Matt Patricia emerging as the favorite to call offensive plays for New England Patriots

With Josh McDaniels once again leaving the New England Patriots organization to take an NFL head coaching gig elsewhere, Mac Jones and crew will need a new offensive coordinator. Head coach Bill Belichick has added Matt Patricia and Joe Judge back to the staff, but he, well, he’s Belichick, he doesn’t want to tell the media any more than they need to know. It’s the Patriot way.

Needless to say, the question of who will be taking over offensive play-calling duties in the second season of Mac Jones’ career has been a hot talking point all offseason.

But the latest report from Jeff Howe of The Athletic suggests Patricia is the in-house leader to call plays. Or at least, the media’s in-house leader. Nobody knows what Belichick has cooking.

Chances are, we won’t know who will be the play-caller until the preseason rolls around, and even then, we might have to wait until Week 1 before we know for sure. But is Matt Patricia really their best option?

Is Matt Patricia the right man for the Pats’ OC gig?

After a failed three-year stint as the head coach of the Detroit Lions, Patricia was hired back with the Patriots as a senior football advisor before the 2021 football season could begin. It marked the 15th season he has worked under coach Belichick.

Now headed into his 16th year with the Pats, Patricia could be switching sides, focusing on offense, which is a big change, considering he held the defensive coordinator position for six seasons from 2012 to 2017.

Of course, some might consider Belichick’s son, Steve, to be the team’s defensive coordinator, along with Jerod Mayo, which could be the reason why Patricia didn’t get the same title back that he previously held.

Patricia has spent just five years out of his 24 years as a football coach focusing on the offensive side of the ball.

From 2001 to 2003, Patricia served as an offensive graduate assistant for Syracuse. He then joined the Pats the very next year as an offensive assistant. The next year, he was promoted to assistant offensive line coach. That’s it. That’s his entire offensive coaching resume.

So, it will be very, very interesting if Patricia is in fact the next man up to call offensive plays in New England. There’s no doubt he has the smarts, but does he have enough experience to handle offensive play-calling at the NFL level? I guess we’ll all just have to find out.