With the departure of Josh McDaniels to Las Vegas as the new head coach of the Raiders, the New England Patriots have yet to name an offensive coordinator or play-caller for the 2022 season.
That might be about to change. According to reporting from The Athletic’s Jeff Howe, former Detroit Lions head coach — and former Patriots defensive coordinator — Matt Patricia is “trending” toward handling those duties for New England this season:
Belichick has not yet decided who will call the plays during the season, but it’s trending in Patricia’s direction, according to a source. Patricia and Judge are each preparing for the possibility of calling plays, but Patricia’s workload this spring has suggested he’s the early favorite to handle that responsibility.
When McDaniels took over in Las Vegas he brought three offensive assistants with him, including Mick Lombardi, who was the Patriots’ assistant quarterbacks coach in 2019, and their wide receivers coach during 2020 and 2021. Lombardi was a candidate for the Patriots’ offensive coordinator role, but followed McDaniels out west to take over those duties for the Raiders.
As for Patricia, he began his career in the NFL with New England as an offensive assistant, and after a year in that role spent another season as their assistant offensive line coach before moving to the defensive side of the football. After his tenure in Detroit, he spent last season as a senior football advisor in New England.