The Patriots had a busy offseason, with many moves drastically changing the outlook of the team. One of those moves involved the coaching staff, as offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels left New England for the head coaching position with the Las Vegas Raiders. This may not be a good thing, according to the opinion of one former Patriot.
New England has yet to name an offensive coordinator to replace McDaniels. Joe Judge and Matt Patricia look to be in prime position to help lead the offense. Judge most recently served as the team’s special teams coordinator and wide receivers coach in 2019.
Patricia has taken on defensive coaching roles during his time with the Patriots. His last stint on the offensive side of the football came in 2005. He was New England’s assistant offense of line coach that season before becoming the linebackers coach in 2006.
With that in mind, former Patriots cornerback Jason McCourty sees these changes negatively affecting Mac Jones, as transcribed by ESPN’s Mike Reiss.
“You’ll never hear anybody [on the team] say anything in the media … but it’s definitely going to be a big thing. It has to be,” McCourty said during his recent guest-hosting appearance on NFL Network’s “Good Morning Football” show. “If you’re Mac Jones … who’s the guy you go to and say, ‘I want to run these plays this week’?”
It will be intriguing to see how the offense is structured, particularly as Jones and the organization as a whole looks to make strides after a promising 2022 season. With a revamped wide receiver group, and a full offseason under his belt, this could be the year in which Jones takes the next step and helps elevate New England back to the top. What that may look like and how that may get done is anybody’s guess.
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