Getty New England Patriots QB Mac Jones with assistant coach Joe Judge looking on
When New England Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels left this offseason to become the Las Vegas Raiders’ head coach, there was an enormous hole to fill in Foxborough.
McDaniels helped lead a rookie quarterback in Mac Jones to a solid first season in the NFL. Jones threw for 3,801 yards, 22 TDs, and 13 INTs, leading the Patriots to a 10-7 record and back to the postseason after they missed the playoffs in 2020.
Jones earned runner-up in the Offensive Rookie of the Year vote behind the Cincinnati Bengals‘ dynamic wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase. With McDaniels on staff, Jones seemed to be in an excellent position to continue his growth.
Unfortunately, the Patriots elected not to hire an actual offensive coordinator to replace McDaniels. Instead, they are seemingly going at it this season with a play-calling-by-committee approach with Matt Patricia, Joe Judge, and head coach Bill Belichick all contributing. Many expect Patricia to handle play-calling on Sunday when the Patriots open the season on the road against AFC East rivals, the Miami Dolphins. Still, the former Detroit Lions head coach will also be handling the offensive line.
Judge will have some of McDaniels’ old duties. Because of that, he isn’t escaping the focus and criticism from media members trying to make heads or tails of the Patriots’ offensive situation.
The Boston Globe’s Nicole Yang pulled no punches when comparing Judge’s abilities to lead the offense and to help Jones. She pointed to Judge’s failed development with the New York Giants’ young quarterback Daniel Jones as a reference.
“All eyes will be on whether [Mac] Jones takes a Year 2 jump after a promising rookie season,” Yang wrote. “Complicating matters is the downgrade from McDaniels to Judge, who has a short but unimpressive track record working with young quarterbacks (see: Daniel Jones). Patricia, the presumed play-caller, doesn’t have a strong résumé in his position, either.”
More and more, it appears Jones is being painted as a young quarterback who was in the best situation of all his fellow signal-callers selected in the first round of the 2021 NFL Draft, to perhaps being in one of the toughest spots.
Patriots News: Will Bill Belichick Wind Up Calling Plays on Offense?
The one thing that seems certain, and there is precedence for the thought process, is that Belichick isn’t going to sit idly by while the ship goes down. If the offense is failing miserably for the first few weeks of the season, he’ll make changes,
Could one of those changes equate to him taking over as the play-caller on offense?
That’s something that many people have mentioned as a possibility. Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer 98.5 The Sports Hub’s Zolak and Bertrand to discuss the Patriots’ offense. Breer shared some of the same sentiments and mentioned Belichick had already begun some playcalling duties during a recent joint practice with the Carolina Panthers.
“I know from Patriot-connected people there’s at least some perception out there that Belichick could eventually wind up calling the plays,” Breer said. “And, one thing I can tell you for sure having talked to Panthers people, is that in two-minute the last couple of days, Bill was calling the offense. It’s one thing that they all noticed.”
With that said, you can bank on Belichick donning the headset at some point if things go awry. If he can take on those duties and help guide Jones out of the doldrums that could come with Patricia and Judge in charge, an already giant legacy will grow.
Patriots News: Is Brian Hoyer Really a Jr. Offensive Coordinator?
One outside concept that isn’t being explored a ton is the role of backup quarterback Brian Hoyer. The soon-to-be 37-year-old (his birthday is October 13) was retained mostly because of his knowledge of the Patriots’ system, his relationship with Patricia, Judge and Jones, and his willingness to mentor the young franchise quarterback.
While Hoyer will step in and play if Jones fails or is injured, Hoyer could also be taking on some of the offensive coordinator responsibilities. He has the absolute look of a future OC and potential head coach. Belichick has three of his former players on his staff currently in Jerod Mayo, Troy Brown and