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T
he New England Patriots are moving coach Matt Patricia from the defensive side of the ball to offense in 2022 and one former player doesn’t expect it to be too difficult for Patricia.
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Patricia is currently focused on coaching the offensive line. This comes after a long career as a defensive coach which began in 2006.
But Patricia has experience on offense and was also a head coach with the Detroit Lions from 2018 to 2020. Current Jacksonville Jaguars wide receiver Jamal Agnew played in Detroit under Patricia and believes he will do just fine coaching on offense.
“I will say Matty P is one of the smartest football brains I’ve been around,” Agnew told Doug Kyed of Pro Football Focus. “He can literally coach any position group at a high level in my opinion.”
Patricia also thinks that the transition shouldn’t be too hard as he got to learn from Dante Scarnecchia.
“I don’t care what position you coach in the NFL, you spend time with Dante you automatically become a better coach,” he said.
Patricia does have experience dealing with offensive lines. He was an offensive lineman in college and also began his NFL coaching career as an offensive assistant in 2004 and assistant offensive line coach in 2005.
How Confident Is Bill Belichick in Patricia?
Belichick has spoken highly of all the Patriots’ offensive coaches including Patricia.
“Matt and Joe have a tremendous amount of leadership, as do the other coaches on the offensive side of the ball, too,” Belichick said in early June. “Ross (Douglas), Troy, Nick, Billy (Yates), Vinnie, they all bring a good level of experience, playing experience, coaching experience, experience in our system. It’s a good group.”
But it seems as though Belichick might trust Patricia enough to run the Patriots’ offense. According to Jeff Howe of The Athletic, it’s appearing as though the offensive line coach will be calling plays.
“Belichick has not yet decided who will call the plays during the season, but it’s trending in Patricia’s direction according to a source,” said Howe. “Patricia and Judge are each preparing for the possibility of calling plays, but Patricia’s workload this spring has suggested he’s the early favorite to handle that responsibility.”
How Important Will the Patriots Offense Be in 2022?
New England’s offense will play a crucial role in 2022. The Patriots’ defense has had to deal with some losses with the main player departing being J.C. Jackson. Kyle Van Noy is also no longer on the roster.
Luckily for the Patriots, Patricia, or whoever will be calling plays, New England’s offense has plenty of weapons. The Pats acquired DeVante Parker via trade and he is now the only wide receiver on the roster to have ever recorded a 1,000-yard season.
New England also has plenty of great players returning. Mac Jones will be under center for his second NFL season after leading NFL rookies in touchdown passes in 2021 with 22. Damien Harris is also returning after a career year where he reached the end zone 15 times.
Joining Parker will be Kendrick Bourne and Jakobi Meyers. Bourne led receivers in touchdowns with 5 and Meyers led the team in receiving yards with 866.
So Patriots fans should be excited about what the offense can do this upcoming season even with Patricia making the jump from defense to offense. Belichick and Agnew have plenty of confidence in his coaching ability.