Dating back to before the season even started, the New England Patriots’ decision to have Matt Patricia operate as the team’s offensive coordinator drew a great amount of criticism. Despite Mac Jones‘ rookie year leading to a playoff appearance, his second season was much less successful.
Each of their top four receivers from 2021 returned in 2022, giving Jones the same cast of targets that helped him be named to the Pro Bowl. Yet, the team’s scoring average dropped from 27.2 points per game down to 21.4 per game.
One major difference between the two seasons was Josh McDaniels was no longer calling plays. Instead, he was trying to bring the Las Vegas Raiders back to the postseason in his second stint as an NFL head coach.
In turn, many pointed to Patricia and Joe Judge, the team’s offensive assistant and QB coach, as the biggest reasons for the Patriots’ sudden struggles.
NBC Sports’ Tom Curran’s sources have revealed Patricia “might be on his way out” from the Patriots’ organization. While many fans might feel this was a move that had to happen, the reason for his possible departure may not even be directly tied to performance.
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Matt Patricia is no longer being paid by the Detroit Lions
As Curran astutely points out, the Patriots have a history of bringing back familiar faces after their previous employers have moved on. It happened with Bret Bielema and Mike Lombardi. While both Bielema and Lombardi were let go from their teams, their contracts were still being paid by their former employers. This allowed the Patriots to hire them, yet not quite pay the typical rate.
Could that be what the Patriots have been doing with both Patricia and Judge this past season?
Judge signed a five-year contract in 2020, so by this line of thinking, he may be set to stick around until 2025. But Patricia’s contract with the Lions has now expired, meaning, maybe the Patriots will be moving on, but as mentioned, not necessarily strictly due to performance. Yet, team owner Robert Kraft may feel otherwise.
Either way, we should have our answers soon enough, with candidates like Bill O’Brien being linked to the offensive coordinator position in New England.
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