The dust is starting to settle around the NFL after the 2022 draft, but the Patriots still have one glaring hole to fill. With Josh McDaniels' departure to Las Vegas for the Raiders' head coaching job, the Pats still don't have an offensive play-caller.
New England is still helmed by Bill Belichick, and the coaching staff around him is much the same as it was in years past. Former defensive coordinator Matt Patricia is now a senior football adviser, while former special teams coach Joe Judge is back as an offensive assistant.
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Patricia and Judge both struck out on their own for head coaching gigs with the Lions and Giants, respectively. Neither tenure went well. Patricia went 13-29-1 in Detroit and was fired midway into his third season; Judge was 10-23 in two years in New York before being let go after his second season.
Belichick loves him some in-house play-callers. Patricia and Judge are reportedly favorites for the still-vacant position, Henry McKenna of USA Today's Patriots Wire reported Thursday while also citing Mike Reiss of ESPN.
I've heard the same thing as @MikeReiss on the Patriots' offensive play-calling. No decision yet from Bill Belichick. It may come down to a competition of sorts during training camp. The top candidates are Matt Patricia and Joe Judge.
— Henry Coffey McKenna (@McKennAnalysis) May 12, 2022
While that may sound alarming to Patriots fans at first blush, fret not. The Belichick regime is no stranger to flux. This isn't even the first time Belichick has lost McDaniels.
How New England has ranked on offense during Belichick's tenure as head coach:
| Year | Coordinator | Points ranking | Yards ranking |
| 2000 | Charlie Weis | 25 | 22 |
| 2001 | Charlie Weis | 6 | 19 |
| 2002 | Charlie Weis | 10 | 21 |
| 2003 | Charlie Weis | 12 | 17 |
| 2004 | Charlie Weis | 4 | 7 |
| 2005 | N/A | 10 | 7 |
| 2006 | Josh McDaniels | 7 | 11 |
| 2007 | Josh McDaniels | 1 | 1 |
| 2008 | Josh McDaniels | 8 | 5 |
| 2009 | None | 6 | 3 |
| 2010 | None | 1 | 8 |
| 2011 | Bill O'Brien | 3 | 2 |
| 2012 | Josh McDaniels | 1 | 1 |
| 2013 | Josh McDaniels | 3 | 7 |
| 2014 | Josh McDaniels | 4 | 11 |
| 2015 | Josh McDaniels | 3 | 6 |
| 2016 | Josh McDaniels | 3 | 4 |
| 2017 | Josh McDaniels | 2 | 1 |
| 2018 | Josh McDaniels | 4 | 5 |
| 2019 | Josh McDaniels | 7 | 15 |
| 2020 | Josh McDaniels | 27 | 27 |
| 2021 | Josh McDaniels | 6 | 15 |
The most obvious common thread is, of course, Tom Brady. The offense fell off a cliff to No. 27 in 2020 after Brady left New England for Tampa Bay. The Patriots righted the ship somewhat under rookie QB Mac Jones in 2021, but he's still a work in progress.
The Belichick offense is somewhat rigid, but he has spoken in the recent past about how it's changing in the post-Brady era.
“We always try to do what’s best for the team to win,” he said in 2020, per Pro Football Talk. “Everything we've done for the last 20 years, and rightfully so, has been for Tom Brady. . . . There were times when we had to plan differently, but when your starting quarterback has things that he's good at or things that you can take advantage of, then I think you try to take advantage of them."
The sample size outside of McDaniels is too small. The team did well without an offensive coordinator in 2009 and 2010, and then had the second-best offense in the league with Bill O'Brien calling plays in 2011. By the time McDaniels returned, the Patriots largely had their system in place. In fact, it was one he helped establish after a bumpy entry point from Charlie Weis.
Whether Patricia, Judge or someone else is calling plays in 2022, the personnel will determine where the offense goes. If there's a "Patriot Way," then that's it. It's what makes the idea of teams continuing to poach New England assistants so baffling. The players put the coaches in a position to be great, rather than the other way around. The coaches learn to coach around the talent they have.