Matt Patricia’s debut as the offensive play-caller for the New England Patriots hasn’t been a complete disaster, but it clearly hasn’t been good, either.
It’s been bad enough where Patriots fans are already twisting their brain into pretzels thinking up dream scenarios for a night in shining offensive armor to come galloping in and save the team.
But then they wake up, and it’s right back to the same offensive struggles we’ve seen throughout the season. So it’s no surprise the fun thing to do right now is look beyond 2022 and think of better days for the offensive play-calling.
Keep in mind, Patriots coach Bill Belichick typically isn’t the kind of coach to bring in outsiders as main assistants on either side of the ball. That tendency is the very reason why Patricia ended up with the offensive responsibilities after Josh McDaniels left for Las Vegas.
So we’re going to keep things realistic here with five legitimate candidates to serve as offensive coordinator for the Patriots in 2023.
Matt Patricia
This one is going to elicit some eye rolls.
Why in the world would Belichick keep Matt Patricia in the role as the primary offensive play-caller for the Patriots, especially when the results have ranged from mediocre to downright terrible at times?
There are two main reasons why Patricia could return in the role for a second straight season: Familiarity and obvious improvements.
Belichick loves hiring assistants that have worked under him for an extended period of time, and that made it easy for him to turn to Patricia, despite the brunt of his coaching experience being on the defensive side of the ball.
The Patriots have also clearly improved offensively. Quarterback Mac Jones is doing a better job of taking care of the football, and Patricia is leaning on the run game and play-action pass with great results. If not for a banged-up offensive line, the Patriots could be rolling right now. Belichick has to take all of that into account when making his decision.
Nick Caley
NFL.com recently did a list of future head coaches around the league, and Patriots tight ends coach Nick Caley’s name came up.
Promoting Caley as the new offensive coordinator for the Patriots would be the typical Belichick sort of move considering the 39-year-old coach has spent the last eight seasons working under him. There is a lot of familiarity here to make this the best move on the list, assuming a couple of other things don’t go the Patriots’ way.
Caley is on the upswing in his coaching career, and it won’t be long before other teams begin reaching out with offers to pry him away from Belichick. It might make sense for the Patriots to strike when the iron is hot and push him into the spotlight.
Bill O'Brien
Alabama offensive coordinator and former NFL head coach Bill O’Brien could be on his way back to the NFL in 2023. It only makes sense that his first pit stop would be a return to New England to resume his former role as the team’s offensive coordinator.
At the very least, the Patriots would get an experienced offensive play-caller that came up under the Belichick coaching tree. So the puzzle pieces fit just right if an opportunity presents itself.
Even those that aren’t necessarily high on O’Brien returning to the Patriots would have to admit he’d be a better option than Patricia at this point.
Mick Lombardi
There’s a reason why Josh McDaniels took former Patriots wide receivers coach Mick Lombardi with him to Las Vegas and hired him on as the offensive coordinator.
He saw the potential in the 33-year-old coach to be a major asset on the offensive side of the ball. Of course, things haven’t worked out as expected in Las Vegas, and the Patriots could look to bring Lombardi back into the fold if the situation completely implodes.
McDaniels is currently calls the offensive plays for the Raiders, which means an offensive coordinator opportunity with New England would provide more freedom than Lombardi has ever had as an NFL coach.
Whether that would be a good thing or not remains to be seen.
Joe Judge
The Patriots’ quarterbacks coach, Joe Judge, served as a part-time offensive play-caller for the team in the preseason. So it’s telling that he was beat out by Matt Patricia for the job as the team’s primary play-caller.
But the offense’s struggles could spark another opportunity for Judge to snag a promotion in the offseason. Like Patricia, he returned to New England after being fired from a head coaching job. Say whatever you want about his run with the Detroit Lions, but Judge is clearly a talented coach with a lot of experience.
If he was in the mix this season, there’s a good chance he will be next year as well for the offensive play-calling duties.
Josh McDaniels
The most wanted name on this list is a reunion between the Patriots and former offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels.
Yes, Raiders owner Mark Davis appears to be sticking with his guns in keeping McDaniels on as the head coach in Las Vegas. Maybe it’s because he really believes in the former longtime Patriots assistant to actually turn things around, or perhaps, it’s because the Raiders couldn’t afford to fire him even if they wanted to make the move.
One thing is certain, however: Both the Patriots and Raiders were better off with McDaniels running the offense in New England. If he somehow ends up with a one-and-done year in Las Vegas, it’s hard to envision any better opportunity out there for him than returning to the Patriots.
No one
There’s always a chance the Patriots leave the play-calling duties in the hands of either Matt Patricia or Joe Judge without officially naming an actual offensive coordinator, which would basically be a do-over of this year.
Considering the mixed results the team got this season, it would behoove them to bring in an experienced coach to help improve things on the offensive side of the ball.
But then again, Belichick walks to the beat of his own drum, and he might feel more comfortable taking his chances on what he knows over what he doesn’t know.
