Matt Patricia spent last season as a co-play caller for the New England Patriots on the offensive side of the ball. To say that it wasn’t a great fit for the defensive-minded coach would be an understatement.
Now that New England has Bill O’Brien back to call plays under head coach Bill Belichick, Patricia has been relegated to an advisory role. That might not last long.
According to NFL Media’s Ian Rapoport, Patricia spent Wednesday interviewing with the Denver Broncos in relation to their defensive coordinator vacancy.
Patricia joins the likes of Rex Ryan and Vance Joseph as top candidates to head to Mile High under new head coach Sean Payton.
Despite the narratives surrounding the assistant, this could actually be an ideal fit for both the Broncos and Matt Patricia. He was the Patriots’ defensive coordinator from 2012-17, leading six consecutive top-10 scoring units during that span. That included finishing in the top five in each of his final two seasons.
Sure Belichick played a huge role in the Pats’ defensive success during Patricia’s time with the organization. But he has experience doing a lot of great things on that side of the ball.
At issue here is recency bias. In his final two years as the Detroit Lions’ head coach in 2019 and 2020, Patricia-led defenses finished in the bottom two each season. Add in what we saw with him in New England last year, and most don’t have a great view of the longtime assistant.
As for Payton and the Broncos, they are apparently casting a wide net in order to find a capable defensive coordinator to lead a unit that finished seventh in yards allowed under then-coordinator Ejiro Evero last season. Now that Evero is with the Carolina Panthers, Matt Patricia becomes a real option.