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T
he 2022 regular season continues to inch closer and New England Patriots fans still don’t know who will be calling plays.
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With the departure of Josh McDaniels, there has been a lot of change to the coaching staff. Joe Judge has returned to New England and Matt Patricia has switched from the defensive side of the ball to offense.
Judge revealed that he was working with Mac Jones and other skill-position players.
“I am working with Mac as well as some other people on the offense… You’ll see me on the field working with QBs,” Judge said.
Judge also added that playcalling responsibilities have yet to be determined.
“Nothing has been decided or declared,” he said.
Patricia noted that he is currently working with the offensive line and his time learning from Dante Scarnecchia helped prepare him.
“I don’t care what position you coach in the NFL, you spend time with Dante you automatically become a better coach,” he said.
Also on offense, Nick Caley is projected to have a larger role after the departure of McDaniels. Caley told the media in a press conference on Monday that he is working with tight ends at the moment, but his role is whatever Bill Belichick wants it to be.
“Ultimately my title is up to Coach (Belichick),” said Caley.
The Same on Defense
While there wasn’t the same level of change on the defensive side of the ball, there is still a lot of unknown about the roles of coaches. Steve Belichick called plays last season but didn’t have the defensive coordinator role.
It appears that Belichick won’t have a specific role on defense once again. The defensive coach met with the media on Monday and did not get into specifics regarding his role as a coach.
“Honestly, I don’t really know, and honestly, I don’t really care,” Belichick said when asked about having the same responsibilities as last year (which included calling plays).
Belichick was also asked if he will be defensive coordinator next year.
“Fair question that I don’t have an answer to,” he said.
Jerod Mayo had similar comments when asked about coaching linebackers.
“Honestly, I just like to say I’m a football coach,” he said. “I’m not trying to be ambiguous here. … I coach football players. I’m a teacher.”
Mayo later added that he will be “coaching defensive players.”
Bill Belichick Is Still Heavily Involved
While a lot still isn’t known about the assistant and positional coaches, Mayo did give a glimpse into how Bill Belichick approaches coaching at 70 years old.
“Even though he’s older, I don’t think he sleeps,” Mayo said.
Belichick has done it all as head coach of the Patriots. He has won six Super Bowls and has the most Super Bowl appearances of any head coach in NFL history. Belichick also boasts a career record of 321-156.
The head coach also was named NFL Coach of the Year three times and was named to the NFL 100th Anniversary All-Time Team.
Still, there is a lot left up in the air regarding what role Patriots coaches will have in the 2022 regular season.