Bill Belichick on Patriots' play-callers: 'We'll figure it out'
The NFL returns in less than a month, and the New England Patriots have yet to name an offensive coordinator for the 2022-23 season.
Bill Belichick addressed this at a press conference after the Patriots' preseason opener loss to the New York Giants on Thursday, in which Matt Patricia and Joe Judge split the offensive playcalling duties.
"Don't worry about that, we'll figure it out," he said.
On "First Things First," Nick Wright and Kevin Wildes discussed possibilities why Belichick has foregone assigning a playcaller between Patricia or Judge and if it will help or harm New England in the long run.
"There are three possible options as to why this is happening," Wright said. "The first one is, Bill Belichick — who's been in football … 48 years … with all his wisdom — has not yet figured this out. Door No. 2 is [Patricia and Judge] are both just such brilliant, cutting-edge offensive tacticians that Belichick is like, ‘Man, I can’t deprive either of these guys the opportunity to design this offense, so we're gonna rotate series.' Door No. 3 is they've both been so bad [that] no one [has] won the job."
"I will obviously go Door No. 4," Wildes argued. "Belichick is up to something that is going to work that we haven't seen before, and I am taking his recommendation: Not going to worry about it. … I have the ultimate faith in the guy who has turned our franchise … into the best franchise in all of sports."
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Eric Mangini joins Nick Wright and Kevin Wildes to discuss Belichick's comments.
In March, Belichick rehired ex-Detroit Lions coach and longtime defensive coordinator Patricia as a "senior offensive advisor" for the Patriots after New England lost the league's longest-tenured offensive coordinator in Josh McDaniels — who had served in Foxborough since 2012 — to the Las Vegas Raiders this offseason.
Patricia and former Giants head coach Judge — also an offensive assistant — will complete New England's new-look offensive staff.
It was previously reported in June that Belichick has been primarily leaning on naming Patricia, who has been the one feeding quarterback Mac Jones plays in training camp, as the Patriots' official offensive coordinator, although nothing official has been announced.
Belichick not naming an offensive coordinator has certainly raised some eyebrows, but it isn't new. When McDaniels left New England for the first time after the 2008 season, Belichick didn't name an offensive coordinator for the 2009 season. The role was held vacant until 2011, when Bill O'Brien was named OC.
What's more, the Patriots won't have an official defensive coordinator either — for the fifth straight year. Belichick hasn't named one since Patricia left that post following the 2017 season to become the Lions head coach.
Certainly, the clock is ticking on Belichick's final decision.