. They went a combined 23-52-1 before getting fired and ultimately coming back to New England.
“I think I’ve said many times that I think Matt and Joe are two outstanding coaches in every sense of the word,” Belichick said. “Whatever those duties entail, they’re very good — exceptional at the entire gamut. I’m glad we have both of them. They do a good job.”
