Joe

Judge

Earlier this offseason there was speculation as to whether or not Belichick himself would call plays in 2022. A reunion with former Giants HC and Patriots wide receivers coach Joe Judge led some to believe the OC role could go to Judge. While others thought long-time Belichick disciple Matt Patricia may get a crack at the job. Now, as Callahan pointed out, neither Judge or Patricia have been labeled as the team’s OC a week before training camp. Judge enters camp with the title of offensive assistant/quarterback coach, while Patricia is the senior football advisor/offensive line coach. New England lost offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels to the Raiders earlier this offseason, and appear to have simply not replaced him. This is likely to be a story throughout camp, especially as reports emerge on the progress the team is making on the offensive side of the ball.

Howe reports that New England head coach Bill 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.” Patricia and Joe Judge, who has worked with the team’s QBs this offseason, “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.” It’s a curious development, as both Patricia and Judge presided over horrendous offenses in their brief head coaching tenures. The team is simplifying its offensive play calling language, per Howe, after the departure of longtime offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels. It sure seems like a dicey situation for Mac Jones as he enters his sophomore season.

Breer concedes that it’s not likely that Belichick will handle offensive play-calling duties, but he’s not ruling it out either. The fact that this is even a possibility further underscores the point that the Patriots essentially do not have an offensive coordinator on staff. Following Josh McDaniels’ departure, the team never officially replaced him. Instead, they added two former head coaches with expertise on the defensive side of the ball. And as bizarre as it would be to see the defensive mastermind calling offensive plays, the Patriots would undoubtedly be better off with Belichick leading the offense than with likely alternatives Joe Judge or Matt Patricia.

Patriots players have been “alarmed” with what they’ve seen from the team’s offensive coaching staff and lack of direction on offense, according to Bedard. The Patriots haven’t named an offensive coordinator since Josh McDaniels’ departure, with the expectation Joe Judge or ex-Lions HC Matt Patricia will be the offensive play caller. Neither coach is known for offense. Judge’s background is in special teams while Patricia’s is in defense. Judge, a former college quarterback that spent 2019 as the Patriots’ WR coach, is the likely favorite for the role. Judge said at the team’s minicamp he plans to work closely with second-year QB Mac Jones.

A team administrator in 2021, Patricia -- whose background in grounded in defense -- will curiously take on an offensive role with the Josh McDaniels-less Pats offense. “He does a lot of things,” Belichick said of Patricia. Belichick called Patricia and failed Giants head coach Joe Judge -- hired by the Patriots last month -- “great coaches.” It’s a dubious claim for two guys who quickly flamed out as head coaches. Patricia’s Lions were graded by Pro Football Focus as the league’s third worst offense in 2020. Times might be getting tough for Mac Jones and company.

Matt Patricia, meanwhile, is expected to work with New England’s offensive line. Judge and Patricia, both of whom came back to Bill Belichick after disastrous head coaching stints, “will do so without much experience having coached offense before they became head coaches over the last few years,” Breer said. Having Judge work with Mac Jones would be a curious choice after Daniel Jones floundered under Judge and former Giants offensive coordinator Jason Garrett. Judge’s role on the Patriots coaching staff in 2022 could be bigger than once thought.

The Raiders also showed interest in Judge if only because coach Josh McDaniels had a say in the matter. The former was New England’s WRs coach when he last left the Patriots in 2019 but did nothing with the Giants to suggest he’s well versed in any offensive scheme in today’s NFL. It’s unclear who Judge will be working alongside given McDaniels’ departure.

Fowler added that Judge is staying patient with his opportunities so it’s possible that he bides his time a bit longer before taking a new job. Judge was a special teams coordinator in New England for five seasons before taking the Giants’ head coaching gig. He also added wide receivers coach to his resume during his final year with the Pats. The Raiders hired a New England exec as their next GM and then brought in the Patriots’ offensive coordinator, Josh McDaniels, to be their next head coach. It’s clear that they are trying to embrace the Patriot way and Judge would bring another coach with ties to New England into the fold.

Chalk up another loss for Bill Belichick’s coaching tree. Responsible for New York’s fourth and fifth consecutive losing seasons over the last two years, Judge’s tenure comes to a comical end with an embarrassing 10-23 record and far more bark than bite including zero 30-point games, 16 contests in which the Giants failed to reach 300 yards of total offense, and a Week 18 3rd-and-9 white flag with a quarterback sneak from the team’s own five-yard line. It’s truly up in the air whether Judge will land anywhere in the NFL since he was severely outclassed in every aspect of game planning and in-game coaching weekly. The Giants will thus overhaul its general manager, head coach, and perhaps quarterback positions ahead of the 2022 season.

As it stands, co-owners John Mara and Steve Tisch are “intent on getting input” on Judge from whoever they hire as the new general manager. And since the Giants are such a backward organization, the new GM will reportedly have to “convince” Mara and Tisch he has a better option and plan if he does not want Judge to remain the coach. With an embarrassing 10-23 record through two years at the helm, it would be an egregious decision (though not a surprising one given Mara’s history) if the organization decides to keep Judge around for any longer.